I took our guest, Joan (former neighbor in our building in Forest Hills, NY) to a fancy lunch at Tarpon Lodge in Pineland  it was elegant and she loved it. This is an idyllic spot on the bay that you get to by driving through a heavily forested narrow road. Ed has been busy with guardian duties so it really is nice to have a second car even though I am using the SUV and he using the Hyundai. It’s better for his back. As long as I have wheels, it’s no big deal.

After lunch we walked up the road from the lodge to the Randall Research Center’s souvenir shop which is at the start of the Calusa Indian trail  we walked the trail and up wooden steps to lookout points. Our laminated map that we were to return, blew off a bench, so I snaked my way under the railing onto the steep hillside, grabbed the map and snaked back. Joan was impressed. She bought some stuff as gifts from the shop and we drove back.

As I turned on to Pine Island Road, the major artery in the area, but still only 2 lanes in this stretch, I was stopped by a female traffic cop (whomp whomp whomp behind me) because I had driven 35 mph (instead of 20) through a zone where 2 times a week school kids cross when the bus stops  but I saw no kids, I saw no yellow, flashing lights, I saw no bus, and neither did Joan. I think it was “make work” for the cop, but it helped that I was a permanent resident and not a snowbird with attitude. Actually (as you all know) I have lots of attitude but I was keeping it under wraps. The cop ran my license  no priors or bad marks, thanks be, and I did not get a ticket.

And a note on driving. A day before Joan arrived, I decided to deal with an infection in my toe I couldn’t get rid of. Ordinarily, I’d mention it to Ed and he would make time to drive me to the doctor. But, hey, I have wheels now, so without telling him (because he would have insisted he drive me yet again) I drove myself (15 miles each way using, even, different streets -- wow) to see the nurse practitioner and casually mentioned this to Ed and he was blown away which gives you an idea of how unreliable he thinks my driving is. Without, I will add, any evidence to support his view. I drove a station wagon rental from New York City to Canada in 1961  Jay had let his California license lapse and hadn’t bothered to renew it so I did all the driving. But that doesn’t count. I will add that I missed one turn-off and continued on to a known road that got me on the right route back to the house.

I have also driven Ed back from medical procedures that include local anesthesia but he is always alert enough to monitor my driving and tell me when to change lanes for turns. I have appreciated that because lengthy driving has been off my grid for many years. Anyway, I am still not his first thought when he needs to run an errand that is inconvenient and he dragged himself out early today to get to a compounding pharmacy for Brunswick’s meds, instead of asking me.

Joan is pre-diabetic and watching her food, but still wanted to check out a chocolate/confectionary shop where Kathy’s boutique used to be in the mall next to The Perfect Cup ($18 a pound for those who want to take some home). Their fudge is incredible. They have truffles too. The two guys who own it are doing okay but it’s "the season"  I hope they make it through the summer. I bought a half pound of assorted fudge cuts, including cappuccino and chocolate madness, for about $8.

We went to dinner three nights ago to Sandy Hook nearby and, besides Joan, Ed had invited Dave, a guy who oversees medical facilities he deals with, and he brought his son, Steve, who works with him, and we had a nice dinner. The conversation turned to my published writing and it turns out they are conservative and we disagreed on many things and I thought I had, perhaps, damaged the relationship but they were cool and the dad even flirted with me. Go figure.

Joan leaves tomorrow, having narrowly missed temps of 9 degrees in New York City  they are in the 20s today  when I was living there, a jump from 9 to 20 would seem like the tropics. Now I put my down jacket on to pick up the paper in the driveway when it’s 50 degrees. All in all, not a bad week.

xx, Teal