Sanibel Sunset

My alarm went off at 3:25am this morning. Normally I'd have a hard time getting out of bed with only 4.5 hours of sleep, but today it wasn't so difficult. At 6:10am I was on a flight to Fort Myers, FL with my sister-in-law, Liz, for our (sort-of) annual trip to Sanibel Island. Our flights were smooth, we scored two seats in the 3rd row on our Southwest flight and didn't have to change planes during our layover in Atlanta. Because of the cold temps in Minnesota, there is a 100 degree "feels like" temperature difference between Sanibel and home (feels like -30 degrees at home, 70+ degrees in FL).

When we landed, Liz waited for our luggage and I went to get our rental car. A random man and I approached the door at the same time, he put out his arm like a gentleman and said, "Let me get the door for you." I thanked him and we laughed about the fact that it was an automatic door. He looked familiar and I told him so, he said that I, too, looked familiar, we both said our names and it hit me how I knew him. "We're neighbors!" I exclaimed. It was Rich from our neighborhood. He's in FL visiting his step-mom. Another small world story for my book.

From the airport, we headed for Sanibel with a quick stop for lunch at Gater Bites and snacks at the grocery store next door. We were a little apprehensive about our hotel/condo, but it turned out to be a great little place! It's just down the street from our favorite ice cream shop where we visited later this evening (the mint chocoloate chip was delish!). We dropped off our luggage in our condo, put on our swimsuits and headed for the beach. The temperature was warm, not a lot of wind; perfect napping conditions.

                                                   

From there we drove to Tarpon Bay to wach our first sunset of the trip. Does it get any better than this?

                                                   

I don't feel cold. Which is rare for me, but I'll take it.

Grateful for the opportunity to travel to Sanibel with Liz,
Jill