A night on the old town

Morgan House. There's also dining on the wall walk, as well as inside.
Sometimes a band plays in the courtyard,  jamming the entire
space with revelers.

If three's a crowd, no one mentioned it tonight when Stan joined Gayle and Virg for a lovely dinner at the Morgan House in the newly redone downtown historic Ft. Myers. We dined outdoors again, the cool breeze coming off the broad Caloosahatchee River mouth was perfect for a relaxing, chatty evening.
Our waiter, Steve, introduced tonight's lamb and fish specials. We weren't buying. Stan and Virg ordered the Macadamia Nut Crusted Florida Gulf Snapper with coconut jasmine rice, broccolini, mango salsa & coconut rum sauce, excepting Virg didn't want no broccolini and so he got the baby carrots instead, no upcharge for substitutions; Gayle boldly went for the "Wild Chicken." (She doesn't like broccolini either.)

Stan volunteered to tell Gayle anything about Virg that he might not tell her. She didn't take up the offer. They found plenty of other topics, like who are the worst drivers in Ft. Myers, the snowbirds or the permanent residents? The subject had been explored on a recent editorial page. One reader seemed to settle it all. "I've lived here for 10 years. When the snowbirds leave, the driving doesn't get any better."

The downtown area, brimming with history and spruced up original architecture, has been totally reworked, creating quite a stir in the area, and revitalizing the business atmosphere. Here's the web site. 
The re-bricked streets and alleys, the courtyards, the art deco finishes, the many shops and restaurants combined with the port facilities and ocean-going yachts makes for an interesting stroll on a warm, starlit night.
Stan missed his sweetie.
The Edisons and the Fords and the Firestones are well represented. Theaters and shops and restaurants throughout downtown bear the trademarks of these entrepreneurs who wintered here long ago . . . the original snowbirds.

Closed for the season.
View from Virg's
vacation rental.

Tomorrow we'll tee it up and Virg can give Stan a golf lesson. Stan hasn't had his sticks out for five months. A preliminary bucket at the driving range is in order. Should be an interesting exercise, if not a competitive one.
Earlier today they made arrangements to close up a vacation rental Virg maintains. On the way there we stopped at a place called "Heavenly Pizza" and didn't have pizza; went for the soup and salad and were very proud for doing so. But don't worry, Virg has had plenty of pizza there: the waitress knows his favorites.