NAPLES, FLORIDA

I grew up in an incredible neighborhood in one of the suburbs outside Boston called Weymouth. I am so grateful for all these girls from the neighborhood. We have been friends for over 60 years. Our parents let us run fearless through the streets, play kick the can, ride bikes, sled down the hill on snowy days with everyone always on the lookout for cars and we did this without any care in the world. We felt safe!

Through the years, we have never lost touch. We always treasure our times together and always make time to create new memories, My kind sister Trish and her husband Mac opened their beautiful home to us in Naples, Florida.

After we arrived at Trish’s home and settled in, we went to the beach to take in the gorgeous sunset.

The sunsets in Naples are spectacular. The sky becomes a beautiful painting with hues of orange, pink and gold.

We started off the next day with a delicious breakfast made by Gail. She is a fabulous chef. We had eggs made to order, bacon and yummy potatoes that melted in our mouths. With full stomachs, we took a much needed walk on the beach. We still had a full day ahead of us.

Tin City

Tin City is a fun little shopping district. In the 1920s, it was home to clam shelling and oyster processing. In 1970, seven of these historical buildings were transformed into the marketplace called Tin City named because of their tin roofs. It now has unique shops and restaurants on the waterfront.

Marco Pedal Boat

Jeanne is our tour director. She always finds us fun things to do. The Marco Pedal boat is a pedal powered pontoon. We got to enjoy the spectacular views while cruising down the waterways of Marco Island. We did get to see a dolphin and enjoy looking at the multiple-million dollar mansions. The fun part of the excursion was the pedaling was optional, so we enjoyed walking around the boat and truly enjoyed the ride.

We had lots of laughs on the Pedal Boat. The Captain of the boat was very lucky he had a motor because us girls were no help when it came to pedaling.

Our fun was not finished. We were invited to stop by my brother Jack and Maureen’s beautiful home.

No matter what we do or where we are; we always have a great time just being together.

Marco Eco Tour

Our next day adventure was to embark on an unforgettable adventure on pedal kayaks in the mangrove tunnels on Marco Island.

Jeanne never disappoints finding us great things to do. Our tour guide, Rammel from this kayak adventure was awesome and truly is concerned in protecting and preserving the natural environment. He taught us so much and was funny in doing so. The kayaks were easy to navigate by pedaling. Jeanne certainly was thinking when she ordered Trish and me a double kayak, double trouble in one kayak. It was nonstop laughter, especially when Trish and I were in the mangrove tunnel and got tangled up in the plants. A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. The importance of mangroves are that they provide protection from storms ,nurseries for wildlife and fun recreation for people like us.

We were pleasantly surprised when Rammel got us through the mangrove tunnel and guided us to a shallow and secluded area to enable us to get out of our kayaks to explore and learn about the underwater wonders firsthand.

We all left this adventure feeling like we understood the importance of enjoying nature but keeping the ecosystems untouched because no human technology can replace this incredible environment.

It was time now to go back to the beach and have some fun in the sun.

After the beach, we drove down to 5th Avenue in Naples which is noted for fashion boutiques, restaurants and great people watching.

PopStroke

The next day we drove to Fort Meyer’s for a unique golf experience. Jeanne said we would be ok even though Trish and I don’t play golf. PopStroke is an outdoor golf featuring two 18-hole Tiger Woods designed putting course. Tiger Woods named it after his Dad that he called Pop.

I did come in last but enjoyed every minute of the game with the girls!

We ended our golf experience at the outdoor bar and played some cornhole along with a much needed cocktail!

It was our last night in Naples so we decided to go out for a nice dinner.

How can I sum up this unforgettable memory making trip with the girls!
We may not have it all together, but together, we have it all!❤️