It's been way too long....

since we've seen friends from Naples!  So since the weather was not conducive for fishing, we headed across the state to South West Florida.

Our first order of business was lunch.  I think Frank must have been dreaming about the sandwiches from this place for a while - Pastrami Dan's!

We both had Pastrami - one on rye and one on a hoagie.  Huge portions, hot and oh so tasty.  (Frank did say he'd have tacos more often than sandwiches when he lived here.)

What we should have done was go for a walk to work off lunch, but instead we took the 'Historical homes of Frank' tour, much like the celebrity homes tours in Beverly Hills.

Duplex that has recently been converted into a single-family residence.

Frank's parents (Nan & Poppy) shared the duplex after Allison was born.

Andrea was born and the Joneses needed more space, so into this house they moved.

At the time they built this house, it was huge!

It was nice to see the old homesteads were still standing and in good condition, unlike some of the neighboring houses that had been bulldozed and McMansions built.

After the tour, and dealing with all the crazy traffic, we met friends for drinks and dinner at the Waterfront Grille.

Melissa, Dave, Connie, Roger, Toivo, Frank and Leann

Back when Frank was the City Manager, he worked with Dave, Roger and Toivo.  Oh the stories they have!!  Dave, Roger and Melissa are permanent Naples residents. Connie and Toivo escaped the frozen New England tundra for a few months. 

It was great to spend time with everyone, trade stories, barbs and enjoy many laughs!  Hopefully we'll be able to coordinate with everyone again during the spring and summer.

  Thank you all for a delightful evening!

It was a dark and stormy night...

Actually, it was a warm and very foggy morning!  The weather forecast we follow to determine the winds and seas indicated today was going to be a great day with seas in the 2-3' range. 

It had a been a few days since we fished and we were excitedly looking forward to fishing today.  Frank spent the better part of yesterday getting things on the boat ready!  We were determined to catch live bait and subsequently catch sailfish and dolphin (as many people did the previous time we fished).

We left the dock earlier than planned only to hit a wall of fog!  We could barely see 30 feet in front of us!  (A boat ride that normally takes 30 minutes, took nearly an hour.)

                Channel marker at the end of the canal.                        Leaving the condo.

Thankfully our GPS had all the channel markers, bridges and other landmarks as well as the last path we took.  But the fog was so thick we literally went down the river at a snail's pace. 

And wouldn't you know, it wasn't until we cleared the last bridge, the sun came out and the fog was clearing. 

We headed for what we anticipated would be a good bait spot.  After several tries, we only pulled in one bait fish.  Our favorite Captain called to say he found bait.  Off we went and sure enough, we started filling the livewell.

With several different types of bait on hand, we headed out to the Gulf Stream.  It was a little slow going because the wind had picked up and the seas were a little rough (ok, they were a lot rough!).

We selected our starting point and got the baits ready.   A trick Captain Frank uses is to tie a balloon to each of the lines.  It's an easy way to see where the bait is and when a fish hits the bait.

Julius (orange) and Bell (blue) were put out first.  Shortly afterward, a dolphin got Julius and we got the dolphin!  A little while later, we saw a fin (a sail actually) swimming around the blue balloon.  The balloon went one direction and the line went the other.  But, Bell must have slipped off the hook because that sailfish did not get hooked up.  So, more baits and more balloons.  We drifted for a little while.  Sure enough, another sailfish checked out the bait and some how ended up with a free snack!   The third time was the charm and the sailfish was hooked up, but only for a short time.  He jumped 3-4 times and we think it was about 6' long.  Guess it was his way of saying 'thank you for the tasty snacks'. 

Unfortunately, with only two of us on the boat and the conditions, it was impossible to get a picture of the free-jumping sailfish. 

We drifted for a while longer, but the seas were getting rougher and we were ready to call it a day. 

Inspite of the foggy start, it turned out to be a good day!

Back in the saddle again...

I loved it and didn't realize how much I missed it!

A few weeks ago, over a glass of wine with a friend and conversations with a few others, I decided to host a 'Maximize Technology' for the residents at our condo in Stuart.  "How can I do this on my computer?" "What can I do with all the pictures I get on emails?"  "How can I research a topic I'm interested in?" 

It's been quite a while since I've facilitated or taught classes, but it was just like old times.  Over the past few days, I worked to structure the time together, prepare handouts, and confirm the computer would connect to the TV. 

So, today was the day!  Fourteen people signed up and several arrived early.  And the friend I mentioned, well he brought an apple for the teacher.  :)  We ended up with 24 people in the hour-and-a-half session!  I was thrilled! 

During our time together, many of the participants found out others had similar questions and problems, some offered suggestions and many took notes on things to try when they got home.

Next steps:  compile the questions/problems and set up more of these sessions. 

It was really rewarding to meet more people in our condo community, help people get answers, show many of the participants some new things!

Tallahassee Townhouse For Sale!

First-time home buyer? 

Take advantage of Tax Credits while they last! 

133 Oak Street #22

Tallahassee, FL 32301

Downtown Townhome

2 Bedroom, 2 ½ bathrooms, 1816 sq ft

$169,000

Highlights:
 This spacious contemporary 2-story corner unit Townhome is on a quiet street off Park Avenue. It has 2 Master Bedrooms (with bathrooms en-suite) upstairs and ½ bath downstairs.
 The recently updated interior has painted tongue-in-groove wood walls, 12-foot ceilings with exposed wood-beam rafters downstairs, an open hanging wood staircase, and a beautiful floor-to-ceiling limestone wood-burning fireplace.
 Neutral ceramic tile floors throughout the first level. New carpet in the bedrooms and oversized upstairs hallway closet.
 The light and airy kitchen with newer appliances offers plenty of storage.
 The large private shaded patio includes two storage sheds and a gate to the side yard along with low-maintenance landscaping. Owners can also enjoy the sparkling community pool.

This unique townhome is convenient to:
 Downtown, Capitol and State Offices
 FSU and FAMU campuses
 Governor’s Square Mall and many other shopping venues
 Schools (Sullivan Elementary, Cobb Middle and Leon High)

Included with purchase:
 Refrigerator/Freezer, dishwasher, range/oven, washer/dryer, ceiling fans.

Owner will consider selling the townhome furnished (with a few exceptions).

If you know of anyone looking for a well-maintained, large (1800 sq ft), 2 bedroom 2-1/2 bath townhouse in an area near Downtown Tallahassee, contact us!

Frank Jones
Fjones7916@aol.com

FSU vs WVU in the Gator Bowl....end of an era....Last Game for Bobby Bowden

Now this is the way tailgate - Club level - warm, dry and plenty of food & beverages!

There was a very nice pre-game tribute to the man who was instrumental in changing Seminole football - Bobby Bowden. The game was sold out and the largest crowd - ever - filled Jacksonville Stadium. Three hundred former Seminoles were on the field to welcome Bobby and Ann as they exited the tunnel.

Bobby is in the lower-middle of the picture, right in front of the Trooper, wearing his usual white hat.

Hard to see, but Bobby got to plant the Spear.

Pre-game "Thank You" to Bobby.

The Marching Chiefs played the FSU fight song and spelled BOBBY during half-time.

Last time Bobby will coach the Seminoles.

Kinda fuzzy, but Bobby is jogging down the sideline after he tossed his cap to the Marching Chiefs.

It wouldn't be a Seminole Football game without Gene Deckerhoff.

 

The Seminoles end the season and Bobby ends an era with a win!

Celebration!

Raising the Gator Bowl trophy.

EJ Manuel - the game's MVP

The Seminoles carry Bobby Bowden off the field on their shoulders.

Our last football game of the season - so nice it was a winning game!

It is the end of one era and the beginning of another. We look forward to next season with the Seminoles!

Tailgating before the FSU-WVU (Gator Bowl) game in Jacksonville

FSU was invited to play in the Gator Bowl against West Virginia on New Year's Day.  Not only would it be the end of the season, it was also the end of an era.  This would be the last game Bobby Bowden would coach. 

Since the game was at 1:00, we needed to get to the parking lot early in order to have a little bit of a tailgate before heading into the stadium for any pre-game festivities honoring Bobby. Our caravan of 5 cars headed from Amelia to Jacksonville at 8:30am. No one got separated and we were able to park next to each other in the lot.

We hosted the tailgate and were pretty excited because we would have a large crowd. What we weren't so excited about was the weather, especially the rain.  But, we prepared enough chili to feed an army, hot apple cider and hot chocolate (with anti-freeze additives) and others contributed snacks, sandwiches and beverages. 

Yes, we were in Florida, but from the way we were dressed you would have thought we were up north somewhere.  It was very rainy and COLD!  But most of the crowd was prepared.

Seminole anti-freeze - 43 (a smooth golden Spanish liqueur)

Thankfully Frank made a quick trip to Tallahassee to procure a few things we needed round out the tailgate: tents, crockpots, tables, etc.  And we ended up with a pretty nice set-up with plenty of space!  Now if there are tent-gutters, it would have been perfect!  It was a great tailgate and all the help setting-up and breaking-down was much appreciated.

With everything put away, the FSUTAILG8ERS donned their cold-and-wet-weather gear and headed to the stadium.  We didn't want to miss a minute of any tribute there might be for Bobby Bowden.

Thanks everyone for a great tailgate!

Ringing in the New Year!

Not only was it the last night of 2009, there was also a Blue Moon New Year's Eve (the second full moon in the month, next one 2028).

The Astor's hosted a wonderful New Year's Eve party at their condo on Amelia Island.  A fantastic spread of food and beverages, festive decor and an opportunity to spend time with friends we hadn't seen since before the holidays. 

Bonnie, Leann and Joanne                             Rick, Frank and Tim

Good food................Good beverages!

Peck's Cottage Reunion - Frank, Donna and Ray

(Ray, Bonnie, Leann & Frank)

It was a nice way to close out 2009 and welcome 2010! 

Thank you Rick and Joanne for a lovely party!