Thursday - Weather: high 85 (tied the record high), low 62. Mostly sunny. Wind SSE 12 mph. Almost exactly the same as yesterday.
We went to Lovers Key beach today.  It costs $8 to park, and then you ride a free tram to the beach area.  We set up our umbrella and chairs, but it was tricky in the wind.  We took a long walk on the beach, Linda found some olives (the only seashell she is collecting now), and we saw lots of osprey in their nests, flying around, and eating fish.  Also lots of pelicans diving for fish.  We had a hot dog (Linda) and a hamburger (Bob) for lunch.  There is a small sandwich stand on the beach, and we wondered how the food would be, but it wasn't bad at all.  We sat and read, watched the pelicans, watched the boats, and watched the people.  Came back to the resort about 2:30, and at 3:00 the resort had ice cream around the pool.  We sat with a couple from PA and had a good visit, talked a lot about birds. Watched the sunset, but did not take any pictures this time.
Friday - Weather: high 78, low 57. Rain showers in the morning, mostly cloudy in the afternoon.  Wind SW 11 mph.
Our last full day at Ft. Myers Beach.  We had lunch at Rodes, which is on Bonita Beach Road near the RV resort where we used to stay in our camper van. Linda had fried shrimp with sides of onion rings and cole slaw. Bob had fried oysters with sides of black beans and rice, also cole slaw.  We agreed that this was the best seafood we have had since coming to FL.  Attached to the restaurant is a small market with fresh seafood, including one of my favorite signs on 6 inch long shrimp - big ass shrimp!
After lunch, we went to the Coconut Point mall and walked around looking at the shops.  We stopped at the Apple store to look at the iPad 2, asked about the third model that is rumored to be out soon, and was told they no nothing!  Linda bought some clothes, and then we spent some time at Barnes and Noble, ending with (YES) a Starbucks coffee and a scone.  Next we went to see the movie The Descendants with George Clooney.  It has been getting good reviews and has several Oscar nominations.  We got there several minutes early and were surprised to see the theater almost completely full!  Only the first 3 rows had empty seats, but that's too close to the screen for us, so we split up and sat one row apart.  By the time the movie started, it was full.  The movie was very good, very sad, and Clooney does a really good job, maybe an Oscar for him.  Home for a lite supper.
Saturday - Orlando Weather: high 77, low 53. Mostly sunny. Wind NNW 6 mph.
Packed up and checked out by 9 a.m.  Sad to leave the beach, but the units we stay in at Cypress Palms are much nicer - newer and larger.  On the way out of town, we stopped one last time at Sun Harvest for a free juice sample, coffee and a cinnamon roll.  (No ice cream today, but some people were getting cones at 9:30 in the morning!) Lunch at Bob Evans near Bradenton, checked in at the resort at 2:00 p.m.  Unpacked, went for a short walk, got some free popcorn at the rec center, lite supper in our villa.

Across the street from the resort at Ft. Myers Beach, there is a small pond.

This wood stork was standing there, posing for me.  They were very rare when we first starting coming to FL, but we see them now in various places, always a pond or ditch.

They look ugly on the ground, but are beautiful when flying!  You can see a little of the black wing-edge, and they stick their neck and bill straight out in flight.

AT LOVERS KEY STATE PARK

Fishing in the gulf.  He had no luck, but . . .

... this osprey did pretty well!

There are lots of osprey nests at Lovers Key, and this one is pretty big.

Two osprey in a huge nest!

I actually could see 4 big nests from where I am standing, taking this picture.

BROWN PELICAN SEQUENCE

They are just flying along until they see a fish . . .

... then they dive straight down to catch it . . .

... and the force of the pelican hitting the water stuns the fish, so they can scoop it into their pouch.  They have an extra air bag on their chest so they don't hurt themselves when they hit the water . . .

... Then they tip their head back and swallow the fish, next they sit and rest a bit.

Looking north toward Ft. Myers Beach.  Note the lack of people and all the shells. 

Sometimes there are sand bars that extend out into the gulf.  This was at low tide, so it show up pretty plainly.  Boaters have to be careful coming close to shore.

Looking south toward Naples and Marco Island.





















Tuesday - Weather: high 84, low 60. Mostly sunny.  Wind E 9 mph.  We are approaching the record high for this date, which is 85.  Normal is 75.  Gulf temperature is 68.
This morning, as they do every Tues. morn, the resort had a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes with coffee and juice. It's not free, but we are glad to pay $4 for a really good breakfast.  We sat and talked to new people from Indianapolis and New Jersey.  Late morning, we took a picnic lunch to Lakes Park, which is near where we used to stay in the 5th wheel.  It has great paved walking trails and several lakes, which are like big ponds.  I used to fish there, and it's the only place I ever caught a pompano.  Usually there are lots of birds and sometimes alligators, but there weren't as many as usual today.  Still very nice to walk around and see the scenery. When we left, we went just a couple of miles to Sun Harvest, where once again we had some free juice and an ice cream cone; soft-serve orange and vanilla twist.  It's a good thing we aren't staying close, or my weight would be astronomical!  Late afternoon, we went for a short walk on the beach and watched another beautiful sunset.
Wednesday - Weather: high 84, low 60. Mostly sunny.  Wind SE 12 mph. Almost exactly the same as yesterday.
Easy morning, lunch was hot dogs and baked beans given by the resort around the pool.  For mid-afternoon snack, we walked down to the Fish House restaurant, which is on a major canal next to a huge marina.  We had key lime pie with coffee (Bob) and iced tea (Linda), watched a man wash his boat, and watched the boat traffic.  We took a short walk on the beach and stayed to watch the sunset again.  We were surprised to see three roseate spoonbills in our lagoon!  'Ding' Darling on Sanibel was disappointing this year, because we saw none there - always have before.  Someone told us the lagoon is a bird sanctuary, and we certainly see how it attracts all kinds of birds.  On our way back to our unit, we again saw Delores (Drinan), Becky (Burkhart) & husband Merlin, and our new friends from Chenoa, George & Terri.  We had another good visit, although shorter, and I got a picture of them together.

About 5 minutes walk north, this is where our lagoon gets water from the gulf.  From here north (right in the picture) there is beach where the waves are coming in for about 100 yards before another lagoon begins.  To get to the waves right at our resort, you have to wade across the lagoon, but at low tide it is only ankle deep.

Looks like fun!  If the motor stops, can they glide down to a nice landing?

This is the beginning of the next lagoon north.  In the far distance is the north end of Ft. Myers Beach.

That lady is going to get her hand burnt if she touches the sun!

This is Tues. nights sunset, no clouds.

Almost gone.

Roseate spoonbills in our lagoon.  The one at the right shows the

wooden-spoon-shaped bill.  I think they are really unique and very pretty.

In our lagoon, a great white egret and a great blue heron in close proximity.  Doesn't happen very often.

Ruddy turnstones and sanderlings on a sand bar in our lagoon at sunset.

An old geezer sitting on a bench on the dock in our lagoon, watching the sunset.  In the background, you can see where it is possible to easily wade across to get to the waves on the beach.  Also, another dock that is private, with multiple NO TRESPASSING signs on it.

This is Wed. night's sunset, with a few clouds above.  I know this is a lot of sunset pictures, but these will be the last ones until late March when we are at Destin.  Maybe even some sunrise ones there!  None coming from when we are at Orlando, starting Sat.

Almost down.  Note the egret to the left in the lagoon.

Very bright orange sky tonight.

Four new friends and one old friend!

From the left, George and Terri from Chenoa, Delores (Drinan), Merlin and Becky (Burkhart) from the quad-cities area.  The connections: Delores is formerly from Kinsman, and we've known her for a long time.  She is good friends with Becky from high school days.  Becky is good friends with Terri from the days when they lived in Chenoa.  George and Terri own several weeks here, and we met Terri the first night we came while walking on the beach.  In our conversation, we were surprised to find someone staying in our resort, and also someone from Chenoa!  Small world!























Saturday - Weather: high 80, low 56. Mostly sunny.  Wind S 10 mph.
Today is moving day, but only from unit 210 to unit 207 for our 2nd week at Caribbean Beach Club, so it didn't take too long.  Then we walked down to the strip mall for coffee and a scone.  After lunch, I dropped Linda off at the grocery store, and I went to get the car washed. (finally got rid of all that IL dirt!)  Late afternoon we took a short walk north along the beach.  Beautiful sunset again. 
Sunday - Weather: high 81, low 57. Mostly sunny.  Wind S 6 mph.
Easy morning, then we went to the Miromar Mall in the afternoon, since we are going to Sands for supper at Stonybrook Resort, which is just across the street.  (more about the supper later)  We used to go to this mall when we were staying in the 5th wheel, and we like it partly because it has pretty flowers and several fountains.  Also, it has a Starbucks!!  Of course, we had coffee and a scone.  The Sands are renting a villa next door (literally) to the Ahearns, and they were down here over Thanksgiving, so they decided to have a turkey dinner with all the usual trimmings in January.  Great meal, and great company, inculding the Ahearns, the Haltermans and the Drakes from Grundy County, and several others for a total of 13 people. We enjoyed it a lot, and the Sands say they will make this a yearly tradition.
Monday - Weather: high 83, low 59. Mostly sunny.  Wind SSE 6 mph. Really getting warm now.  Forecast for F.M.Beach is for days just like this until Friday, then still 78, but with 30% chance of rain.
Today we went to Sanibel Island for the day.  We had lunch at the Island Cow restaurant, one of our favorites - it's unique, and has a great menu.  I had 13 oysters-on-the-half-shell with a side of red beans and rice.  Linda had fried shrimp with cole slaw, fries, and hush puppies.  All was very good, and not expensive.  Then we went to 'Ding' Darling Preserve, where you can ride through a large area bordering on the bay and see lots of waterbirds.  This is where we usually see some Roseate Spoonbills, but not this year!  Not near as many birds as normal.  We next rode north to Captiva Island, where there are some beautiful homes, and at the north end we stopped for ice cream at a small shop.  A unique area, lots of neat vegetation, and kind of crowded because it's small - the island is narrow at this end.  Lots of traffic coming home, but we have seen it worse.

AT SANIBEL ISLAND

 A flock of white pelicans.  They winter here, but spend summer mostly in Canada, so we see them in IL when they are migrating.  Brown pelicans stay south.

Same.  They are large, with a 9 ft. wingspan - brown's are 7 ft.  Unlike the brown, they do not dive from on high to catch fish.  We don't see whites on the beaches.

Juvenile yellow-crowned night heron, hiding in the mangroves.  We almost didn't see him.

Same.  Notice the red eye, very thick bill.

Alligator at the edge of the road.

White ibis and two reddish egrets.  The one in the foreground looks headless at first!

White ibis roosting in the mangroves.  Left one looks one-legged and headless!

Another flock of white pelicans, doing some preening.  To get an idea of size, notice the snowy egrets and cormorant with them.  

The Sanibel Island toll bridge from the causeway. 

They were building it when we first came to FL about 2000.

Looking back at Sanibel lighthouse from the causeway.

Looking at Ft. Myers Beach from the causeway.

Zoomed picture from the causeway of the big bridge going from Ft. Myers on the left

to Ft. Myers Beach on the right.

























Thursday - Weather: high 74, low 58. Mostly sunny.  Wind NW 6 mph.
Easy morning, lunch here, and in the afternoon the resort had ice cream around the pool.  After eating a large bowl, we went for a long walk south along the lagoon to the beach, then followed the beach around under the bridge to Lovers Key.  We walked back along the street, and it started to get a little warm in the sun.  After almost two hours of walking, we were ready for a cold drink and a rest!  I can tell a big difference from last year, when a short walk left me exhausted.  Getting a heart valve repaired has given me lots more energy, and I thank God frequently for the skill of Dr. McCarthy.  I wonder if he knows how he changes peoples lives by doing his remarkable surgery.

Friday - Weather: high 80, low 55. Mostly sunny.  Wind SW 11 mph.  Ft. Myers Beach forecast is for 80's for at least the next week, no rain in sight.  Very dry here.  Usually by now, they have 1.3 in. of rain, but so far this year they've had only a trace.
After breakfast, I went for a bike ride for 1.5 hours.  I don't like to ride along the main street, Estero Blvd., but there are only a few residential areas to ride in close by.  The streets go off the Blvd. toward Estero Bay, but then don't branch off much because of all the canals from the bay.  On the gulf side, there are no side streets - just resorts and businesses.  After lunch, we rode over to Coconut Point, the big mall in Estero.  We went to see the movie "Iron Lady".  The movie itself was fair-to-good, but Meryl Streep's acting was outstanding - looks like an Academy Award performance.  We were especially impressed how she moved like an old lady when portraying an elderly Mrs. Thatcher.  After the movie, we went to the big Barnes and Noble bookstore, had coffee and a scone, and looked at books and things.  We each bought a bargain book, and I got an Audubon bird-picture calendar on sale.  Panera Bread was our next stop for a supper consisting of a bowl of soup - trying to hold our weight down!  It was a nice afternoon at a very nice mall.  Lots of stores, but part of it is built like an old downtown, with a narrow street with shops on both sides.

The lagoon ends after walking about 1/2 hour north, and the beach there is very wide.

Parasailing is popular in this area.  Sanibel Island bridge is in the background.

Lots more people on the beach here.

The best I could do getting a dolphin picture.  There was a group of four swimming close to the beach.  We see them frequently.



Part of the beach north of us has some wood on it, which makes it hard to walk the edge.  We finally took off our shoes, rolled up our jeans, and started wading.

Nice view from the dock in our lagoon.

We walked south, all the way under the bridge to Lovers Key, and this is the view on the east side of the bridge, looking north.  See the fishing boat?  Smaller than mine, but inside Estero Bay, the water is usually calm.

In our lagoon, this might be a black-bellied plover.

In our lagoon, an oyster-catcher.  We don't see these very often.  Notice the large, thick, dark orange bill.

In our lagoon, this might be a willet.  Notice all the baby mangroves growing on the edge.



In our lagoon, tri-colored heron hunting for fish.





















Tuesday - Weather: high 79, low 58. Mostly sunny.  Wind SE 13 mph.
It's amazing to me how much the water affects the temperature.  It's 8 a.m., and the temperature inland at Immokalee, and also at Punta Gorda, is 53, but here at the beach it is 58.  Also, it usually is 3 to 5 degrees warmer here than Orlando, but sometimes it's the same.
This morning for breakfast, we went to the rec room where they fixed scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes.  Very good, much more than we usually have for breakfast (but then we had apple, cheese and crackers for lunch).  I was surprised that only about 15 to 20 people were there.  We had a good visit with George, the man who is from Chenoa.  He is friends with Butch Cotter, and also Delores (Drinan), people from my past. He used to drive Rt. 47 a lot and stopped at the Feed Bag frequently.  He and his wife both were teachers, and he was a baseball coach.
After lunch, we took another long walk on the beach (not quite two hours), this time going north from the resort.  On the way back,we took off our shoes and waded in the shallows a little, and then, since it was low tide, waded across a shallow area in the lagoon to get back to the resort.  Bob was not being careful, and slipped in the mud, landing on his bottom!  No damage done, but messy to clean up.  If anyone was watching, I'm sure they had a good laugh! (Are you laughing right now, imagining the sight?)
Wednesday - Weather: high 78, low 60. Mostly sunny.  Wind SW 10 mph.
I went on my first bike ride this morning, for about an hour.  For lunch, the resort had hot dogs, chips, and baked beans around the pool. Then we walked north about 10 minutes to the small strip mall where there is a lady selling fresh produce.  We bought some strawberries, new red potatoes, and bananas.  Next we went to the Ice Cream Cafe for (surprise!) ice cream and coffee.  We walked to a spot near the canal to consume it.  The weather is absolutely perfect!  Later in the afternoon we got a call from Teri (the lady from Chenoa) who said Delores (Drinan) was at pool-side if we wanted to visit.  We went down, had a good visit with Delores, Becky (Burkhart) and her husband Merlin (this is who Delores is staying with), and George and Teri.  Then they invited us to go for supper with them, so we walked back to the strip mall to Sand Bar & Grille where we had pizza.  We really enjoyed talking and found so many things we have in common.

A dead horseshoe crab along the lagoon.

At the far end of our walk south, there is a very wide beach.  This is looking out into the gulf.



From the same spot, looking east to the bridge connecting Ft. Myers Beach to the island of Lovers Key.

From the same spot, looking north along the beach.  The lagoon is behind the green to the right.

 

Looking across the inlet to Lovers Key.  Notice the osprey nest in the tree.  Lots of them around here, nesting in trees and man-made towers.

Someone spent a lot of time making this neat sand sculpture.  In the distant background is Sanibel Island.



Some pretty pink shells Linda picked up on the beach.

Along the walk south, a colorful backyard.  Most don't have this many plants.

Notice the sea oats in the foreground.



Our resort from near the lagoon. It is in the shape of a U, and we are staying in the units at the right side.  The pool is not visible, but you can see the white roof on a covered outdoor eating area which is next to the pool.

The pool and hot tub from the walkway in front of our unit.  The units on the other side are newer, replacing the part that burnt about 10 years ago. The units on our side are ground level, but the new code required the new ones to be 20 ft. above the ground.



Osprey

Reddish egret on the rail of the dock on the lagoon, with his neck scrunched up.  

It's at low tide, so in the background you can see only a little water in the lagoon.

  

Tri-colored heron at the edge of the lagoon.

Lots of rudy turn-stones finding food in the muck at low tide.