Tropical Getaway

Now you'll know why my garden blog has been a bit quiet. I've been off on a beach vacation to Sanibel Island, a lovely, quiet little place off the coast of SW Florida. See?

 Sanibel is known for its shells, and for good reason. You will often see people bent over searching for special shells, and that posture is called The Sanibel Stoop. I did it often.

There were also lots and lots of birds. The beach was always full of them! But they were not bothersome at all. I found them entertaining instead.

 Sanibel sunsets are so beautiful. I only missed one, and that's because it was raining that night.  If only the no-see-ums didn't come out to chomp on me every night at sunset! For a tiny little bug, they sure have a great big bite.

 They even have a lighthouse on Sanibel, but it sure isn't like any Lake Michigan lighthouse that I'm used to.

 Near the lighthouse, you could see a view of Fort Myers Beach and the causeway over to the island. We joked around a lot about having to pay six dollars just to cross this bridge, but I have to admit that the views were incredible. We discovered that you don't have to pay the fee to get off the island, but we still felt a little "trapped" there because we didn't want to pay every time we left. So we just stayed put.

Most restaurants are seafood based, of course. We always expect to enjoy endless grouper while in Florida. Gramma Dots was a place recommended to us as a great place for seafood, and we sure did enjoy it. The setting by a marina really had a lot to do with that. And yes, there is a giant piece of lint in my lens! It ruined so many of my pictures that I finally gave up. I'll take it to the shop tomorrow, I promise.

Many said that The Bubble Room was a place we had to see to believe. It really was a kooky, crazy spot as you can see.

We also found a charming little church, called Chapel by the Sea, with an old cemetery nearby. I love old cemeteries like this, with interesting old graves. Here, most graves are decorated by shells, especially the unique shells that are so hard to find. I guess no one dares to remove these shells from a grave. We sure smiled over the grave decorated with beer cans!

One of the best parts of our trip was the resort where we stayed, in which every room had an ocean view like this. There's nothing like waking up every morning to see this.

 But best of all, to me, is the beach. Just a few steps is all it takes to be on the beach, and trust me, I was there every day. I've always been drawn to beaches, and it feeds my soul just to be there.

 We had an early flight out, so I took one last walk down the beach and found this sunrise to greet me. Goodbye Sanibel, you are a beautiful spot. Hope to see you again someday!