"Henry's got his eye on one thing, when he's near the water," Jonny told us on May 1, 2017, as night fell at our Ft. Myers condo. It might be dark outside, but Henry was ready to head to the pool or beach.
Ft. Myers and Naples are on the Gulf Coast, a straight, two-hour drive from Jonny and Jenny's home at Pembroke Pines, a suburb of Miami.
The photo above and the three photos following come from the website for our condo, Island Towers. This is, though, exactly how the beach and our room looked, except that we were on the first floor, with the surf pounding just fifty feet outside our screened-in porch. The sand was as white and fine as powdered sugar. "I don't usually like the hot sun and gritty sand of a beach," David said, "but this is perfect." We opened the porch door and listened as the waves rolled in.
When he wasn't wading in the surf or swimming in the pool, Sam played on his iPad on the porch.
Jonny and I cooked one gourmet dish after another--salmon with fennel and onions; pasta salad with pesto, salami, and artichoke hearts; spicy lentil soup; corn chowder flavored with turmeric.
Jonny and Jenny love botanical gardens, and they are also kid-friendly. We strolled through the beautiful Naples Botanical Garden, with its theme areas--a Japanese garden, an orchid garden, a tropical garden.
Henry and Sam were glad to see their grandparents, but mama was Number One.
And, of course, we spent time in the children's garden, with its fountains and pools.
We parked our cars in downtown Naples, paused for ice cream cones, and then walked through a wealthy residential area to the pier, as the sun set. Pelicans swooped into the water, gobbling fish; fishermen hauled in manta rays to use as shark bait, and we padded around in the soft sand.
Sam relaxed with a slice of pizza.
Next morning, May 2, we took a boat ride around the Naples harbor and out to the Gulf.
Dolphins jumped alongside our boat.
We sailed past Port Royal, the most elegant area of Naples, where houses cost from $5 million to $120 million.
We ate lunch at a highly rated Mom and Pop seafood restaurant. It had quirky ambience--strip mall, with one foot in a parking stall when you eat outside--but great food.
I had the Fisherman's Platter, with a slice of key lime pie for dessert. Henry insisted on dipping his french fries into ketchup himself, and he covered his face with sauce. Diners from nearby tables watched with amusement. As he left, Henry waved and threw kisses. "He knows how to please his public," Jenny explained.
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