Self Care - Seeking the (Shade in the) Sun

Sister Cindy and I spent the month of April in our Happy Place the Gulfview in Marco Island, Florida. Paul was with us for 20 days. He headed home early for Turkey Season in Iowa. He has his priorities. 🦃 Nephew Colby visited for several days - to get his fishing fix. 

People ask me, "What did you do in Florida?". The answer is self-care, Florida style. We were ready for a break after a long cold winter! Vail, Colorado, where Cindy lives was especially snowy and icy this season. Our little big town in central Iowa wasn't particularly snowy but was plenty cold and dark, making our decision to expand Marco-time from ten days to a whole month a good one. 

Exercise: swimming and walking

Before heading to Florida, Cindy and I made a plan to get back to our swimming roots this year. In past years at the Gulfview, we watched others doing morning laps in the lovely pool, but we stuck to brief dips to refresh on hot days. Bullock sisters are water people - thanks to our Atlantic roots with a Red Cross Swimming instructor, Momma Pat Bullock. We took and taught swim lessons, were lifeguards, and participated in the swim team in the summer months. 

Evening view Gulfview, looking south

Getting back to swimming was a great idea. We both loved it! We were the early bird swimmers, two to three days a week - arriving a half hour before the 8:00 a.m. group. Bob, the Pool Man was there scrubbing the pool sides and checking chemicals each morning. The pool temp was around 85 degrees, as we watched the sun come up when heading east. 

It's a great shelling beach - I resisted picking many up due to my collection at home

Most other days were beach walk mornings. We strolled eighty beach miles that month. The Gulfview is located nearly in the middle of Marco Beach. We like to alternate going North and South. It's 3.5-4 miles round trip either way. Beach walking is therapeutic. Soft sand, hard-packed sand, and surf sand lapping at our feet. The roar of the Gulf, slapping against the sand is therapeutic "white noise". 

Besides exercise, finding the perfect poolside site with an umbrella was an important activity. The Gulfview is under new management and the grounds look awesome. They've lost several trees around the pool in recent years. Our mom's memorial tree is gone - damaged 2 hurricanes ago. With fewer trees, there are more pool deck umbrellas for folks like me who can't do sun. We had our favorite spots, so we had to get out there fairly early to get the best lounge spots. Reading (and people-watching) by the pool is an excellent way to spend an afternoon. 

Cap'n EPott yachting

A couple of years ago Cindy's longtime Vail friends Eric and Bonnie retired and purchased a condo in Marco Island. We're so pleased that they love it as much as we do. They have a darling place on a canal on the south end of the island. Eric loves to fish so of course he's got a boat. On Easter Sunday - a gorgeous day - we were invited to "yacht" (that's what Cindy calls it) with Eric and Bonnie. We ended up touring around the whole island. I'd never seen my Happy Place from that viewpoint. Very cool! 

Paul, Eric, and our nephew Colby (who arrived the second week for a few days) fished up a storm. Bonnie, Cindy, and I ventured to Naples for a bit of shopping and a lunch of Blackened Grouper. On Friday nights we went to Bonnie and Eric's for "Date Night". We took the wine, and they cooked. They're really good at it. It makes me wish I enjoyed/could cook. 😋 Not enough to actually do it though...

Speaking of food. When we vacationed in Marco in past years - staying a week to ten days, we dined out every night. Not one who loves to cook, even I get tired of restaurant food. This year we actually cooked. The Gulfview helped by making two gas grills available on the grounds. Tacos and chicken were popular on our kitchen menu. 

Outdoor dining - Capri

There are lots of restaurant choices on the island these days. We enjoy going to old favorites that Mom and Dad introduced us to - the Crazy Flamingo for peel and eat shrimp, and The Little Bar for Scallops and Grouper. Don't forget Peanut Butter Pie! Nephew Colby, who has a Detroit-style pizza joint, Alpine Pizza in Lionshead/Vail, enjoys Joey's NY-style pies on Collier Blvd. Just north of Marco is The Isle of Capri - home of the Island Gypsy Cafe and rum drinks.   

Thanks to Bonnie and Eric for suggesting new places to try. There's an Italian Deli, Tony's N.Y. Pizza, and Cocomo's - where they prepared the fish the guys caught. It was delicious! Don't forget breakfast. Doreen's is a bit fancier - the cappuccino doesn't come from a powder-based machine there. Hoot's is a regular kind of place - with lots of old guys gathering to shoot the crap and eat eggs.

Activities: (not many)

The guys fished several times with Eric. They had a great time and didn't get fried by the sun. Colby had a day with a guide all to himself. I think visioning that activity helped him get through a busy winter running a restaurant. 

Paul, Cindy, and I visited the Marco Island Museum one windy afternoon. It's full of archeological, Native American, and island commercial development information. Our Mom - who loved to regale us with Marco history and development information, would have loved it. 

We shopped a bit and went back north to Naples with Bonnie and Eric. I was on the hunt for a big shell for granddaughter Nell - so she could hear the ocean in it. I didn't want to take a smaller one from the beach - visions of baby bro Reece putting it in his mouth. We stopped at a cute area with food trucks and a bar on the bay. Mexican for me, and a margarita! 

So not many activities. We love it that way. We're planning another month there next year. It's hard to wait until April to go, but the crowds and lodging prices are lower then. I hope our sisters and our kids can work in a visit. We have a couple of family weddings coming up this summer - we'll need to start plotting! 

Meanwhile it's onto summer in Iowa! I love this time of the year - bikes and kayaks. Stay safe all! 

With my guy! 

Bullock Tradition Continues

I walked down to the beach one evening to join those partaking in this spectacle

The Bullock family now has a three-generation tradition of spending winters in sunny Florida. Okay, we were only there for the month of April - technically not winter. 😆 But we did miss wintery April Iowa weather while basking in the sun. 

Momo and Bubba 

My dad's parents Wally and Zora Bullock spent winters in the St. Petersburg area for as far back as I can remember. They summered in our town, Atlantic - in Cass County, Iowa. Five generations of Bullocks called that place home. Momo and Bubba (as we called our grandparents) gathered with old friends and met new friends at their Florida hotel on the beach. They looked forward to going back annually to hang out with fellow retirees who enjoyed fishing, sunning, playing cards, and socializing over food and drink. 

A pic from a summer visit to Pops and Grandma in Dunedin, Florida

In the late sixties, my mother's parents, Bert and Nellie Morehead retired to Dunedin, Florida, just north of Clearwater. During two summers - 1967 and 1968, Mom bravely drove her four daughters to Florida in the family station wagon. Dad was busy in Iowa, marketing ladies' lingerie across the state. He flew in each year for a short stay with us.  

Those years are my first memories of the Sunshine State. We stayed at the Castaways on Redington Beach for two weeks after taking a week to travel south. I have great memories of those trips. Mom planned visits to Civil War sites, Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain. We mostly stayed at Howard Johnson hotels - swimming pools were a necessity after all of those miles (not buckled) in the back seat. We had a stack of comic books and coloring materials. My love of car travel and the Florida Gulf Coast was born! The trip home wasn't nearly as exciting, but reuniting with our standard-size wiener dog Jud was sweet. 

Marco Museum Island map

Tan Mom and Dad at a Gulfview party

Fast forward to my parent's retirement. They checked out Arizona - a popular winter place for Iowa folks. But our Mom was always a water person, as are her daughters. Mom and Dad visited Marco Island, Florida in the late 1980s and fell in love with it. Marco was mostly a swamp until the 1960s when developers saw the potential. Our parents purchased a unit in the Gulfview, a highrise on the beach. Great view, lovely grounds, next to a public green/beach space. 

View from parking ramp - pickleball has taken over tennis courts

Mom and Dad loved Marco Life at the Gulfview. They invited us to share their sunny beach happy place many times through the years. We took both kids for the first time when Amy was five and Jud was turning two - introducing yet another generation to the beauty of Florida. My sisters and their children also visited the place often. 

After Dad passed away, we sold their unit in the Gulfview. We love the place but didn't want to be landlords from afar. Since then, except for the Covid shutdown year, at least two (Cindy and I) of us have rented a place in the building. Susi and Betsy have also vacationed there. 

Jud with cousin Colby and pal Connor

 

Amy and Jud with Kohan boys

Cindy, Paul, and I visited the Marco Island Museum this year. It's small, like the island, but filled with archeology, Native American information, and information on how the swampy place became a fabulous destination. We enjoyed a relaxing time on the island. Now...how to get the kids back down there - and the nextgen - grandkids?