Another successful Marco Trip

Thank Mom and Dad for introducing us this beautiful paradise! Paul and I first went to lovely Marco Island in 1988. We think. We're a little foggy on the year. Young parents a all that. Blame lack of sleep.

Dad retired at age 58. Gee that age sounds so familiar. Hmm, that must be because I'm 58 now. Yet the R word isn't in my vocab quite yet - except to say that Paul says that I'm a Freshman in my quest for retirement from DNR. I aim to retire at age 62 from that job. I'd still need to drum up income from somewhere to support my lucrative lifestyle in central Iowa - living large. haha.

Anyway, I digressed. As Dad approached retirement, Mom and Dad had scouted for a place where they could spend winters - to escape the frozen Iowa tundra. They checked out Arizona where several Atlantic friends had settled, but Mom need water - as in an ocean. So they headed back east to the state where both sets of my grandparents had spend time. Mom's parents actually sold their home in Cedar Rapids and moved into a retirement center in Dunedin, Florida. My Atlantic grandparents wintered in the St. Petersburg area each year.

My folks went farther south on the gulf side of the state, eventually driving over the Judge Jolly Bridge to Marco Island. Mom knew she was home. They rented a condo in the Gulfview a couple years before they purchased a unit. It was sometime in there when we were invited to visit - a year or so after we'd settled in Creston with our young daughter.

We weren't real sure about traveling with a baby, so we approached our fabulous care providers the Frank family about keeping Amy while we took a short visit to Marco via Miami. I do recall that it was a nice break from parenting, but we sure were glad to get home to our kiddo! In the meantime, we fell in love with that island just like my parents did.

Before the beach was restored - check out little Juddy!

That was before the beach was restored, and before many of the condos and hotels that are there today were even built. Mom and Dad enjoyed introducing us to their many friends. The next time we came back, We had both Amy and Jud with us - it was 1991. After that is was game on. We took many trips to see Grandpa and Gran at the beach. Good times!

The second time we took the kids - Betsy and Wayne brought the Kohan kids

After Mom passed away from evil lung cancer in 1998, Susi and I drove with Dad to Florida. It was sad to leave him there without his partner of 45 plus years. He sounded lonely when I spoke with him on the phone that winter. We spent Christmas with him - and that was strange! Palm instead of Christmas trees! In the next year, Dad reconnected with an old friend and fell in love with Pat2 (yep, that's what we called his second wife). She enjoyed Marco too - until her death, tragically another lung cancer victim.

Stormy and Amy with Kay and Dad

Dad suffered a stroke in 2002, and we weren't certain he'd be able to recover enough to live in his own Atlantic apartment, let along make it to sunny Florida. Thank goodness a good friend by the name of Kay Harris stepped up. Dad  had asked Kay on a date shortly before he got sick - and she liked the guy! He was pretty darn swell. Kay and Dad traveled to and from Florida each winter for the next few years until his death in 2006. Our last time with him in Marco was in 2004, when we took Jud and a friend down over spring break while Cindy and Colby were there.

This year, Cindy, Colby, Paul and I talked as usual about our parents as we stayed in the very building where they used to own a unit. Patty, who cleans at the building, still remembers us. Most everyone else is gone though - like Mom and Dad. It's not overly fancy, but has a decent pool, great grounds and is smack in the middle of the beach - right by the Resident's Beach, allowing for a great view.

We enjoy visiting many of the restaurants and haunts that our folks used to take us to. Plus we find new places to go. Colby and Paul like to fish - just like Dad used to - even though he'd often get seasick, poor guy. We love walking along the beach just like our mother did. It's therapeutic, you know. I sorely needed that this year after a rough couple weeks at work. (I've been told that I need to quit caring so much, but I guess that's just not how I am wired.) My sis, Cindo was therapeutic too. She's a good listener and advice giver when it comes to work issues.

Each year we stay in Marco for 10 days, including travel (which was delayed on the way there). By the last day of this year's trip, I was ready to go home, ready for my own bed and to see my puppy. Now that's a good vacation!