Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2009: 16

  Monday, November 16, was another in a string of beautiful days. The temperature reached 81 degrees, the wind was light, and the sky was cloudless. We had a number of errands to run. We drove to Home Depot to buy materials for the ladders in our Hillbilly Golf set. We talked to Katie, who was in Pennsylvania until Thursday. Then we went to Publix for grocery shopping. Finally, we went to Walmart to drop off our Red Box dvd and pick up another. When we got back, Bill drilled the rest of the dozen golf balls and made one of the bolos for the set. Cathy helped in the task of cutting PVC pipe into the segments needed for the ladders. We assembled one of the ladders and tried out the first bolo. Bill deployed our awning and we ate lunch outside. Then, Bill made the five other bolos for the set and tried them all. Then we packed the set away in a laundry bag for Saturday night's party. We talked to Alex. We went out on a seven mile bike ride and then a 3.5 mile walk. Bill cooked a quinoa meal and grilled chicken for Cathy. We enjoyed the movie, "The Line" during and after dinner.

  Tuesday, Bill lifted weights after reading our first delivered Naples Daily News. Then he cleaned the grill and scrubbed the underside of the awning. We drove out Radio Road to get good and cheap haircuts at Great Clips. We stopped at Walmart on the way back to drop off and pick up dvds at Red Box. We also bought Cathy a pair of jeans for Saturday night. We ate lunch outside. Then, we packed beach stuff and walked 3.7 miles to the beach via Starbucks. We lay on the beach until 3:45 PM and then walked back via a couple of stops looking for a t-shirt for Cathy. We did find a golf-themed visor for her. We also stopped at Oakes Farm market to buy coconut oil. We had quiche for dinner while we viewed "Whatever Works", a cute movie that started very slowly.

  Wednesday was a good day for exercising outdoors. Cathy went to her morning workout class. Bill went out for a 5K run and surprised himself with how good he felt and how well he did:

When Cathy returned from her class, she went out for a 3.5 mile walk. Bill dropped off the RedBox dvd at Walmart. We had an early lunch and then Bill went out for a 10.7 mile paddle on Naples Bay. He saw eagles and dolphins and lots of big boats as he paddled down to Gordon Pass. When he got back, Bill rode his bike to Oakes Farm to try to buy powdered milk for making cappuccinos. He couldn't find it, so he bought a carton of rice milk instead. Bill didn't like the rice milk when he made a cappuccino on his return. We ate an early dinner and caught up with "Curb Your Enthusiasm." We went to the clubhouse and played euchre with a group of 16 players.

  Thursday morning, Cathy went to her exercise class. Bill drove to Publix to get his allopurinol prescription and to pick up a few items, including powdered milk. Then, he went to the bait shop on Shadowlawn Road to buy a package of frozen shrimp. He spent the rest of the morning getting his fishing stuff ready and marking his kayak for Florida fish lengths. We ate lunch outside. Bill headed out at 12:15 PM for a 4.5 hour fishing trip on his kayak. He stayed in Rock Creek and Gordon River and did much more fishing than paddling. He caught 3 catfish, a probable blue runner, and a nice sized crevelle jack. It was a beautiful, warm day to be out on the water. When Bill returned, he made a cappuccino and was very happy with the powdered milk, which tasted good and foamed really well. We drove downtown and ate at Mangrove Cafe, where we enjoyed the special $29 meal with a bottle of wine. We added sparkling water and a bowl of conch, clam, and corn chowder for Bill and paid $40 plus tip. We sat outside on a balmy evening.

  Friday, Cathy went to her exercise class. Bill did a medley workout: 10K bike (14 mph), 5K run (8:20 min/mi), 10K bike (13.6 mph), 5K run (8:57 min/mi), 10K bike (13.6 mph), 5K run (8:49 min/mi), 10K bike (13.2 mph). He did all of this on North Road, using the RV as a transition area. He went through 92 ounces of Cytomax and 4 Gu packs during the four hour workout. We ate lunch outside, listening to Jimmy Buffett songs. After lunch, we went shopping at the Party Store and Target. Then we went to Coastline Mall to finish Cathy's outfit for Saturday night's party. We went to Happy Hour when we returned. Bill cooked his quinoa, dates, and walnuts dinner and grilled a chicken breast for Cathy.

  Saturday, we walked to Tin City for an early lunch at Riverwalk. We enjoyed a grouper sandwich and a Caesar salad with grouper. We made a stop at Starbucks after lunch. We returned to Rock Creek in order to deliver a Hill Billy Golf ladder to the swimming pool at 2:00 PM. We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out on NASCAR chairs under the awning. We got dressed in our Hill Billy outfits and went to the clubhouse at 5:30 PM for the golf-themed, welcome back party. Our Hill Billy Golf ladder formed hole #1 of the five hole course around the swimming pool. We won a prize for our costumes and Bill won $50 in the 50-50. Bill brought a banana, an apple, and 2 containers of yogurt for his dinner. We danced after dinner until we headed back to the RV.

  Sunday was warmer and more humid with a threat of rain. We did most of the Sunday Times puzzle and then went out for a walk/run. It was later than normal, so it was warmer and humid for Bill's 5K training run:

While Bill was running, he finished the crossword puzzle in his head. The wind picked up a bit after we returned. Because there was a slight threat of T-storms, Bill stowed the awning. We ate lunch outside. Afterward, we drove downtown, parked at Tin City, and schlepped NASCAR chairs to a big band concert in Cambier Park. We talked with Son Bill while we awaited the start of the concert. After the performance, we drove to Publix and bought a few items. Bill enjoyed a cappuccino from Starbucks on the way back to the RV. We rode our bikes for 10K along the airport as the sun was setting. We went to dinner at Carrabbas. We were amazed that we could just walk in and be seated at a booth with no wait. We used the gift certificate that Cathy received from Alex for her birthday. Our waiter warned Bill that the eggplant parmesan wasn't the usual heavily breaded, cheese-smothered variety found in many restaurants. Bill told him that for that reason he always orders it when here. We purchased another $100 gift card with the bonus of $20 that is available after January 1. Back in the RV, Bill decided that he is very disappointed with our Comcast TV service and will probably go with DirecTV next year.

        Bill and Cathy