We took an unexpected trip to Florida this past week. We have some friends from the northeast who have a winter place there and, having enjoyed our time there several years ago, we decided on a return trip. Our destination was Sanibel Island off the gulf coast by Fort Myers, one of many retirement communities in Florida. The island’s primary coastal orientation is east-west which is advantageous for tidal sea shelling. It also has a system of paved bicycle paths throughout the island making for great outdoor gallivanting for winter visitors. Local vehicles were very respectful of our wobbly peddling and Paul only dumped me off my bike once. It was unseasonably hot and humid this trip but we nevertheless enjoyed our fun in the sun.
A new experience was taking a fast boat to Key West which is the southernmost city in the continental US. The 4 hour boat ride leaves from Fort Meyers at 8:00 am and returns at 9:30 pm every day. We chose to stay overnight to extend our time there. The only other way to get there is to drive from Miami which is 140 miles north of Key West and requires crossing 42 bridges and numerous keys (islands). I am sure if you have enough time and can get yourself into a Jimmy Buffet mode, a road trip would be great fun but we weren’t up for that this year.
Key West is what you would expect from a tropical island popular with winter tourists; lots of restaurants, bars, shops and beach/water activities. It does have some interesting history; we toured the Hemingway House and The Little White House, both with interesting stories to tell. We took the Conch Train around the island allowing us to view the island architecture and vegetation; think Savannah and New Orleans. Southern Florida has a rich history of immigration and trade with Cuba which was also interesting to learn about.
We also visited the Edison-Ford Winter Estates & Museum in Fort Meyers which was packed full of the lives and discoveries of these two brilliant inventors and entrepreneurs of the early 20th Century. Having the time to visit such sites and learn about history is one thing I really like about my life in retirement.
Another first for me was attending a Dinner Show with our hosts. These establishments are large restaurant venues in popular tourist areas that cater to retirees. They have center stages with performances either during/after dinner. Our entertainment was a tribute to Neil Diamond which was very popular with the crowd. I loved singing along with these tried and true songs; only wish I could have gotten Paul to dance with me.
We ate lots of seafood and sampled key lime pie in various establishments. Brought some sea shells home for future crafting projects and while meandering through an art fair found a colorful hand crafted wood and metal fish for the lake house. All in all, it was a great trip and I think I like being a snowbird now and then. Now, it’s back to winter here in Flagstaff. Hope you all can find time for the same kind of winter respite in warmer climes.