wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

A week ago last Tuesday had us up early and moving to make a 7:00 a.m. flight. Destination: RSW - the Fort Myers airport. We left Ohio's cloudy gray sky, 18°, snow and wind behind, and traded it in 2.5 hours later to eight days filled with the Florida sunshine, blue sky, and temps in the 70s. 

We had a mini reunion with college friends - two who are Florida residents and one who spends January and February away from northern Ohio. Our first few days were in Punta Gorda with the remaining days in Cape Coral and it was just what we needed to chase away the winter blues. Waking up to coffee on the patio, ordering fresh fish when we went to dinner, wearing bright colors, not bundling up to go outside, taking walks in the sunshine and boat rides on the Caloosahatchee River is such a splendid way to send off February. 

One night after dinner in Ft. Myers, we strolled through town and passed a group of men sitting outside a cigar store, enjoying their cigars and the lovely evening. The smell of cigars always brings back memories of my grandpa. Grandpa loved his cigars and I sure loved him. We went into the store to check out the humidor and ended up staying there for an hour, talking to a very knowledgeable young man who shared so much information and so many stories about the cigars that he sells.

The one cloudy day that we had, Todd and I took a drive to Ochopee in the Everglades to find the smallest post office in the United States. We found it, had a marvelous conversation with the post master, and bought some post cards to send to the grandsons from this tiny spot on Alligator Alley. 

After a laid back, no rush vacation, we are on our way home today and will be there for a week. Next stop, Cleveland, where we will welcome our granddaughter, the next little ray of sunshine to warm our hearts and brighten our family.