Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2009: 9

  Monday, March 16, began with us finishing a good night's sleep in a real bed. After breakfast, Bill drove Son Bill to Pure Fitness in the Town Centre for his 2 hour workout. Bill continued on to our RV where he went for a 3.7 mile walk and 3.7 mile bike ride. Bill also bought 2 rolls of quarters at the park office before picking up Son Bill and returning to the villa in Lely. Bill cleaned the grill while the rest of the group got organized for the day. We all drove to Tin City and ate lunch at the River Walk restaurant. From there, we drove to Cambier Park so the kids could enjoy the playground there. Cathy and Bill picked up swordfish steaks at Captain Kirk's Stone Crab and Bill got a cappuccino from Starbucks before we headed back to the villa for naps for the kids. Later, Bill, Son Bill, and the kids enjoyed the swimming pool until Jack and Sue Beatty arrived at 5:00 PM. After drinks at poolside, Bill grilled swordfish, a filet mignon, and veggies for dinner. We sat down for the meal at 7:05 PM. After dinner, Cathy served her famous strawberry yogurt pie. After the kids went to bed, Jack and Sue left and the rest of us headed to bed shortly thereafter.

  Tuesday was a busy day. Bill and Son Bill started the day with workouts. Son Bill used the Players Club fitness center while Bill walked for 2 miles and ran for 5 miles on an exploration of the different Lely neighborhoods. After they returned and everyone got organized, the whole group headed for the beach. We unloaded at the Central Avenue beach and then Bill parked the minivan 4 blocks away in a free space. The temperature at the beach was perfect and the water was beautiful and warm enough to enjoy bathing. We ate lunch on the beach. At about 1:30 PM, we headed back to the villa. Billy took a long nap and Sarah joined in later. Cathy relaxed on a float in the pool. Bill got into the pool later and was joined by everybody but Cathy. We picked up takeout at Carrabbas and enjoyed an Italian meal. After dinner, we engaged in some activities and then headed for our beds. During the afternoon, we had a few drops of rain - the first for this area for quite a while.

  Wednesday brought some rain from time to time during the day. Bill and Son Bill drove to downtown Miami to get a tour of the Terremark facility there. This was a business trip for Son Bill for his company, Scientific Games. Both Bills enjoyed the tour. They took I75 over to Miami and US41 back to Naples. It was a bit shorter and there were many more gators to see on the return trip. They stopped at Publix for some shopping on the way back. After they returned, Cathy, Stacey, and Sarah went out to do some shopping. The three Bills went swimming in the heated pool. They swam until the shopping trip was over. We had pork, veggies, and grilled veggie burgers for dinner. After dinner, Bill filled out his NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket on Facebook.

  Thursday started with some rain, but became a nice day. Cathy and Bill led a driving tour around some of the points of interest in Naples. The tour started with a stop at Bad Ass Coffee on 3rd Street. Driving by the mansions on Gordon Blvd was next. We drove up Gulf Shores Road past the Naples Beach and Golf Club and then up to Venetian Bay. We stopped at Venetian Village and ate a very good lunch at the Old Naples Pub. After lunch, we headed back to Mustang Circle. Son Bill headed off for a workout in the Lely fitness center and lap pool. Bill went out for a 5K run and 5K walk to Eagle Lakes Community Park. When Bill returned, he climbed into the swimming pool with Stacey and Sarah, later joined by Billy. After everyone cleaned up, Bill went out for pizza at Luigi's. Son Bill and Stacey went for dinner at Roy's. Bill and Cathy viewed "Peter Pan" with the kids before putting them to bed. Later, the four adults watched some NCAA basketball.

  Friday, Bill's Achilles tendon hurt all day, so he chose light activity. In the morning, we all went to the Naples Zoo. The zoo is small, but very well organized. The two highlights for the day were the fossa from Madagascar, and the alligator feeding. We stopped at Wynn's market to pick up lunch provisions on the way back. After lunch, Billy went in for a short nap. Bill and Cathy headed for the pool. After Billy's nap, Sarah and Billy went in the pool also. Son Bill, who went to the fitness center and then jogged for a mile, joined in the aquatic activity. Cathy called in our food orders to Sushi Thai Too on 5th Avenue in Naples. Bill and Cathy went to pick up the food after a stop in Starbucks. After dinner, we viewed "Madagascar" in honor of our zoo visit.

  Saturday was a water day. It was warm and breezy with dry air. We all went to a county water park in North Naples, Sun-n-Sun Lagoon. This is a very impressive facility with several pools, water slides, and a very good Lazy River. We arrived shortly after opening at 10:00 AM and stayed for a couple of good hours of fun. Most of the water was heated, except for the shallowest water of the toddler pool. The breeze made it a bit cold, but we all enjoyed the stay. We stopped at Jason's Deli for lunch. Stacey and Bill went to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee after the meal. We headed back to the villa and put Billy down for a nap. Son Bill and Stacey went to the Players Club for a workout and some relaxation, respectively. Bill and Cathy went in the pool with Sarah, then played cards with Sarah, then went in the pool with Billy and Sarah. We didn't leave the pool area until after 6:00 PM. We got the pool and deck squared away and then ate dinner. By the time we cleaned up from dinner, it was after 8:00 PM. Everyone got to bed early.

  Sunday, Son Bill and Stacey got up at 4:00 AM. Bill and Cathy followed at 4:15 AM. Everyone helped to get the Georgians on the road by 5:00 AM. Bill and Cathy ate breakfast, straightened up the villa, packed the XTerra, and left at 7:30 AM. We arrived back at the RV and moved back in. Shortly thereafter, we walked to downtown Naples and ate a second breakfast at Altin's Cafe on 5th Avenue. As we walked back, the wind increased and the day got warmer. We both worked on the Sunday Times puzzle and got most of it right. Bill worked on getting our generator started. He suspected that the gasoline inside had "varnished". He drove to NAPA and bought a couple of bottles of Seafoam gasoline cleaner and poured them in the RV gas tank. He continued to try to get the generator to run, but it ran for a short time and then stopped. We watched some NCAA basketball during the rest of the afternoon. Son Bill called to tell us that they arrived back in Cumming, GA at about 2:30 PM. We went to Bonefish Grill for dinner where we sat at a high table in a very crowded bar. When we got back, we downloaded the HD version of the past week's "Lost" from iTunes and viewed the strange "The Interview."

        Bill and Cathy