Carefree Resort--We'll Be Back!!!

28 Feb 2015--Been here at Carefree Resort in North Ft Myers, FL exactly one month today, and we have been having a great time.  We have what seems like a thousand things to do here, from learning to play bridge, ballroom dances or pickle ball to joining the band or going to the hot tub/pool.

Behind the main clubhouse are the pool and hot tub and one of 2 small lakes on the property.



We weren't here but a couple days when they had their annual Bourbon Street Follies, a show they put on for 2 nights that was a smash. They crown a new king and queen every year, but we don't know the nominating criteria yet, so we will have to learn that over time (haha).



This woman was playing Bonnie Raitt, lip syncing to her song, followed by a bunch of others playing other stars or home-grown skits.  Her real name is Mary Gay, is about 72, and shows up prominently in almost all activities here.  A real Star!!!!



If you look at nothing else, check out some of these videos...very entertaining group here.  We'll start with Wayne Newton, who really got the show going.

This was take on 1920s flappers and gigolos.

Mary Gay, in her glory, singing Be My little Baby!

For the finale, the whole ensemble sang "I Am What I Am", Carefree's anthem I guess!.  Once Again, Mary Gay grabs the viewers attention by really belting it out!  haha

Every year they hold a Madi Gras parade, so we got to catch it ...a few good laughs




An hour before we arrived here on the 1st of February, our friends Gayle and Yvette arrived in their RV right across the street from us.  They're from Canada and are spending just over 5 weeks here, and like us it's also their 1st time here, so we were lucky to get to know each other so quickly.  We spend the majority of our time with them, and have thoroughly enjoyed their company!

After the parade we all got on our bikes and headed into downtown Ft Myers, about 7 miles away. They were having somewhat of an art fair, from paintings to pottery, along with food and of course the ever-present protesters who want to damn everyone to hell.


 

Back at the ranch later in the afternoon, the Carefree crowd had a Cajun "low boil" to celebrate Madi Gras further.  These are crawdads, which look like very small lobster, that people all over the south eat, but especially in Louisiana.  The hard core diner actually sucks the brains out of the head, but the lady I got to show us how to eat them wasn't up to that.  haha




We have spent a couple days out at the beach...we think this one is called the Coral Bay Marina beach.   The overwhelming majority of days have been between 75 and 85 degrees, so we couldn't have asked for anything better.  In the middle picture, to Cathy's right, is Bonnie, another visitor here that we were lucky to meet very early in our stay here.  She is from Woodstock, NY...and lives by the motto of "sex, drugs, and rock and roll!"  haha (only kidding)




These were pretty and different from the group of seagulls we're all used to seeing on the beach. Actually, we saw a seagull literally snatch a pear right out of a guy's mouth and hand not 10 feet from us...the look of shock on his face when it happened was priceless!

 

Sanibel Island is not far from here, but we won't be re-visiting any time soon because the traffic trying to leave was horrendous.  The cops told us if you are not out by 4pm you might as well wait till after 7pm...and our 2 1/2 hour trek to go about 2 miles proved it...ugh!

We saw some cool birds though, including an Osprey on the side of the road eating a fish, the black one, a Cormorant,  sunning himself that almost looked translucent, and these white pelicans that seemed to be on steroids...they were huge!




Prior to Valentine's day we attended "ballroom dance" classes (I hurt my back somehow playing pickle ball, so Cathy is dancing with Bonnie).  The main lady (Linda) giving the classes is Linda and her partner in the boots is Sherry...they are good, but run a tight ship .  haha

Clearly, everyone here is messing up, but Gayle and Yvette seem to have a corner on "hysterical"...I was cracking up!!! (turn up your volume if you didn't already)

Here is the Box Step

And the Rumba

The Waltz

And finally the East Coast Swing

You have to wonder what Yvette is doing here...she's the only one with her legs so far apart.  haha



When it came to the Valentine's Day dance, no one paid any attention to the dances they had tried to learn earlier and just did their own thing!



So that was actually a quick look at everything we were doing over the 1st two weeks of our stay. I didn't put up any pickle ball pics because I saved them all for the next blog entry, but we played that a lot and really love it...stay tuned for more "fun at Carefree" on another day!  haha