One great thing about living in the Dallas Fort Worth area is the easy access to direct flights all around the US. We flew direct  into Fort Myers airport, (this trip is a breeze!) and drove about 45 minutes to Punta Gorda. The hotel recommended Harpoon Harry’s for “linner as my daughter-in-law Heidi would say” lunch/dinner because of the view of the water. You get into Harpoon Harry’s by walking through sort of an indoor/outdoor walking mall filled with tourist shops that carried all sorts of nautical trinkets and beach gear along with an ice cream / popcorn / candy shop (which yes, we did stop at on the way out.)

Tod got a little nervous when we passed by a drop off spot and everyone getting “dropped off” sported a walker or was with someone sporting a walker. He looked at me so serious and said, “I don’t think I’m ready for this lifestyle.” Of course I burst out laughing inappropriately at him and just said, “Come on, lets go to Harpoon Harry’s.”

The view was awesome from the dining deck and we talked about how much fun it would be to ride up in the boat, tie up and come in for lunch. I thought about all that while enjoying the view and the smell of the salty ocean mixed with the smell of food cooking. So far, it was all fun, although a little bit of a challenge to find anything on the menu that didn’t contain meat, cheese, or greasy fried food, but, I made it work and we did have a lot of fun just being on the ocean. The location and view were both great and the ambiance perfect so that made up for the menu. Well, right up until they served my drink in a plastic cup (I hate drinking out of a plastic cup!) I guess you can’t have everything.

I’m not really sure why Tod took a picture of the front of the menu, but, I think maybe it’s because he likes pirates or at least the idea of pirates sailing the seas in search of treasure.

I made Tod go stand near the bar so I could get a picture of the barrel hanging from the ceiling. Notice he is sort of grimacing at me?  Obviously he didn’t want to do it, but, he did humor me. (Tod is a good husband.)

We drove all over Punta Gorda that afternoon / evening and realized we loved the small town harbor side atmosphere of Punta Gorda and the neighboring city of Port Charlotte.   In the early evening there was a band playing in an outside stage at the beach. You had to love it, every Thursday night there is music in the park. The retired band members were between the ages of 65 – 90. They were having a great time playing for everyone. I wish we would have gotten a picture of them to show you but maybe next trip. We REALLY need to be near the water when we retire.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to what will prove to be a grueling day of Condo shopping. I scheduled to see 6 in 2 separate complexes and we ended up seeing about a dozen! Insane because remember, we are really only checking out the area and getting a feel for property values (and right up until I broke my hand, hoping to play in the ocean and maybe a swim with the dolphins!)