Photos of the beach

Since I wasn't able to post the promised pics,here they are in a separate post: I expect you all know you can enlarge these pics by double-clicking on the photo.

January 2, 2006

Two Grandma's on Christmas.
It always seems strange to write the new year and it takes a few days to get used to writing it. '05 has been a year of change creating - happiness and fulfillment for some and pain and sadness for others. Many have been lost but on the other hand, people have learned to open their hearts to those less fortunate. We remain a country divided with so many of our young people in foreign nations for a cause that many are not certain of. We will remember this year past and the one before it through the maimed and disfigured young people who have returned to rehab and to try to find a life for themselves after war. I studied geology in college where I learned that major changes and events in the history of the Earth are recorded visually in the geology of the rocks and trees. It seems that our events will be forever recorded visually in the loss of limbs and emotional scars that will identify the year's events.

At the end of the year, I like to review my life month by month. I am always amazed by how much living there was in that 365 day period. I visited St. John's church on sunday and the priest suggested that this was our chance to start anew, to live each day as a new day with a clean slate so to speak. He said we had 365 chances to start over with right living. I associate that with being baptized, to be washed clean, to be reborn. I decided to keep a daily journal of the good things I was able to do for someone each day. If I only manage to do one good deed a day that still gives me 365 chances. Just a kind word or deed, a phone call, a note or email, even a smile makes a tremendous difference. As I bike around Naples and Bonita Beach, I speak to everyone I meet. Most look up and smile or return my greeting. A few ignore me. But I like to think that maybe a cheerful greeting and a smile from a stranger on a bike may make a difference.

On my ride today, I took some photos of the river near Bonita Beach on the Gulf. I often see Osprey in that spot. There is a preserve nearby called Bearfoot Beach. There were lots of people out riding bikes, jogging or walking today. The beaches were very busy since it was still a holiday. I stopped to buy a bottle of water from a vendor on the beach. The parking lot was full and I think probably that was the case all up and down the beaches in the Naples/Ft. Myers area. The way to go is by bike since there isn't a fee or a parking problem. I have tried to ride everyday this week since the weather has been perfect. It is like homecoming around here as all the folks we met last year are rolling in.

Happy Day two!