Gule Gule (Farewell in Turkish) to Sanibel Island

7:25 AM

7:35 AM

Linda and Rich

We got up early, just before 5:00, so we could be on our way by 6:00, missing the rush hour here in Ft. Myers, getting to Tampa hopefully after the rush hour on #95.

Yesterday morning was cold and windy, not much of a beach day, just 57º so we drove off to the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel, an amazing birding spot.  It's a four mile stretch of one way road called Wildlife Drive, with areas to stop and park and either hike or just take pictures of the birds. There are also trails just for bikes or hikers as well.  We spent about an hour driving through it, stopping mostly at wide open water ways, where hundreds of birds would congregate.  The most obvious were Great Egrets, Double Crested Cormorants, White Ibis, and White Pelicans, quite different from the Brown Pelicans we see on the Gulf.  We also saw from a distance a Roseate Spoonbill but could not get a good picture of it.  We drove mostly on the Gulf Drive, staying off of Periwinkle Way, the busiest street.  Along the Gulf Drive, we passed one condominium or resort after another, as they go on mile after mile, with some homes or residential neighborhoods on the other side of the street.   On the way back, we stopped Bailey's, another grocery store, to pick up some sandwich and chips for our ride north tomorrow.

Great Egrets Hanging Out At Ding Darling

Great Egret

Great Egrets and A White Ibis

White Pelicans and Double Crested Cormorant In Back

We were home by 11:30, decided to relax, do some packing, hoping that the winds would calm down some in the afternoon so we could enjoy the beach.  At noon,  there were only a few chairs on the beach, a few people walking it.  So we had an early retro lunch for us, at 12:30, of fried bologna sandwiches on toast, chips, and a beer.  A good way to begin the afternoon.

Sanibel Beach, Late Afternoon Fun

Around 2:00 we went down to the beach, and Evie and I decided to take a long walk, down to the Lighthouse and back.  It was windy going but not too bad coming back.  We walked quite a ways beyond the Lighthouse until we had to climb over some walls and decided to turn around.   We were gone probably about two hours, then read on the beach until 5:30, when we went up to get clean up because we were going out for dinner on our final night.

Beach Ladies Enjoying A Glass Of  Wine

Dinner with Holzheimer's and Murphy's

Our Kind Of Bar and Restaurant

Linda and Rich invited their good friends, Jill and Murph, over for drinks and appetizers, then dinner at the Lazy Flamingo.  We enjoyed talking with them, as Jill is a real character, really fun to be with. We did not leave for the restaurant until 8:00, and because Jill knew just about everyone in The Lazy Flamingo, we got a table almost immediately.   We loved the atmosphere,  not fancy but busy, lots of people enjoying themselves and the food, no pretension, just good food and service.  We laughed and laughed as Jill told story after story, talked with all the waitresses, as we enjoyed our meals.  We didn't leave until 9:30, bid the Murphy's farewell as we were leaving the next day.  They have been offered a condo on Marathon, in the Keys for a week, and tried to convince both Linda and Rich and us to come down and spend the week with them.  I wish we were a bit more footloose and fancy free.  But we miss our children and grandchildren, so we will head north tomorrow.

This ends a great week in Florida, thanks to the wonderful hospitality of my sister Linda and her husband Rich.  We both enjoy the same things, walking the beach, swimming, reading in the sun, and good food and drink. We cannot thank them enough.