Day 10 – the unexpected things are the best things.

We are getting lazy, pure and simple. Today I didn’t get up until 7am, totally outrageous I know. Next thing I will be wearing my slippers & dressing gown (not that I own either) to Tesco and watching Jeremy Kyle all afternoon.

Or maybe the relaxing nature of Marco Island and specifically this house are having an effect on me. Maybe I am actually…. relaxed? It’s the weirdest of feelings, not one I am accustomed to. Usually I would be working to some kind of timetable, a meeting in Newcastle at 9:30 or training someone on the south coast from 8:30. But here, there’s really no reason to get up and out with any kind of urgency. That said, surely we want to make the most of this place whilst we have the opportunity. Within weeks of getting back home the clocks will be put back and we will have 4 months of darkness and damp to look forward to. Sorry to mention it, but it’s gonna happen.

The weather was patchy at best this morning, not cold (it’s never cold!), but rain and storms interspersed with sun and extreme heat. Very ‘Florida in August’. We decided to pay a visit to Naples today, it’s not far – 12 miles or so and from what we both remember it’s a very upmarket, quaint city. I think I read somewhere it has the highest per capita Cadillac ownership anywhere in the US. Read into that what you will. As soon as we set off the heavens opened. As beautiful as it is here, grey clouds and rain really remove the lustre from the place. You could be in the middle of Kettering in October. Actually, no, you couldn’t really. That’s ridiculous. As we approached Naples it was still bucketing it down so we decided to head the ‘Coastland Center’, a very typical US mall with all the same stores that every other mall in the US has. As you enter through Sears, J C Penny, Dillards etc. you could be entering a mall in Ohio, Maine, Kentucky or Hawaii – they are all identical. This is both good and bad. You know what you are going to get, but the lack of variety makes it a pretty dull experience.

We had a brief wander around and then went outside to check the weather – blazing sun, 90-odd degrees again. So we got in the car and headed downtown. I have very vivid memories of playing cards under the pier at Naples when we came in 2000, not for some illicit gambling purpose, more just to get some shade. We parked the car right opposite the beach and headed off to go to the pier. Which was shut. Until December. So we strolled along the near-deserted beach for less than 50 yards. As soon as we started walking, what should we see – a small pod of dolphins no more than 10 yards from the shore. How absolutely fantastic to see these majestic creatures just hanging around in their natural habitat rather than performing ball tricks for us at Seaworld. They are simply *fantastic*. I quickly got my camera out to try to get some good shots, but they do not act to any human desires, they simply surfaced as and when they pleased, and I’m very happy for that to be the case.

Here’s what I managed:-

that is a dolphin fin, not an old tyre in the water

Liz was more excited than I have seen her in long while (finding 2 Gap outlets this trip not withstanding), and rightly so. They played and dived and surfaced for a good few minutes right in front of us. We followed them for a few minutes just walking down the beach. It seems even dolphins get slower in these temperatures.

Talking of which – after the dolphins had moved on, we went for a walk around the ‘Old Naples’ area which is full of boutiques you’ve never heard, selling brands you’ve never heard of, for prices you never thought you’d see in your life. They were pretty empty. I’d imagine they only need to sell 1 scarf a week to make it worth their while. It is very pretty though and the architecture is very colonial. Again, I tried to get some decent shots, but my eye was just not in:-

Naples pier. Closed.

Magaluf it is not.

All very nice, but no Ethel Austin?

We would have looked to have looked around a little more, but the heat was unbearable. Even Sam complained, mind you he was wearing jeans… and a hat!

In typical fashion we came back home for pool time later in the afternoon, a necessary indulgence.

Right, I wonder if I can get Jeremy Kyle on cable….