A return to Cortez for more fun in the sun

March 3-March 13, 2014
Holiday Cove RV Resort
Cortez, Florida



Leaving the Keys was difficult, both in terms of my brother’s unexpected hospitalization and the festive and warm tropical environment. Fortunately, my brother is back home recovering quite well from pneumonia and some heart issues. Yay!  And, we returned to an area which has become our home base in Florida for two main reasons: the location of one mile from sugar sand beaches and lots of friends around to help fill our days.

As testimony to our sweet friendships in the area, we were invited to dinner and a belated birthday celebration the very evening we arrived back from the Keys. Our friends nearby at Buttonwood RV Park made scrumptious ribs, sweet potatoes, and salad and I managed to bring a homemade Italian cream cake that I baked the day before we left Marathon. Great fun to get back in the swing of things with a Monday night party.

On Tuesday morning, we decided to take one of our favorite bike rides from our park to Anna Maria Island. One of the things we like about this route is the scenery as it traverses several bodies of water.



You might also notice from the map above, this route takes us across at least three bridges.  Neither Vic nor I have a great fondness for driving across bridges in the motorhome or on bikes, but these particular ones are all quite accommodating with a separate sidewalk area for bicyclists and pedestrians. The scenic views make biking on them worthwhile. The scenic view on this day though was dominated by the image of a big red dually truck being chased by at least three police cars as it raced across the bridge at speeds of 60+ mph weaving in and out of oncoming traffic. At one point I looked out as the truck barreled toward me on my side of the bridge before hitting the brakes and sliding back into the normal flow of traffic. Yikes! I kept pedaling as fast as I could with the single goal of getting off that bridge in fear that the maniac might swerve back around. All told, the 16 year-old runaway who stole this truck caused 23 crashes in two trips across the Cortez bridge and one on the Manatee bridge (where we were) before he was stopped and arrested on the Cortez bridge. Vic and I needed to cross this bridge to return to our park. Even though it was closed to traffic, they let bicyclists and pedestrians cross the bridge giving us a firsthand view of the smashed cars. Amazingly, there were no serious injuries as the result of this Grand Theft auto re-enactment. I did not have the presence of mind to take a photo, plus the police were scurrying us along, so I borrowed one from the local news which gives you an aerial view of the final scene.



Most of our time here this past week has been less harrowing in terms of excitement: happy hours with friends, more bike rides, resort gatherings, listening to live music in various venues, and reading books at the beach with our toes in the white silky sand.



When we returned to Holiday Cove for the month of March, we were assigned a different site. This site, which is for sale by owner, includes a large outdoor grill, patio table with umbrella, firepit, and storage unit. It is just across from the boat launch and is nicely landscaped, but it is in the middle of the park near the pool and clubhouse. With a full park, at times it feels like grand central station in this site compared to our previous spot on the perimeter away from it all. It’s actually fine with me as I grew up living above my parents’ tavern as a young girl; the sound of lively talking and people having a good time has always made me feel at home--explains a lot about my social nature, doesn’t it?







We are happy to be back here for another month as there is lots to do and, conversely, doing nothing here in this lovely park is an equally good option. Actually doing very little is a challenge as the park seems to have more activities this month than usual. Every Wednesday is a happy hour potluck, but the one last week included live music performed by two women who were incredibly entertaining. Most everyone who attended ended up dancing. A good sign of a fun time.





For another good time with a live band, we went to an event called Music on Main at the Lakewood Ranch, an environmentally friendly master-planned community about a half hour from here. It was a chilly Florida night with a brisk wind, but we braved the cold and dragged our outdoor chairs to a free concert by a group called soulRcoaster. The music was great, and fortunately, there was a Starbucks nearby for coffee to help take the chill off this 50 degree night.



Our friend Steve, perhaps after imbibing too much caffeine, kept us entertained with his antics during lulls in the concert.



Yet another fun time has been getting to know Pam and John of Oh the Places They Go blog fame. I started following their blog last spring when they were hiking in Utah. Vic and I were traveling to New Mexico about this time and we were both in agreement that we wanted to get more serious about hiking. Their blog posts of their hiking adventures definitely inspired us to get after it. They continue to impress us here in Florida with their twenty+ daily bike rides. We are not there yet, but it is great to have something to aspire to. They are also responsible for introducing us to Suzi and Dave of Beluga’s Excellent Adventure, who are also here in the park. We have had the pleasure of sharing some happy hours and, this week, attended a Low Country Shrimp Boil together that was held here at the park.

Over 150 folks attended the shrimp boil. We were all duly impressed with the organization and talents of the park’s men’s coffee group who planned the event and tended to the various pots of goodies for this delicious dinner.





We also had a delightful evening here at the park with Jeannie and Eldy of Where’s Eldo, former fulltime RVers who now live in a house in Bradenton. This was the second time we managed to get together with them during our stay here. Jeannie and I still have a plan to go kayaking together while the guys go to an Orioles spring training game in nearby Sarasota. Silly me—no photos again!

Lastly, in honor of pi day (3.14), I fulfilled a long overdue promise to make a homemade cherry pie for the Buttonwood group.  When we were in Oregon, I went to a cherry orchard and bought a large bag of pitted pie cherries to stash in our freezer for a winter taste of Oregon. I actually made it a day early as the men in the group were all going to a spring training Cardinals game on pi day, but no one seemed to mind. I don’t bake pies very often, but when I do I feel very close to my mom who was famous for throwing an apple pie even late in the day for a midnight snack. Her hands were my hands as I invoked her spirit to do justice to these beautiful Oregon cherries. Love you momma.