On Thursday, we left Pensacola, late- and didn’t get into Rock Crusher Canyon in Crystal River, Florida until dark. It was our first time parking the coach in pitch blackness. Without hand signals, I was at a loss as to how to direct John to back in the coach into our tiny site. I’m sure we woke up a few neighbors with our less than quiet directions.
After the excitement of Mardi Gras and the Cajuns, Crystal River was a wonderful break from all the action. Jean and Gordon got to experience our winter life in Florida- lunch at Margarita’s with HUGE margaritas and great fresh fish, Sunday afternoon in Homosassa at the biker bar.
And with a few days to recoup, we convinced Gordon to make his famous curry. (Jean and I did the laundry – and came back with an extra pair of men’s undies. We passed them back and forth- thinking they belonged to John or Gordon – then realized that we had picked up someone else’s briefs. While we were shopping, the guys decided to get creative. This is what we were greeted with when we arrived back home!)
On Monday, we left Crystal River, heading towards Sanibel Island. We stopped for lunch in Tarpon Springs and wandered through the harbor-side tourist area, picking up tacky tourist trinkets and having a great Greek lunch at Mykonos.
After two weeks of living together in our 350 square foot motorhome, we thought we’d arrived in heaven when we got to Sanibel. Lani and Rich, John’s oldest and dearest friend, recently moved from their ocean front home in Half Moon Baby, California to a gorgeous home in Sanibel. They also have a condo right on the water that they use for guests and for rental. They offered us this three bedroom bit of heaven and we moved right in. Within minutes, the Brits were off walking the waterfront, checking out the pelicans and, of course, Jean got her bit of sunshine.
After two weeks of living together in our 350 square foot motorhome, we thought we’d arrived in heaven when we got to Sanibel. Lani and Rich, John’s oldest and dearest friend, recently moved from their ocean front home in Half Moon Baby, California to a gorgeous home in Sanibel. They also have a condo right on the water that they use for guests and for rental. They offered us this three bedroom bit of heaven and we moved right in. Within minutes, the Brits were off walking the waterfront, checking out the pelicans and, of course, Jean got her bit of sunshine.We joined Rich for a tour of Sanibel and Captiva Islands. 
We saw the effects of Hurricane Charley (2004). Captiva had only recently reopened – three years after the storm. We had lunch at the Mucky Duck and then met at Rich and Lani’s house for wine and cheese and a gorgeous sunset on the beach. Then it was back to their house for a wonderful Lani dinner. Oh, and we 
got to meet Burly, their new golden retriever “puppy”, for the first time.
We saw the effects of Hurricane Charley (2004). Captiva had only recently reopened – three years after the storm. We had lunch at the Mucky Duck and then met at Rich and Lani’s house for wine and cheese and a gorgeous sunset on the beach. Then it was back to their house for a wonderful Lani dinner. Oh, and we 
got to meet Burly, their new golden retriever “puppy”, for the first time.The following day, we explored Sanibel and took the tour of the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge This 7,000 acre mangrove estuary is home to over 200 species of birds, alligators, raccoons…. The 5 miles drive through the park was gorgeous. 
After lunch at the Hungry Heron (the biggest menu in the world!), we made a stop at the Sanibel supermarket to pick up fixin’s for our dinner - Shrimp fettucine a la Gordon.Before we knew it, it was time to head back- to the Orlando airport for Jean and Gordon and back to Rock Crusher for us.
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