Visiting Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte

Today we went to have lunch with Buddy and Shelley up in Port Charlotte at a sports bar called Gators. Wednesday is wing day and you can get wings for .25 each. They were great. I got the mild ones and Rick got the BBQ ones and his were actually better than mine. They were messy and they keep a roll of paper towels on each table. You can either eat outside or in. It is really a neat place and I'm sure we will go back. Prices were good too. Sunday special is 2 pulled pork sandwiches with fries and coleslaw for 3.99. Not bad. After that, Buddy drove us around and showed us Punta Gorda. Here is the Banyan Tree at the park. It was a really neat looking tree. Rick and Buddy being dwarfed by the tree. Not hard to do since neither one is very tall. Shelley and I just hanging around. Then as Shelley and I were walking around the tree taking more pictures, Rick and Buddy got in the car and took off. Actually, they were just moving it to another spot. This park is along the sound or river or inlet or whatever it is called. This gazebo is all decked out for the Christmas season. This is just off the water. This is a statue to Ponce de Leon. Then off to the Fisherman's Village. This is along the marina and has all kinds of shops, restaurants, and bars. We had fun window shopping. Then we posed beside the big shark. The next couple of pictures shows that Rick and Buddy got the catch of their lives. It was a fun place to visit. Then we drove around the area and saw how the other half lives. Big houses with the big boats docked in the back yard. Everywhere you looked, there were canals and big houses and boats. We even saw a huge condo complex where you could also park your boat. Shelley said that a lot of this was new because of the hurricane had been so destructive to that area a few years back. Then it was time to head home. As we got closer to the park we had a couple of police cars and an ambulance pass us. Sure enough, down the road on some car had gone thru the guard rail and ended up on its wheels down in the ditch. Thank goodness, the traffic was not backed up real bad yet. I guess come January, the traffic in this area is going to be real bad. Glad we will not be there. We figure from here on out, if we need to go to the store, we will go after supper. Hopefully, the traffic will be thinner. Off to another subject. Our son had gotten a job and starts next Monday. Continue to pray that Autumn finds one just as soon. Thanks for your prayers. We were talking to our grandson Jay and he told us that Santa was going to come with presents and toys to his new house. Then he preceded to tell us how old he was. Josh told him he didn't need to tell us because we already new. Then he told us "But I love being 3!!". We laughed at him. He is at just the right age for a really neat Christmas. Hope they take lots of pictures. Tomorrow it is going to warm up enough to get back into the pool. Can't wait. Sorry for all of you up north where it is cold. Take care all.