Going to Fort Myers to Meet a Fellow Sparker 05/26-5/27

I have met some wonderful people that I now consider my friends on my weight loss site, SparkPeople.com. The site is wonderful, but it is wonderful not only because of the features, but because of the people and the message boards. These people truly understand me and the battles I am facing and having to overcome. One of the girls that was one of the first people I really connected with on Spark was accompanying her husband to Fort Myers (about 2 hours away) on a business trip. He does play by play for the internet for all types of sporting events. Unfortunately and fortunately due to some circumstances she had to come with him to be his camera woman. :-) Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have come at all. Well since it was pretty close and we had never been to Fort Myers, I was determined to go meet her. We planned a couple of different days and it worked out to go over Memorial Day.

Monday morning we met at her hotel and our families went to breakfast together. We made healthy choices off the menu and it was really good. Then we headed off to the beach. It was crazy! Way too many people! The kids LOVED the water, even her daughter who had been scared previously. They played so cute together! Marilee and I chatted away out in the Gulf of Mexico. The time flew by! Kevin went to go make the food, but couldn't get the BBQ grill to stay lit because of the wind. So we decided we would eat the salad I had brought and the veggies. And then I felt like a fool! I forgot the plates and silverware!! HELLO, what was I thinking??? Well I probably wasn't (our A/C went out Saturday and it was 92 degrees here, my brain wasn't working on full capacity, all I could think about was the heat!). So we ended up just eating the veggies.

We let the kids play some more and then Marilee and her family had to go so her husband could get to the game that day. Tye was soooooo sad to see his new friend leave. He was so precious. He watched them walk all the way back down the beach and even stood there looking long after they were gone. He kept asking later if he would see them again "tomorrow". His favorite saying! lol We had a great time and hated to see it end and hated that it was so short. It was one of those times when you know you have met a dear friend. I know we will be friends for a long time (and luckily now we aren't just internet buddies we are real life friends!).

Later that evening we went out to eat at a restaurant called Pinchers Crab Shack. The food was excellent! They had the cutest french fries for kids, they were in the shape of a smiley face!! So cute!

The weekend was very fun, but way too short. Somehow I managed to forget to put sunscreen on my forehead. Every other place on my face and body got some, but I totally missed my forehead. So it is toasted! But I can handle that minor inconvenience due to the fact that I got to meet a wonderful person and someone who has become my friend.