And here we are back again in England. The air is much cooler, but on the plus side, we are on the ground, and not squeezed into an aeroplane designed for midgets. Captiva Island and the surrounding weather were in fine form, but the travel was bit of a nightmare. It all went something like this.
Thursday, April 10
Got to Caddington between 3 and 4pm. Obtained a takeaway Indian from Spice Caddington, who were pleasant and obliging. The food was nice too. I wrote a favourable review of them for Trip Advisor.
Friday, April 11
Left Caddington at 7.25am and reached Heathrow about 8.30. Checked in at about 9 and went through Security without much problem, although it required a little undressing. Patronised Starbucks. Plane left more than an hour late, and I would like to say it was a pleasant journey, but it wasn’t. It was 9½ hours. The food was quite palatable, but the promised help from BA ground staff to get throughout Customs quickly and on to our connection wasn’t. In fact it was non-existent, and we languished in a passport queue until even a last-minute push from an airport man didn’t help us make it.
American Airlines were very helpful and booked us on a flight at 8.20am the next day, then rechecked our cases and sent us on to British Airways, who accepted responsibility and booked us into the Hyatt Regency, with vouchers for free beds, dinner and breakfast. The hotel was good, as was the food, but I didn’t get much sleep. Again. Rang car company at Fort Myers to say we wouldn’t be picking our car up till the next day, and the hotel there saying we needed to cancel. They seemed mystified that I’d bothered to tell them, given that they were going to charge me anyway.
Saturday, April 12
Woke early, of course, and had a good breakfast at 6am, catching the 6.40 shuttle to the airport. I noticed from a board at the hotel that the departure gate – and indeed terminal – had been changed from D35 to C6, so we went to the right place. The check-inwas straightforward, and the plane left on time. The flight seemed very short (about 2¼ hours) and there were no customs at Fort Myers. We were met by the Murrays at the bottom of an elevator.
Had trouble finding the hire car, because it was accessed via shuttle from a booth round the back of the car park. Which surrounds worrying, but in fact turned out very well. Chrissy came with me, David, Amy and Sophie and in fact did all the driving. Dot went with Roger and Barbara and the boys, and in fact they had to wait so long in the queue for their Budget car (ours was Europcar) that we got to the house on Captiva first.
The house, Sunny Days, Andy Rosse Lane, was first-class – especially our bedroom, which had a king-sized hot tub as well as a super-shower. And a very, very large bed. Attended Mucky Duck for 5pm meal. Afterwards I took the two girls back to the house so that they could access the pool very quickly. After the others arrived I soon dozed off and on being roused, decided to go to bed. Shrimp cocktail quite good; grouper café de paris middling.
Sunday, April 13
Woke at 7am and took a long time to surface while the others went to Starbucks in relays. Had bath and felt rather down. Dot brought me a cake back, and Barbara went for a long beach walk. Dot and I went to the dock for while (breezy but warm), then to shop. The rest is a bit of a blur, but we went to the Bubble Room for lunch, and at some point Dot and I took Oliver to the dock, then to Urchin Court, Sunset Captiva, returning via the beach. Played a couple of games of pool with Roger, then gave way to Seth. Went to dock again, and Dot eventually joined me briefly. Full moon. Children getting along well, both in the pool and electronically.
Monday, April 14
Another bad night. Kept dreaming about dreadful journeys of one kind or another. All went to the Lighthouse Cafe for breakfast, which was as tasty as I remembered it, but smaller. Attempted to park at the lighthouse afterwards, but the park there was full. Sadly, we were destined never to make it. Pity, because I think the children would have loved it there.
Drove back to Captiva, stopping at Baileys on the way for provisions. Afterwards I did the long walk up to Redfish Pass, hoping to catch up with Dot and Barbara, but because of a misunderstanding they were waiting for me at Starbucks. Roger, who had been walking with me, decided to return and called in at Starbucks on the way, thus revealing that I had gone on and was ahead by some way. I, of course, did not know this and continued – pausing only to obtain a bottle of water from Joe, who drew up the beach in a boat.
I reached the pass about half an hour ahead of the girls and waited on a seat, and then on a second seat, because I wasn’t sure which one they would plump for (or had plumped for, if they were ahead of me). Was about to give them up when they arrived, and we walked back down through the harbour and the South Seas resort, spotting a couple of dolphins and a manatee. Sat in harbour area while girls went in a shop, and was feeling very hot; so I was glad of Joe’s water.
Later I beat Roger 5-2 at pool and photographed sunset from the roof of the house. But not simultaneously.
Tuesday, April 15
Up earlier. Drove to Ding Darling Nature Reserve and saw white pelicans, but we only stopped twice and didn’t go for a walk, which was a bit disappointing, especially as we then proceeded to Traders and had to kill time in shop before lunch. Had a decent Angus steakburger, while the others ventured more exotic stuff. Couldn’t manage a dessert. Drove to Periwinkle Place and some shopping was done.
Eventually all the males drove home, and all the females did more shopping. Dot bought some blue shorts and several tops. When the females returned, Barbara, Dot, Roger and I went over to the dock and saw manatees and a dolphins, as well as ospreys catching fish. An expected thunderstorm did not materialise. I beat Oliver narrowly at table tennis and Roger convincingly at pool.
Wednesday, April 16
Dull to start with, but warmer later. Didn’t wake till after 9 – found tea from David on bedside tables, and neither of us had heard him bring it in. Dot and I bought postcards and walked up to Starbucks with Barbara. Wrote them there while she walked back. Dot and I returned by beach, by which time Mike Decker had arrived from Tampa and gone out to lunch with David and Chrissy at Mucky Duck. Wrote three poems while waiting for them to come back, then had chat. After he left, we all went to Il Cielo for an excellent meal. Very tired afterwards.
Thursday, April 17
Awful night. Really bad stomach – thought I was going to be sick, then acid reflux and neck pains. Stayed at home while others went to Lighthouse Cafe for breakfast, but recovered later and went to Starbucks with Dot. Had iced tea, and then we both bought hats in Regatta, the store next door.
Went to the dock a couple of times – saw a dolphin on my own, then returned with Dot. Dark clouds over Pine Island. Sudden wind as walked back, and in the evening a bit of rain as the four of us drove to Il Cielo again. Had mussels followed by lamb. Drove back to house via Gulf Road and Rabbit. Tired again – went to bed quite early.
Friday, April 18
Another bad night, though not as bad as the previous one. Both up before 9am to find house apparently empty, so walked up to Starbucks and back by beach. Returned to find that Seth had been in the house alone, but by this time the others had returned.
Later Dot and I walked up to the deli near Starbucks to get some food, and we walked to the dock afterwards, arriving back at the house to meet the others at 11.30 – about the only example of a joint arrangement in the entire week that worked and did not involve cars. Tried to book the banana boat for the children, but the owner said a fierce electrical storm was on the way and the sea was getting rough. All on the beach till past 1pm, and the sea was indeed quite choppy, but the storm “the size of Florida” never materialised, although I suppose it was out there somewhere.
Played Roger at table tennis and lost 3-0; then at pool, at which I won by about 4-1. Had shower. Even pool makes you quite sticky. All went to Mucky Duck for final meal. I had clam chowder (good) and fish and chips (average), plus two pints of excellent Yuenglings beer from Pennsylvania, recommended by the waitress. The Key West beer I had at Traders was good too.
Packed, then went to beach for sunset shots after I happened to notice a promising sky. Took pic of couple from Atlanta. He said he played golf in Scotland, so he was probably famous.
Saturday, April 19
Another very bad night. Got up at 6.40 to find rain had not materialised as threatened, and it was bright and warm. Finished the packing, and we returned in the cars as we’d arrived – Chrissy driving ours. Followed Roger and a map and found the car place off Treeline easily. The transfer went like clockwork and we reached the check-in via shuttle well before the others. I phoned Dot and we joined forces.
We had planned to have a coffee or breakfast together, but it turned out we were flying from separate concourses with separate Security entrances, so we had to say goodbye there. After Security we got some food and saw the Murrays’ Air Canada flight take off as we were boarding. Our plane left at 12.30 and we arrived in Dallas around 2.30 (+ 1 hour). Spent most of afternoon at gate D14 after a shuttle ride and a nice lunch of wraps.
Much better experience of Dallas Fort Worth airport this time. Our bags went straight through, and all we had to do was let the gate attendants see our Fort Myers boarding passes. The flight to Heathrow left on time and arrived on time after a bit of circling. I got two or three hours’ sleep, and our arrival time of 9.35 (as advertised) meant the flight was exactly nine hours.
Downsides of journey: I sat on middle seat next to a stranger on both flights, the food on the BA flight was awful and two loos were out of order. Dot had brief attack of diarrhoea, and the sound on the movie was so bad I had to turn it off. On the plus side, I had bought a Randy Wayne White book in Captiva and was able to read some of it; and on the flight from Fort Myers I was able to talk to my grandson.
Sunday, April 20
We got through passport control and customs quite easily and boarded our bus after a brief wait. It was raining and chilly. Our car was where we’d left it, and we threw ourselves in it and I drove back to Caddington. Again the roads were not bad, and we were home by 11.30 after dropping Dot off to buy food in the village (and then returning for her). After a bite, David and the children were in touch with Chrissy and hers on FaceTime. It all seemed very familiar. We left about 1.30 and were home well before 4pm, listening to Norwich lose 2-3 to Liverpool on the way. Everything was normal, and inNorwich it was dry and much warmer.
We unpacked and had egg and chips and watched some television. Phil came round with an Easter card from Joe and Ilona. Not sure what else happened. It was a bit of a blur again. Watched a bit of the grand prix, then later some more television and went to be very early. Slept a long time.