3 Weeks of Paradise - Where to Begin

So, I'm back from my (almost) 3 week stay in Florida. I did so much and went so many places that I'm writing this little summary first. I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the photos I took, too. I have 13 photo CDs and I lost one entire CD when I inadvertantly erased a memory stick. Don't worry, I'll not publish every one. I think I'll break it down into little outings.

Let me start out by saying this was the best weather I've ever encountered in Florida during January or February. It's not uncommon to have days that don't ever reach 70 if a cold snap comes along. But this trip the temperatures were a delight. Every day was between 74 and 87 degrees. The day it was 87 set a record for the Melbourne Beach area where my parents live. I was not complaining one bit!

I flew into Oralndo Airport on 1/30/08. My sister, who lives in Portland, Oregon, was coming in a few hours after me. The plan was for me to wait and get a car and then head together over to my parent's home south of Melbourne Beach. We planned on going to Miami for an overnight on 2/3 and 2/4 so we could pick up her son at the Miami Airport. He had been in Costa Rica for 6 months with a youth exchange program and was coming home. My sister thought it would be nice for him to get off in Miami so he could see his grandparent's for a few days and decompress before heading back to Portland with her. While in Miami, we visited South Beach for the evening and had a great time - more later.

My husband joined me for a week or so the day my sister left to go back home. Two days after that, a couple that are good friends of ours came to my parent's home for 2 days and then left for Bonita Springs on the other side of Florida for the remainder of the trip. We followed them over there several days later.

I did so much while down there, I needed a rest just before I came home. My parents live on a barrier island with the ocean across A1A. In their back yard is a canal that takes you to the Indian River which is an intercoastal waterway. I was either at the beach or on a boat in the river when I wasn't off at a nature preserve. Ok, I shopped a little too.  ;-)

In the Melbourne Beach/Sebastian Inlet area I visited Pelican Island NWR, Long Point County County Park and an environmental learning center on the Indian River by the Wabasso Bridge. I can't remember the name of it. :-(

I loved the long ride over to the Naples area. Especially between Okechobee and Arcadia on highway 70. There were lots of orange groves  and cattle farms but it was the gnarly pine trees and the live oaks dripping with Spanish moss that kept my attention.  Not a whole lot else going on there. We didn't stop in Arcadia but it looked promising for a slice of "Old Florida".

In Bonita Springs we stayed with our friend's sister and husband in a condo they were renting for the winter. With 3 bedroom and 2 baths, it was perfect but we weren't there much! We spent 2 days there. The first night we arrived we were taken on a little tour of Naples before dinner. Nice but not my cup of tea. We had dinner at  Tin Alley. Basically it is a pier-side grop of restaurants and shops.

The next day we went to Corkscrew Swamp which is a wonderful nature sanctuary with boardwalks all the way through. I'll do a photo essay on that. The same day my girfriend and I split off from the guys and went to Sannibel Island and visited The Ding-Darling Nature Santuary there. It's a one way drive-through loop and you can pull off to the right anytime to get out and take photos or walk around a bit. There were LOTS of birds there. Later that evening  I took the photo of the sunset I posted earlier as I stood beside the causeway.

We spent part of the next day at Lover's Key State Park. I loved shelling there! Put me on a beach with shells and pick me up many hours later and I'll be a happy camper. It really is a nice get away close to the busy area of Bonita Springs/Fort Myers.

Our friends had an early evening flight back so we left the area to return to my parent's for the last couple of days before we headed back to Michigan. I needed this time to rest up. So, I enjoyed reading and writing and one last walk on the beach when the shadows were long.

I had a great time on vacation but for the first time ever, by February 17, I was ready to come home.