So we had been looking forward to this day for a year. As a refresher, I met Nicki here on the DIS. We became email/DIS/FB buddies and we met last year when we first went to Marco Island. Unfortunately, we only had time to see her once because she had to fly to Boston for a family funeral. Then in April, Mark was in Florida on business, and he met Nicki and Todd for dinner one night. In the meantime, Nicki and I talked each day and just became closer and closer friends and couldn't wait to spend some quality time together.
So I was up at 7 a.m. and in the shower, dressed and woke Mark up to get in the shower. While he was showering, I sat out on the porch/balcony to watch for dolphins. Here are a few pics of the condo and our view:
Mark got out of the shower and dressed and we drove here to meet Nicki:
I ordered my two cappucinos and Mark ordered a coffee and a danish. Now, Mark does NOT drink Starbucks coffee at home because he feels it tastes like soap or perfume; he's a Dunkin Donuts coffee man
. But there are no Dunkin Donuts where we were and he said he would suffer (he actually said the coffee at this Starbucks wasn't quite so bad). We grabbed a table and waited for Nicki to show up. We were early...do you think I was anxious to see her?????
And then we "heard" the sports car and knew that she had arrived. Hugs and kisses were given out and Nicki went inside to get her coffee before she came to join our table.
Here are a few pictures from last year's first meeting because I forgot to bring the camera the first morning (no worries...I have pictures from dinner with her and Todd on two nights and our final day together):
We sat and talked for over an hour before Nicki had to go to work. I am telling you that it is like I found my "long lost sister." I have two brothers and no sisters and always wish I had one. Well, I do now! Nicki and I just hit it off immediately last year and it continued, over all the miles, to this visit. We just have such a good time together...we laugh, we cry, we worry, we cheer, etc. Our family life from when we were younger is similar (sibling problems, parent problems, etc). I just love her so much and am so glad that the DIS brought her into our lives.
Nicki went to work and Mark and I went back to the condo. This was my "laundry" day because we had packed lightly so to keep down on luggage charges on the plane. Mark got ready for the pool and went down there while I started the laundry. He came back up around 1 or so to make us sandwiches and we sat outside on the patio and ate our lunch and watched for dolphins. We saw a couple in the distance but it is almost impossible to get pictures of the dolphins. Mark went back to the pool after lunch and I continued to do laundry and I also got caught up on the DIS, office email, etc.
After Mark came upstairs, he took a shower and we got ready to go to dinner. One of our favorite places on Marco Island is the Sand Bar. It is a sports bar with really, really good food and reasonable prices.
We had mozzarella sticks for an appy:
Mark had Tilapia:
And I had Fried Shrimp:
It was all very yummy.
After dinner, we stopped at one of the many souvenir stores and did a little shopping. Along the way, I got a picture of these guys. They are around here and there. But when it rains, they come in bunches and make really loud noises:
We stopped at 7-Eleven after dinner and souvenir shopping because Mark needed gas in the car. I went and paid for the gas and decided to buy two $5 scratch tickets. We've won a couple times -- $100 or $200 (my dad used to win $1000 twice a year sometimes) and I thought we'd give it a shot in Florida. I scratched my ticket and it was a loser. Mark scratched his when he got back in the car after filling up the tank. He kept looking at it while he was scratching and I said to him, "a loser?" He said, "no, I think I just won $500." I couldn't believe it. Wouldn't that be a nice thing for vacation...we could spend a little extra and enjoy ourselves even more. So I looked at the ticket and sure enough he won $500. The gal working in the 7-Eleven didn't look too bright so I suggested we wait and cash it in the next day (you can cash $600 and less where you purchased it, otherwise you have to go to a district office). So he got his seat belt on, turned on the car and I said, "let me look at that ticket again." I just couldn't believe it; plus Grumpy tends to not scratch the entire ticket and I just wanted to doublecheck it one more time. Well, NOT to my surprise, he had forgotten to scratch the last two numbers in all of his excitement. And he had won $1000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We couldn't get over it. It was surreal. I immediately called Nicki and told her that dinner was on us the next night. We had planned on buying dinner anyway because they had bought dinner when Mark was there in April (although he could have gotten reimbursed by his work). Nicki started arguing with me on the phone and said, "no you are not; let's not start that again." And I said, "yes we are." Nicki, "no you are not." Mark is yelling in the background that we are. I finally said to Nic, "we just won $1000 and we are buying dinner...I don't want to hear another word." Well, it didn't actually keep her speechless, but she was whooping and yelling and saying it couldn't happen to two nicer people.
So our first full day on Marco Island was a thrilling one to say the least. I got to see my best friend and we won $1000.
We took a walk on the dock and then went upstairs to watch a little television and relax.
Up next, what do we do on our second full day on Marco Island when it is cloudy and raining off and on?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NICKY! 
Sounds like you found the perfect family to give it to!
Everyone I teach with knows not to be alarmed and even my students are used to me tearing up at awards ceremonies and things like that. I was always kind of bad, but it got a lot worse when I got pregnant and that (and some baby weight) have not gone away!
