Rotonda, FL…The Circle City Visit

(A quick note...We have been in the Everglades National Park without WiFi for a few days~sorry for the delay in posting the blog)
Leaving Mac Dill AFB for the last time in this part of or journey, I was looking for a Wall-Mart to buy a new battery. I had a store locator with a store in Brandon. I found an Auto Parts Store that was open. I knew they could check the battery to make sure that this was the problem. It was. Soon the new Marine battery was installed and we felt much better with the new power source.

Left to Right Me, Helen, Pam and Rod

South on I-75, headed toward Rotonda for a visit with fellow “Berlinites” Rod and Pam Legendre. Racing down I-75, we were in Rod’s driveway in early afternoon. Rod and Pam gave us a tour of their winter getaway. It was impressive with the pool and the spacious rooms. Rotonda is a very large circular housing development in the shape of a wagon wheel. The spokes would be the access streets with the two outer circles being the main access to the area.
Rod and Pam took us to Gasparilla Island to a lighthouse/museum. The ride to the Island was also of great interest with plentiful bike paths, mansions of every kind, again with the superb flowering landscapes. The day was windy and cool, but we could see that this is a wonderful spot in Florida.
Rod and Pam offered us a stay over, but we wanted to contact Rosemary Verrill, who is the daughter of my mother’s cousin Mary Lane. She (Mary) lives in Lincoln, ME. She will be celebrating her 100th birthday on the 6th of this month. We had been invited to a special birthday in Lincoln, but obviously we are in Port Charlotte. Rosemary lives here in Port Charlotte. Unfortunately we missed her as she was flying up to Maine.
Now, we had to find a place for the night. A sign said campground this exit. We couldn’t find it and stopped at a Home Depot and asked the store manager if we could park for the night. “Sure, but the store assumes no liabilities. I would end this blog right here except for an 11pm item! "Knock, Knock, Police Open Up!” They ran my license plate and the officer said it came back to a Lincoln Continental. I said in NH this number could be on as many as four or five vehicles. I have National Guard plates, it could also be POW, Veteran or even just ordinary NH plate number. He then tells me that there is an ordinance that bars overnight parking. I replied that I had asked the store manager and been given permission. He said I did the right thing and this was in fact private property. We finished the night without further incident.
That is what we saw and did!