LaBelle Florida

I didn’t get “Hoppin John” made this evening but will tomorrow evening.  If the recipe is any good I will post it.

LaBelle, located in a vast oak hammock on the shores of the Caloosahatchee River, at the intersection of State Roads 29 and 80, 26 miles east of Ft. Myers.

According to Florida history books, Capt. Francis Asbury Hendry named the area in 1896 for his daughters, Laura and Belle.

LaBelle is located in Hendry County, Citrus Capital of Florida.  Since 1986, citrus plantings have more than doubled.  Today Hendry county has more than 15 million citrus trees, more than any other Florida County.
We stayed at Whisper Creek RV Resort.  Internet was poor, cable tv excellent, and the people were very friendly.  It was a great place to hang our hat for a week

We came to Labelle to not only check out the area but also to visit the casino.  In fact we went to the casino before checking in.  We take our $40 and have fun.  Sometimes fun only last 30 minutes but it doesn’t matter.  The goal is to have fun and have lunch.  I got on a slot machine and accidentally hit the “max” button.  Then I hit the jackpot.  It was enough to pay for the week in the park plus a little left over.  It was also enough for me to cash in, find ma, and gloat.  We took the money and went on down the road.  Today our plans were to go grocery shopping and go sight-seeing.  We are hoping to hook up with Sharon and while sending her my itinerary it dawned on me… I had my schedule royally messed up.  This is the last night here in Labelle.    So we took what was left over from my winnings and went back to the casino for the last time.  Our next casino visit will be in Missouri.  Tomorrow we will head south to another State Park and we are looking forward to visiting Mother Nature.

I do not know what caused this shadow.   I was hiking and unsure where I was.  I was thinking “I could be lost for days.”  That is when I saw this on a tree.  I took it as a sign.     It looks like a runner waving his hat in victory.

I finished “The Whistling Season” by Ivan Doig.  A wonderful book about a lost time.  The old country school, the lives of two families…  It all starts with a widower with three boys who places an ad for a housekeeper.  Rose and her brother answers the ad and the story begins.  All of the characters of the book, major and minor, were introduced in such a way that I liked them all.   What I enjoyed was how simple this book was and it was still very enjoyable.  I am now reading “The Master Butchers Singing Club".”  A gift from my daughter and it is so beautifully written that the corpses in cellar had me thoroughly grossed out.  You can visualize balancing act put on by Delphine and her “lover” Cyprian.  So far I am having a hard time putting this one down.  Thank you Hannah.  Grandma loved it and I am as well.

Hannah, I didn’t pick this up.  Armadillos are blessed with a wonderful sense of smell but they are also deaf with horrible eyesight.  Once they figure out that someone is in their personal space they are faster than grease lightning.  Mom and I were watching this armadillo eating his dinner and this man walked over and grabbed him by the tail.  At first I was going to say something but then I noticed that the armadillo was still chewing so I figure it wasn’t to upset being dangled upside down.   The only thing “cute” about this animal is their face, from the neck down they are just butt ugly.  The man gave us more information about the armadillo than we could possibly remember.  They are suppose to be good eating too… I am not going to find out so don’t expect a review on armadillo stew.  Then the man walked down the trail with the armadillo to scare his fiancée.  I don’t see this engagement lasting long.

Life is good.