Day 8, Still In Naples

This place is pretty, but it's boring.  It's a gated community and it seems that the squirrels are even not allowed here.  Mama and I walked three times around the whole place today and all we saw were some birds and not even interesting birds.  We keep hearing a strange sound when we walk in one area. We are wondering if it's a peacock. We don't know what they sound like, so we are just guessing. 

When we drove here yesterday, we saw signs for panther crossings.  Mama thought it was for a school crossing at first, but no, it's actual signs for panther crossings.  We have seen several signs for them. We are definitely learning a lot on this trip.

Mama and Dad left us for a while today.  They drove to Marco Island. They couldn't get to the beach without paying to park and Mama said she didn't want to pay $8 to park just to look at the water for ten minutes.  The beach is on the side with all the hotels and the buildings are so tall that they block any view of water.  They then drove back to Naples and visited a place called Tin City.  They did some shopping and ate lunch.  They came back home and rested for a while.  We then all loaded in the car to visit a state park that is nearby by. It is the Collier-Seminole State Park.   Florida State Parks charge an entrance fee except if you are camping and then you have to pay the camping fee.  We stopped at the gate and we paid our $5.  The gate attendant gave us dog treats. Daddy laughed at the mosquito meter that was at the gate.  It said "Moderate, Bad and Run".  The arrow was pointed on RUN.  We didn't think they were serious.  We drove around the park and through the campground.  It was not nearly as nice as the other campgrounds that we have stayed at in Florida. We stopped the car and got out to take a walk.  Our walk lasted about two minutes because we were attacked by mosquitoes.  We RAN back to the car and then spent 10 minutes killing them.  They were all over Mama and Daddy.  Mama ended up crawling in the back of the Jeep with us to kill them. She hit me once and I didn't know why, but it was because I had one on my back.  Mama said that $5 was definitely a waste of money. 

We don't have many photos from today. They were supposed to be taken at the state park, but since we were only outside for two minutes, there are no photos. Here are two photos of Scout and I after the mosquito attack.

We've noticed the signs for businesses here are not high off the ground like they are back home.  I guess it looks nicer, but it's really hard to find places because many of the signs seem to be hidden by plants.

McDonald's doesn't have the golden arches high in the sky here.

Walmart is even hard to see.

Menu today for the folks

Breakfast: Bacon and fried eggs

Lunch: Pinchers Crab Shack 

Mama had an Angus burger with fries and coleslaw.  Dad a blackened grouper sandwich with fries and coleslaw.  He said you can't visit Florida and not have it.  They had a coupon for a free slice of key lime pie. They both said the food was good, but did not bring us any leftovers.

Dinner:  Mama made pork burgers, salad and baked beans.  The pork burgers came from the pig farm near our house.  It's a place where you buy on the honor system. 

 

We had frosty treats.  Yes, the frosty treats have come with us.  Making is making them in the blender instead of using the Kitchen Aid mixer.  It works well.

 

I guess tomorrow we should start giving you clues about where our next location is going to be.  We are a little sad that our vacation is now over and Dad goes back to work tomorrow.  He has to attend a conference.  Mama is going to take him there and back each day so that she still has a car.  

 

Joey,

The Greyhound Who Doesn't Like Mosquitoes