In addition
to an annual Las Vegas trip every January, the McCarty
brothers also have an annual trip to Florida for some
warmth, sun, and fun. This year was no exception. Instead
of flying down, I like to do a road trip to Florida, and
this year like a few before, I conned
convinced my brother Larry to join me on this type of
trip.
I
drove from Metro HQ down to Nashville an extra day
early due to the weather forecast. Larry and Gina
welcomed me for the 2-night stay. Gina made a
great dinner, and we all had a few cocktails. I
also got a chance to go with Larry and get my
steps in. We even hooked up with Bob Lopez at the
Opryland Hotel. We had another great dinner
prepared by Gina, and eventually, the morning of
our travel came and we drove the 13 hours to
Florida in the Trax.
We
got down on Saturday evening just before St.
Patrick's Day. Steve greeted us with some
cocktails, and we went out for dinner and some
more drinks, and Steve showed us some of the new
stuff going on in the area.
The
following day was St. Patrick's Day. This was the first
time for SPD in Florida for Steve, Larry, and me. Now,
living in Michigan, we have a rich heritage of Irish bars
in Corktown. The crowds in the Bonita Springs area was
enthusiastic, but left some of the authenticity and
entertainment a little short of Detroit.
Steve, Larry,
and I got our Irish on to the sounds of and Irish
funk band???
The
following day, the other brothers started filtering in,
and for the next couple days, we did a lot of stuff
together. It was great just hanging out, and enjoying the
warmth of the Florida sun and all the activities we were
able to do together.
We
took in a Tiger/Twins game in Fort Myers. We had
great seats right behind the Twins dugout
.
A
few spirited games of bocce followed by some 3-card
poker at the Bonita Poker Room. We also made a
trip to the casino.
.
Plenty
of great places to eat including Steve's awesome
breakfasts, the grouper sandwiches at Docs, ribs
at Rusty's, and the 29 degree drafts at Twin Peaks
.
Duck
pin bowling, and a little ice cream break
.
We
even took in a Florida Everblades hockey game
Eventually,
the morning came to depart. Larry and I loaded the Trax
with Mike in tow. we dropped him off at the Fort Myers
airport, and drove back to Tennessee where Gina once again
made a nice dinner. We were able to spend some time with
Sara, Rob, and the boys before I departed back for home.
Here
is our completed license plate game
(downloadable below
for your next road trip). We
got 43 of the 50. Can you beat it?
.
Thank you
Steve and Kristen for opening your place up to us once
again. It will be another McCarty brother experience I
will always remember and treasure.
