Florida: Sun, Sand & Surf

Saturday, May 19, 2007--We arrived last night in sunny, warm Fort Myers, Fla., for a few days of R&R and visit with Doug and Matt. Our object today was to go to the beach, so Doug drove us to Sanibel Island, home of one of the largest and nicest public beaches in the area. On the way, I took a photo of the Sea Grape in bloom. We saw these beach-erosion controlling plants when we were here in December. The fragrance is very sweet, almost over powering.

It's a short hike from the parking lot to the beach itself. Doug and Matt have decided they need a beach cart for future outings, but since they didn't have one, we each shouldered a bag chair as well as dividing up the cooler, umbrella, and other gear. The sky was a fabulous blue and the sand was blindingly white. It was warm, not too hot, with a stiff breeze blowing that kept us cool, although it would later demolish our little beach umbrella.

Here the umbrella is on its last ribs, alas. At this point we had been in the sun for about two hours. We ate sandwiches from home and had plenty of cool drinks. Norm and I strolled along the beach in the surf, which was cold at first wave but felt better and better as the sun warmed up. We collected a few shells, since Sanibel beaches are famous for them, but we tried to leave most of them behind. We left about 2 p.m. but a lot of people were just arriving. We came home, took naps, and later Doug cooked delicious salmon steaks and then we played rummy until bedtime. Doug won.