Doug Brown

When I moved here from Massachusetts in 1995, I remember walking into the Cape Crab and Steakhouse located in the Coralwood Mall. The Crab House, as I called it, was a hangout for local people to have a few drinks and relax after work or on the weekends. The food was great, the prices were right, we had numerous TV's to watch all of the games, and the people were fabulous. I was always able to strike up a conversation with everyone, which worked out well for me because I didn't know anyone from Cape Coral. I can remember the Lobster tank, the small Happy Hour food station, and the two for one drinks. Back in 2004, when Hurricane Charlie was getting ready to land, a bunch of my friends and their families had never experienced a hurricane before, so we prepared our homes and we all hunkered down in the restaurant. It was better to all be together than to be alone.

I don't know for sure when the Crab House officially opened, but after all of these years they have closed. I don't know the exact reasons why, but I can guess it is due to the economy. It is very tough to compete in today's economy, especially when you are going up against the big corporate chains. I will miss the Crab House. I will miss all of the people that I have met over the years at the Crab House.

That's right, almost time for Football season. I have enjoyed watching the Olympics over the last 10 or 12 days, I have been boring myself with baseball, but now I can start getting excited about football. I am a big College fan, and next Thursday evening my college team will kick off their regular season. The Miami Hurricanes have a new home, Dolphin stadium, and it will be interesting to see how the changes will take place. The OLD Girl, the Orange Bowl, has been demolished, so on with the new. This year should be very interesting. The Hurricanes are in rebuild mode so I know not to expect a lot from them yet, but I think the Gators could make a run at it again. The Hurricanes play the Gators in Gainesville on September 6th. I hope the Hurricanes can keep it close and make a game of it. We will see.

I think the NFL starts the following week, so to all of you football fans, good luck with your teams and have a great season.

Existing home sales for April, 2008 compared to April 2007 were up 41% according to an article in the local newspaper on Saturday. To read the full story, please click on the link below.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080524/RE/805240470/1076/HOMESCAPE99

Living in SW Florida causes major concern when it comes to fresh water. In most years, the time frame between January and June causes major concern for fresh water levels. I have seen wells go dry, massive fires, lakes start to dry up, etc.

So each and every year the SouthWest Florida Water Management gets concerned about irrigation of lawns, watering the gardens, washing the car, etc. They have put in placea once a week watering restriction for all of SW Florida and 2 times a week for people in Cape Coral who can use reclaimed water.

Don't get me wrong, the restrictions are good but, this year we have had an abundance of rain compared to most years. Now the talk is to loosen up the resrictions. Wouldnt it make more sense to keep the restictions the same all year round? Lawns do not need a lot of water, 4 to 8 hours per week is sufficient.

Fresh water is critical. Please conserve. Fresh water is precious. Stop playing with the restrictions.

I was doing a little research on MLS today, and the numbers of Sold and Pending Sales in Cape Coral, Fl. is on the rise.

As of today, in the last 60 days, Single Family Homes only, 616 Pending Sales and 469 Sold Homes.

As of today, in the last 30 days, Single Family Homes only, 452 Pending Sales and 270 Sold Homes.

This is great news for Southwest Florida and Cape Coral.