A Trip to Naples

This past week my sister Martha was scheduled to attend a conference in Naples Fl. I decided to take a few days off myself...so I could join her there. Tony's sister Cathy and her husband Andy drove down from Gainesville...they arrived the day before we did. John had hoped to drive down and pick up my BIL Tony to go offshore fishing...but the weather did not cooperate...so John drove down with me instead. It's about a 4-4 1/2 hour drive south and west from Indialantic. It's kind of an easy drive...through lots of small towns and back roads...and past miles and miles of orange groves. We left early on Wednesday (what a surprise!) and the traffic was light...so I enjoyed the smell of the oranges as we drove along the old 2 lane highways. It brought back memories of the old drive to Gainesville...before the freezes in the late 70's early 80's killed many of the trees and the land was sold to developers. So once again we got to drive past miles and miles of orange trees...and cattle...with billboards reminding us that " BEEF it's what's for dinner!" I have only been that way two other times...once in college...when I went ot my roommates home in Ft. Myers and several years ago when John and I joined some friends on their wonderful boat and traveled across the state by water. This time I noticed the signs for the Locks that we had passed through by boat.. on that trip).
Martha and Tony were staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples...we were at a nice place about 1/2 mile and 3-4 hundred dollars down the road...The Inn at Pelican Bay. It was a nice place...comfortable room....
breakfast in the morning, tea and crumpets which I missed in the afternoon.
The day we arrived...John met up with Tony and his BIL Andy or as we like to call him...our brother-in-law-in-law and Martha for a round of golf. Cathy and a friend, Paige, went to hang out at the RC pool...but I opted to go shopping! There were a couple of stores nearby that I like to visit when I can...since we do not have them in our town...like Anthropologie and Pottery Barn to name a couple. So I headed to the Shoppes at Waterfront while they headed to the pool and the golf course.
South Florida is an interesting place for people watching! According to the tourist channel at the hotel there are more millionaires per capita in Naples than there are in Beverly Hills...and I guess if you have plenty of money...you can buy designer animal crackers or bring your designer dogs with you while you shop. I saw a couple of dogs in strollers and others walking along with their owners or being carried by them.... I'm sorry...but I fail to see the need to bring a dog with you to Williams-Sonoma or Pottery Barn!
That night we all went out to eat at a nice place on the beach..Baleen We had a great dinner over looking the ocean as we watched the sunset, Very nice! This picture is great of Martha...terrible of me...but that's the way it goes...hahaha
The next morning Martha and I met for breakfast at the Ritz. Here's my view of the grounds as I waited for her by the pool.
When John and Tony finished up their morning round of golf...John joined us at the restaurant.

Here's what the bathroom down by the pool looked like! don't worry...I made sure no one else was in there before I snapped my photo! hahaha Pretty nice!
Then it was time for golf in the afternoon. I play about once every 3-4 years....so I don't have my own equipment...no problem...I wore my bowling shoes...instead of golf shoes. hahaha I did buy myself a new golf shirt to match a skort I already had, and John got Megan's old clubs down for me to use. There was only one slight problem with the clubs...no one has used them in several years and the heat of the garage where they've been stored...caused the grips to disintegrate. the story of my life...I'll tell you about the shedding mink cape I wore on a trip to Tahoe sometime! haha The putter was fine so when we made our way to the driving range and as I started to hit balls...I was in for a surprise.......here's what my hands looked like. They were sticky AND black.. Hahahaa I'm sure I looked like a local! hahahaha
We decided it was going to be John and Tony (aka the Brothers-in-Law)
against Martha and Anne (aka The Sisters) We got a lot of do-overs and free strokes..
You had to watch where you hit the balls...because there were several of these on the course! We got kind of close to one and that thing moved FAST! He/It was in the water in a flash and a splash! Definitely wouldn't want one coming after me!
All in all I did pretty well...considering I rarely ever play...I was wearing bowling shoes (hahaha) and I had clubs that were falling apart as I played...ha! John's lucky I have a sense of humor! We had a nice visit with Martha and Tony, Andy and Cathy and their friends Paige and John. Too bad we didn't have more time....