Hello Coffee, Hi Bonita Springs

Day 19: Today was the day we would catch up with our friend Bob! He has been patiently waiting for us to make our way down the coast of Florida to see him in Bonita Springs. We haven’t seen each other for a few years since he said ‘see ya’ to MN and it happens to be a perfect time for us to catch up!

We woke in Venice, FL at Cracker Barrel and started out on the road right away. The plan was to stop at Fort Meyer’s Beach, walk around, and then head south to find a coffee place.

When we pulled into the downtown beach access locations, it was under construction and there were cars everywhere. I guess Good Friday may have allowed more people to be out and about, but this was crazy. It was only 9 a.m. and traffic was terrible in the small, cramped ‘beach town’ space.

We finally found a parking lot, parked and discussed if it was even worth visiting right now (we were a little flustered and the current vibe of the space wasn’t jiving with the peacefulness we just experienced in Siesta Keys).

A voice like Rocky Balboa leaned down into Chad’s driver window to let us know the spot was $10. With arms comfortably resting on the window frame and head eye level with us, he exclaimed in typical Rocky Balboa speech that he really liked the car desk. Thanks! And, we won’t be staying…. Sorry, not this trip!

We left Fort Myers behind, traveled the coast across a few large bridges and rolled into Bonita Springs. So much better! The atmosphere was a lot more calming, the pace seemed slower and I found a little coffee shop to help destress us both.

Once parked, we cleaned the car, packed away our stray items, straightened ourselves and set the intension to have a restful morning after the hype of Fort Myers.

I randomly selected a local coffee shop named Hello Coffee off the map and it turned out to be the hang out for our local friends. I set up for the blog while Chad ordered some yummies. There were a few locals inside; two were intently playing a game of Chess. We ended up trying their breakfast burrito (large and fresh) as well as the spinach-feta quiche (the crust was on-point and the flavors were so rich). Both good! But, the quiche was the winner and it was scarfed down quickly.

While I blogged away, Chad reviewed a few articles as rain started to pour outside.  Time flew by and before I knew it, our friend Bob arrived (flash rain now over)!  We chatted for a bit catching up and then his lady friend Bridget came for a visit too.  Brigid also brought along her tall drink of water Golden Poodle Adian, who stole everyone’s hearts.  The duo had to return back to the office and we bid them farewell. 

Bob, Chad and I toured through a dealership of exotic cars. I don’t keep up with the varieties, but Chad and Bob investigated the different models thoroughly (that’s what she said). But, they did have a Back to the Future car…. a DeLorean…. Which was pretty cool!

Bob and Bridgett were super wonderful and let Chad and I take a pit stop in civilization to clean up. We did some laundry, took showers and chatted with Bob for most of the afternoon. It was great to catch up, relax with good conversation and expand our minds. Right as we were able to pack up for dinner, the rains came pouring down in sheets and if we stepped outside we would have instantly been soaked.

We made it to the restaurant without taking another shower! It’s apparently common for rain and thunder to happen every day, then turn into bright blue skies.

For dinner, the three of us dived into some Mexican yummies. Bob and I had the quesadilla and Chad ordered the steak fajita with bell peppers. Now having been in the heat and humidity, the restaurant AC was WAY too cold.

The meal ended and it was time to say farewell to our friend. Bob also wrote up another whole list of things to see while we head down towards the Keys. Thanks so much for your time and suggestions! It was really great seeing you again 😊

Chad and I made our way out of town and onto highway 42 which would take us through the Everglades. 7 p.m., the sun was going down and the nature scenes looked like something out of Jumanji or Jurassic Park. As the sun set, the rain resumed its pelting. The sky continued to light up with massive cracks of lightning and we enjoyed the show.

Driver Chad reported, “not sure if I ran over a snake or a tree branch…but whatever it was, it’s dead now.”

The rain really started coming down towards the end of the park and the lightning lit the sky constantly. When we pulled into the next largest town, the rain pounded even harder. Thank goodness for RainX! We skipped through town, dodged branches in the streets and cleared our way towards Cracker Barrel located in the very south part of Miami.

After an eventful day of cleaning and everything water related, we finally felt fresh and rejuvenated. Night night!