10/7/2011 8:23:48 PM
FORT MYERS, Fla. - There is a part of me that is somewhat disppointed that I've missed some excellent fall weather at my home in Eastern Iowa. The reports I've received are that this has been a terrific fall back home, with moderate temperatures, clear blue skies and the fall colors coming in without a flaw.
My travels to Florida, Arizona, Texas and back to Florida again have exposed me to nothing but an extended summer. And as much I love a Midwestern autumn, I couldn't have asked for anything better.
Sure, it was very hot in mid-September here in SW Florida and Phoenix - with six straight days in triple-digits - was tough to take. But Austin was beautiful and the return trip here to Fort Myers has been nothing short of lovely.
I just finished up some prep work for my day's game-plan on Saturday, and wandered down to the main floor of my hotel. I walked out to the pool area, where a decidedly angry wind had seemed to have picked up, but it couldn't have been any more pleasant. A middle-aged couple walked by me and the fellow said something along the lines of "It reallly doesn't get any better than this." I couldn't disagree.
Sure, I sensed a storm was moving in, and the last thing we need at the PG WWBA Underclass World Championship are storms and rain showers on Saturday and Sunday, but it sure made for a terrific evening, at 10 p.m., anyhow. The potted palms swayed somewhat violently in the wind and a black snake of some unknown species (at least to me) slithered across the pool deck, but the whole scene was nothing to complain about.
The weekend is just starting. I'm looking forward to returning home for the first time in a month next Tuesday, but right now there is nowhere else I'd rather be.
I should add that I didn't get to see any of the D-Backs-Brewers game but am watching the Cards-Phillies with great interest. Are both the Yanks and Phillies about to be history? I hate it when the great ones fall.