Summer Sanibel Sojourn: Sand, Shells, Sun & Sparklers - Update 7/5 About This Page:

[iamgrumpy]

So today was our last day and we were up early by about 7:30am. We finished up our packing, and had everything by the door so that after breakfast we could come back up with a luggage cart to load up and leave.

We headed downstairs, stopped at the front desk and paid our bill, got our refund for the tolls to Sanibel, and got our paid in full paperwork. We then headed into the breakfast room, I had a bowl of cereal, a bagel, a strawberry yogurt (they only had strawberry/banana all week, i'm allergic to banana's so today was the first time all week I could have the yogurt ) and some orange juice. Then decided to have a waffle as well since its not often we have waffles. I was STUFFED!! Mom had a bagel, an egg, some cereal, and coffee. We agreed it was a great value having this kind of breakfast this week saved us a ton of money!

We went to grab a luggage cart and none were there, we waited 2 hours as we had so much to carry out we were trying to avoid carrying it all ourselves. The housekeeping staff even went to all the rooms that had checked out but it wasn't to be found. So we brought down the big suitcases, and then I went back up and loaded up all the small bags like a pack mule would and hauled the rest down myself. Of Course when mom went back in to make sure I got everything, there was a luggage cart outside one of the rooms on the same floor and this guy sees her and says "oh we are done with this if you need it" she was furious she asked "when did you pick that up" he goes "last night when we checked in, we just didn't feel like bringing it downstairs late like that" she let him have it about how we had waited 2 hours (by now it was almost 10:45am) for one and how his laziness was just RUDE" well she made one last sweep of the room and came downstairs before she really let him have it (she is Italian, and isn't afraid to tell someone where to go if need be but tries to be the pacifier in most situations so if she is that mad WATCH OUT )

We loaded up the car, we almost had to leave the newly purchased beach chair there but managed to squeeze it into the car. Whew! Mom drove since the deal was I drove all the way there, and she would drive all the way home. I like that agreement.

I took photos along the way, texted with Dyan, I even Called Dyan from the road but not too long since we didn't know how long i'd have a signal once we hit the backwoods of Florida.

Here are some shots from Fort Myers!

Getting Gas


The RV park that is close to Fort Myers Beach


A Self Portrait of my Scarf, and Sunglasses don't I look so Fancy


A self shot of both of us, well going 65 mph and trying to do this without the camera flying out I'd say not bad...


For those who live in MN or who are fans of the Twins we drove past their Spring Training Stadium...










I even made mom turn around so I could get these shots because we drove by it too fast the first time to get anything

Once we got a few shots we made another U turn and continued on our way and I had to laugh when we saw this Road's name...


We did pass a Harley Davidson shop which looked huge...If i wasn't such a wimp I'd learn to ride a Harley.


We continued on our way but the rest was just cows, and more cows, and more well cows, since it was Beef Country and they had a lot of cattle being raised. I really could live my life never seeing more cows again. They are cute but enough is enough really.

Once we got closer to Orlando, we saw signs for areas that we knew...



Then we hit the Florida's Natural Factory again...




Mom had floor foot frannie's lead foot today so I didn't get great shots but you get the point, right? Florida...oranges..factory..cool things to take photos of but can't because the person driving refuses to SLOW DOWN See Kenny she got her revenge for the whole PUTT PUTT thing

The beginning of the Orange Groves..


The middle of the Orange Groves


A couple of miles of that... so I had plenty of opportunities to get shots unlike the whole factory part

Some random store had their grand opening and well this was their advertisement..


As we got closer to Orlando, the skies were darkening...it was time for those afternoon storms


We are getting closer to home...


since we are about 5 miles from Disney means we are less then 10 miles away from home

We do pass Celebration...




Well with this toll booth, we are almost home and that means vacation is almost to an end. The end will be when we turned the car rental in monday morning. But this means we are back to reality instead of vacation.



We got home, unloaded the car, and while I crashed into bed for a 2 hour nap, mom went grocery shopping. We turned the car in by 9am this morning (monday 7/6/2009) and with this the Trip is over and so sadly so is my Trip Report. I'll do a final comments post in the next post!

For the rest of today's photos please see my smugmug account: Click Here

Today we...Checked out of the hotel, and drove home
The Result was ...Very sad as vacation is over but glad to be home. It was fun but a long trip.
The Best thing today was...Realizng what a great time we had.
The Worst thing was... the long drive, and realizing that vacation was over.
A Magical Moment...randomly finding the baseball stadium and acting like two kids trying to catch photos of it so we could include it in my trip report and not caring about the fact we don't support the team

Up next... final thoughts

[iamgrumpy]

Final Thoughts

The Drive... Well the way we went was the fastest way it was 1 hour shorter then taking the highway all the way home. But the country driving is tedious so wouldn't want to go this way if we were the least bit tired. We did have a great time, road trips are fun but we are more suited for the highway. We think next time we will fly down, rent a car and pack less.

The Hotel...We liked it a lot, the price was awesome for the value and the extras they give you such as the Continental PLUS breakfast. The package we had was great as it included a toll for each day we were there if we wanted to go to Sanibel. The room was very spacious but the beds were very firm so if you don't like firm mattresses this is not the hotel for you. The staff was very nice, and took great care of us. While the power did go out it wasn't their fault but they did make sure we were comfortable.

The Activites...Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva etc is a very relaxing area, there are some activites such as Mini Golf/Putt Putt, but mostly beach, or nature activies such as hiking, biking, and fishing. There was a lot of shelling on Sanibel which was nice but if your not into doing a lot of nature things, or get bored at the beach then I'd say a week is too long for you. We would have been happy staying for 5 days and not the full week here but are glad we did as we had fun. If you do enjoy beach vacations with outdoor activities then you would be fine with a week.

Dining... We loved the Island Cow on Sanibel, The Bubble Room on Captiva, and Schnapper's Hots on Sanibel a lot. There are plenty of chain restaurants in Fort Myers, our favorite being Red Robin. But you certainly won't go hungry. Don't be afraid to try something new, or off the beaten path as there are a ton of places to choose from.

Overall, the vaction was awesome very relaxing and a lot of fun. We found a lot of neat areas to explore, restaurants to try and we will be back but not right away we have plenty of places to try next!

So my friends... Now its time to say goodbye to all my loyal readers... See ya Real Soon!

I hope you enjoyed my Trip Report, doing it Live made it a lot of fun as I couldn't wait to share my day's adventure with ya'll plus you didn't have to wait months for me to finish it

[Wendyismyname]

What a great treat to be able to read whole TR while the person is still on vacation!! Gotta love the free wi-fi!! Great job Amy!

[duck addict]

Glad you had a wonderful time

How can you dislike all those cows and orange orchards Red robin burger, prime rib, OJ every morning

[iamgrumpy]

Originally Posted by duck addict

Glad you had a wonderful time

How can you dislike all those cows and orange orchards Red robin burger, prime rib, OJ every morning

I like them I just don't wan to SEE them there is a difference LOL.

[Kenny]

OK... now, cows are fine and I live just across the road from a herd of them... but... CUTE??!! COWS???!! must be a female thing cuz my DW sees "cute" in the ugliest of things, too!!

I don't believe they were that rude to lock that luggage cart in their room overnight... wait a sec... yes, I do believe it!

I'm very sorry this is over. It's been fun to catch up on "The Adventures of Amy and Angela" (AKA: Thema & Louise) every day. Thanks for sharing someplace I never knew of... keep this up and I will know a lot about a lot of places!!

[mcc0313]

What a great wrap up Amy - sounds like a wonderfully relaxing vacation (even with the rain). Glad that you had a nice stay at the hotel and you had some great places to eat (I just love the theming of the Bubble Room). Thanks so much for sharing....

[lauren-roxy]

Great trip report Amy and thanks for sharing!!! You and your mom always seem to have the most wonderful time!! Loved all your photos!!

[DrDolphin]

Great report Amy!!

[lauriep]

Sorry it's over, Amy! Sounds like a great trip, though, and I loved all the photos. I feel for you with the bug bites. Sometimes I think an itch is worse than a pain--you can't stop thinking about it!

[Colexis Mom]

Great finish Amy! I'm glad you and your Mom had a great vacation!!

[sophierushmom]

Had a blast reading your report. I am glad that you and yoru mom had a great trip and can not wait to hear more about the adventures you and yoru mom share in the future. Enjoy the rest of your summer!!!

[chezp]

Great finish Amy! And yes Kenny, cows are most definitely cute - have you ever seen their eyes? Too sweet...

[magic mickey]

Great TR, Amy! Glad you and mom had a good time. I loved the pictures and I can't wait to see what kind of trip you are planning next.

[goofysdtr]

Great report, Amy! My grandparents were snow-birds that spent the winters in Ft. Myers. I've been down in that area a few times. It really is a great place!