Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2008: 6  

  Saturday, February 2, was another lovely warm day. Bill ran the Run for the Paws 6K run at 8:00 AM. He ran with an average pace of 9:45 minutes per mile, which isn't fast, but acceptable to Bill. After the race, Bill took a shower and then we picked up Bob and Marianne and drove down along the mansions on Gulf Shore Drive. Then we drove to the Naples Town Pier. We headed over to Tin City and took the Double Sunshine cruise. It was a beautiful day to be on the water. We ate a good lunch at Riverwalk after the cruise. Next, we drove to the Art Show in the Park in downtown Naples. We bought a nice piece in Walnut, Copper, Bronze, and Porcelain to hang in the RV, and eventually at home. We all headed back to our respective quarters to clean up for the evening. Our campground had their annual Mardi Gras Parade at 4:30 PM, so we hurriedly dressed and drove out of the campground around 4:20 PM. We went to Starbucks so Bill could get a Frapuccino and we both could read the newspaper. We picked up Bob and Marianne at 5:30 PM and drove to and walked around the Water Shops at Pine Ridge Road and Tamiami Trail for a while. Then, we headed over to the Village on Venetian Bay to stroll around and finally eat an excellent dinner at Maxwell's on the Bay. We topped off the evening by another round of "Smart Ass", won by Marianne.

  Sunday was in the 80s again with clear skies. Bob and Marianne came over after church. We drove to Marco Island and Tiger Tail Park and Beach to explore that for a while. Then we drove to the Isle of Capri to eat a lunch on the water at the Capri Fish House. Bob and Marianne took off for home about 2:30 PM. We talked with Son Bill and Alex. Cathy went for an afternoon walk, while Bill chilled out. We enjoyed the Super Bowl and grilled burgers for dinner.

  Monday's temperature reached 87 degrees! Bill went for a run and Cathy for a walk. Then, Cathy did the laundry. After lunch, Bill went on a fishing paddle for a couple of hours. It was beautiful out on the water, but Bill didn't catch any fish. Later, we went to Starbucks and Publix. We attended Happy Hour on the Gazebo and signed up for a fishing trip to Key Largo for February 20-21. We viewed "Perfect Stranger" for the second time, but forgot the main plot twist. It's a 'B' movie, but enjoyable.

  Tuesday was in the mid-80s again. Bill continues to improve in softball, but now has a sore quadriceps muscle. Later in the morning, we walked to the Shoe Warehouse, where Cathy bought a pair of sandals for Thursday night. After lunch, we went out for a delightful kayak paddle into Naples harbor. When we got back, we walked for 3.4 miles and then went to Happy Hour at the Gazebo. We viewed "No End in Sight" during dinner. We got very angry seeing the details of the mismanaged invasion and occupation of Iraq.

  Wednesday was warm and humid again. Cathy had been experiencing some heart palpitations during the night, so she called her cousin Richard for the name of his cardiologist. We walked for 3.4 miles during the late morning. After lunch, we drove to the doctor's office on Pine Street in an adjoining neighborhood. Cathy was fitted with a heart monitor and was given a script for some labwork. We walked again in the afternoon. We shopped at Publix, with a stop at Starbucks. Cathy went back to the doctor's office in the evening for a couple of ultrasound tests. We ate dinner at Castaways Cafe.

  Thursday morning, Cathy had to get some labwork. Bill skipped softball to drive to the lab and also because he had a pulled muscle in his right thigh. We stopped at Starbucks for Cathy's breakfast and then shopped at the produce place. We took a 3.4 mile walk. After lunch, Cathy returned to the doctor's office to get the monitor removed. We went to an early dinner at Mangrove Cafe. We ate out on a sidewalk table to enjoy the warm evening. The dinner was very good and inexpensive. After dinner, we drove to the Naples Philharmonic Center for a Mahler concert. Bill had purchased online tickets and somehow we ended up in the first row of the middle section. We were the closest people to the concertmeister and loved our seats. The orchestra and the soloist were excellent. Bill wore his "cruise semiformal" clothes.

  Friday morning was cloudy and there was rain to the north and west over the Gulf. It was warm and humid. Cathy did a load of laundry and then we walked for 3.4 miles on our regular route. After lunch, we drove to Coastland Center Mall to try to find a bookstore and found none. We drove to Barnes and Noble so Bill could buy "No Country for Old Men." Then we went to Ace Hardware for some fishing stuff, and to Wynn's Market to buy some dinner to go (eggplant, veal, and sweet bean salad) and a few other grocery items. We attended Happy Hour when we returned and got talked into attending the Valentine Dinner Dance with Tom and Jean Reilly from Smithville, NJ (near Atlantic City). During dinner, we viewed "Rescue Dawn", an excellent film about the only escape by a POW in Vietnam.

        Bill and Cathy