And when they were up they were up, and when they were down they were down...

Talk about a roller coaster! This weekend, my gosh. Saturday we woke up and Mom and I had a just a perfect day on Sanibel. After a lazy breakfast at home we headed over the causeway with beach chairs but the weather was too cool to sit on the beach-- highs in the 60s. It was perfect for driving and shopping, so we scheduled a tram ride at Ding Darling nature center and had a quick snack at Gramma Dot's restaurant-- mom's last bite of seafood for the trip. We actually got there before they opened and didn't have to wait in line-- a first for us.

Mom had her regular-- coconut shrimp. After our early lunch we made our way over to Ding Darling, first stopping at the shell store, She Sells Seashells. SO FUN. I think I could have decorated a whole beach house with the shells they have. Just beautiful. We ran out of time and left our basket for a return trip after the tram ride.

We made our way down to Ding Darling and looked through the nature center before heading over to the tram.


The tram ride at Ding Darling was the best I think I've ever been on. The guide was clearly the right man for the job. He loves that land and knows every little detail; he told stories about the trees like they were people, and little narratives of the alligator behavior like they were his children. It lasted 2 hours and was the best $12 ever spent, I think. It didn't hurt that the breeze was glorious, the company was sublime, and the pace was wonderfully relaxing. Could not have been better. Unless that nasal woman from Manhattan who was in town for "the conference" would have been quieter, but that was nothing.

After the tram ride we drove out to the Bubble Room to buy some cake to go-- best cakes you ever did see. It was tough to choose-- the butterfinger ice cream cake with butter brickle drizzle looked good, as did the chocolate torte and so many others. We decided on red velvet with cream cheese pecan icing, and coconut white cake with whipped cream coconut icing. Unfortunately, the surly guy helping us didn't have any plastic forks. That was probably the hardest half hour of my life, with those huge slices of cake in the back seat, my grumbling tummy begging, and no forks in sight.

We went back to the shell shop and bought a few things, and then headed back. I bought three pretty white star fish to hang on the wall of the guest room. Two fifty apiece. So beautiful and peaceful.

We stopped at Jerry's Supermarket to snag a few plastic forks so we could enjoy the cakes. They were delish as always. We used to get cake from the Mermaid Kitchen, which is a lovely restaurant started by the woman who made cakes for the Bubble Room. The lady is named Katie Gardenia (isn't that delightful?) and I remember her always wearing a little wreath on her head with ribbons hanging down. I want to be carefree and whimsical like that someday. Anyway, the cakes brought back good memories, plus they quieted the bellies.

When we got back home, Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jay had stopped by to see the house and we got to say a quick hello. It was just a perfect day! Everything worked out perfectly, from the weather to the timing. Just glorious. And Mom's flight was delayed, so we got to plan out landscaping in the yard and even check out some options for plants at Lowe's before going to the airport. We finally took Mom to the airport in time for her flight, stopping to have dinner at the airport Chili's before she left. Just wonderful. A very "up" day.

And when they were down, they were down. Sunday wasn't an up day at all. We skipped church and slept in, storing up energy for our much-anticipated landscaping adventure. We made a plan on Saturday with Mom, and went to Lowe's to price things out and buy a rake-- we were really excited. At least I was. I called a friend who was going to take us to The Plant Lady. Shawn and her family came over around noon and we headed up to the Plant Lady's house, about 10 minutes north of us. Unfortunately, Plant Lady was feeling under the weather, so we couldn't buy plants. Bummer. We tried a few other nurseries around, but they were all closed. Big bummer. Rarely do I get drive and ambition like that, and when I have it, I want to use it. We came home and Brad took a nap, but I just sat on the couch and seethed for a while. Such a bummer.

After I calmed down I had a snack of strawberries and what did I find in the carton? A mutant 360 degree berry! That's all one berry!


After a while Brad woke up and we showered and got dressed up for a nice dinner out-- thought we'd try a steak place we've seen a few times. But first, Brad said, we were going on an adventure. We had a little extra time before our reservation, so we decided to look for the source of this, reminiscent of last spring in Lehigh: (picture taken from our driveway)

Turns out it was in a marshy area and no homes were in danger, thankfully. Was much closer than last year's fires, so I wasn't totally comfortable, but it all turned out ok.

Dinner turned out to be a bust. Steak was decent but poorly prepared, mashed potatoes tasted of Windex, and the service was mediocre at best. We left there dissatisfied with the whole dang day and returned the borrowed minivan to Ralph and Chris. They were encouraging and comforting in our hour of grumpiness. We also said goodbye to Ellen and Jay, who will return home on Tuesday. And then we turned in early to get Sunday done and over with.