Naples, Florida Real Estate with The Manring Team

Dear Family, Friends and Clients,

Happy New Year!!  It is a new year and a fresh start to real estate in ‘08.  We sincerely hope that 2008 will bring you all good health and good fortune. 

For the past three years I have had the pleasure of living on the Estero River off Corkscrew Road.  The Estero River is a scenic preserve lined with mammoth and mossy oak trees, creaking and squeaking bamboo shoots and all the wildlife above and below the water one could hope for.  Invariably you will see ospreys, eagles, herons and a multiple of other wading birds.  In addition is some great fishing, a variety of turtles and the occasional playful river otter.  Each trip brings a new adventure.  It is Old Florida at its best.  Several times a week I get in my trusty kayak and enjoy the tranquility this estuary habitat has to offer.  There is a canoe/kayak retail store along the river on US 41 that you can get a rental if you so choose.  I highly recommend a trip the next time you are in town.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the most important thing¼no alligators!!  They hate brackish water. 

I bring up the Estero River because it has become a fundamental part of my life and because it illustrates a vast contrast in not only my lifestyle but society’s as a whole.  We get so wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of the business world with computers, cell phones, text messaging, etc. that we forget to appreciate the past when things were simpler.  Sliding along the river in a kayak is a snapshot into a time period before industrialization.  It truly must have been what Florida looked like when settlers first came to this wondrous area.

Tyler is fast approaching fatherhood.  Lindsey, Tyler’s wife, is blossoming as she enters her third trimester.  They are both incredibly excited about their first child with the due date set for early May.  You may be thinking to yourself right now, “I wonder if they will have a boy or a girl?”  Well, I wish I could tell you the answer but the couple has decided to wait until birth to find out the sex.  The next big question is have they picked out any names for the little cherub?  They seem to have a slight difference of opinion on this matter, but still have been able to narrow it down to two names for boys and two names for girls.  The suspense of this birth is killing me!!

Eric has been figuring out the art of compromise since his wedding to his beautiful bride Lita back in September.  He is lovingly experiencing the “honey-do” syndrome of newlyweds¼honey do this and honey do that.  Lita has a degree in chemical engineering from a university in Colombia and is currently looking for employment.  Her English has improved immensely since arriving in the States and she will be a welcome addition to any company with her bi-lingual skills and pleasant demeanor.

On the tennis front, Eric and Ty resume their quest for a 4^th straight high school state championship this spring with Barron Collier High School.  It shapes up to be their most difficult season thus far after losing their top three players from last year.  They have a young team that is looking to reload rather than rebuild.  The boys are all looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead.