Our 27th Anniversary get away. Dec 2008

Mike and I ventured down to South Florida for a celebration of our 27 years together. We had a BLAST!!! We wanted to leave early Wed morning but we actually didn't drive out of town until about 10:00 am. We drove straight down to Venice Beach the fun began. We discovered Venice about 5 or 6 years ago. It is the shark tooth capital of the world. We thought we would stop and pick up some more teeth before heading down to Ft. Myers. The weather was perfect and the company heavenly! We stopped at a beach store and picked up 2 sand scoops. We learned about these way to late last time we ventured down there. We stopped at Firehouse Subs and grabbed a bite to eat. We drove to our favorite beach, Manasota Beach. We ventured out to hear the crashing of waves and we knew our perfect vacation had begun. We walked down the beach looking for small black objects(we always hope we will find the one big tooth everyone else has missed). This isn't always so easy since there are a lot of small black objects. When you find what you think is a sharks tooth you need to look at them up close for a few identifying marks. Is it actually a tooth or a rock. Teeth have a shine to them. They usually have a Y or T shape. Some look like fangs with no top and some are very sharp. We used our shovels and dug right in. I found that Mike and I have different styles of looking. He likes to gather the shells with his shovel and bring them up to his level. I on the other hand like to go down to the sand level. We didn't stay in the water too long as we didn't really come dress for the water. But we did leave a bit soaked. We gathered about 40+ teeth and decided it was getting a bit late so headed back to the car.



We still had about an hours drive and since it was New Years Eve we didn't want to be on the road too late. We found our hotel room and were given keys to the room. We ran our stuff up to the room and we were about ready to leave when I noticed while in the bathroom that hummmm some of the hand towels were used. And the box of soap was in the trash can and a robe hanging on the back of the door. I finished business and come out to share with Mike that I think we might be in someone else room. Upon him finishing up the bathroom and me searching the room a bit more and finding the ice bucket filled with fresh ice I told him we needed to leave. We took our stuff and went back down to the front desk were we discussed the things we found and told them... we would like another room. She looked a tad confused but said ok, let me see what I can fine. No such luck did we get an upgrade.. just a room to ourselves. We took our luggage up to the room and decided we were very hungry.

We figured the lines for the restaurant might be long so we ran over to Target and got a few snacks. Ever heard of the line.. don't go shopping when you are hungry! Well that is still true. We bought a few things and decided to just stop to eat Red Robyn was the place we chose. It was perfect and we walked right in. No waiting- no lines. The hotel we chose to stay at had a shopping mall right next to it. Complete with stores and restaurants. It was great as we ate at one of these different restaurants each night. The food was great and the company heavenly!

We both tried to wait up until the New Year. In fact the plan was that I would go to sleep and Mike would wake me up when the counting started. Well I heard in my sleep fireworks and music from the TV. We both woke up at 12:30 and said well we missed that... turned over and went back to sleep. We are such wild people!



The following day we had booked a boat ride over to a private island where we could go shelling. We had to be at the Marina by 8:45 to set sail at 9:00. The wind was cold and the weather was about 60 deg. So it was cool as we moved along on the water at 18 miles per hour. The company was still heavenly. As we traveled along we saw dolphins. That was a treat to see. The Captain would stop the boat and put on some Jimmy Buffett music and the dolphins would swim towards the boat.



I fortunately brought a warm sweat jacket that use to be Mikes. I put the hood on and it was great. We sat in the sun when we could to get warm and that worked great.



It took us 1 1/2 hours to arrive at the designated beach and the captain docked the boat almost on the shore. We climbed off the boat and started our search for shells. Mike bought for us some shell bags that clip onto our belt loops. We found some cool shells and a hunk of coral. I found some dead sea anemones and I plopped them into my bag. I happened to be bending over this huge pile of shells and the water came up and ran over the shells. It made a sounds I will never forget. It sounded like heaven. The tinkling of the water and shells was amazing. I listened for a bit longer to make sure I captured it forever in my mind.



We had to be back to the boat by 11:30 so we could go and eat dinner at a place on Cabbage Key. This is a restaurant inside an old home. The only way to get to this island is by boat. Inside the house you will find thousands of one dollar bills taped everywhere. They are signed with a message and left behind. It is something to see all this money taped everywhere. We were told that the money keeps getting taped up and when a tragedy occurs the money is taken down and given to the cause. Hurricanes, 9-11... and the such. We also climbed the last standing water tower on the island.



We started for our way back and saw more dolphins and heard more music and the company was heavenly.

Since it was almost 4:00 by the time we finished that we drove over to Sanibel Island. Mike and I were looking a bit sunburned so we found a store and bought very expensive sun screen. We looked for more shells along the beach. I finally said I need to rest my knee. I sat in a chair and Mike walked down a bit father. We left and headed back to the hotel and to grab some dinner.

We talked about what our lives were like 27 years ago and what we were doing that day. We both commented on how we were very glad to be on this side of life. We planned our adventures for the following day and thought of the days events and how blessed we have been. The day was amazing and the company heavenly.



We woke up and discussed which Air boat ride we might take. There were many to chose from and we had no idea which one to do. We finally decided on Jungle Erv's. It turned out to be a good call. We drove down to Everglade City and and within 15 mins we were out on our first air boat ride. It was so much fun. The boat was very loud and so each of use wore the ear muffs you see Mike with.



We didn't see any animals in the wilds of the Mangrove area but there was a ton of directions we could have gone and did go. Sometimes the boat driver would go slow and some times we zipped right along going back and forth over the water. It was a crazy ride but so much FUN! We then went on a Jungle Safari ride in an old yellow school bus painted in camo. It was made me laugh to see the site and it was a bit hoaky but still fun. We saw lots of pigs, gators, birds and a male bear and a momma bear with her 3 cubs.

We ate at the waters edge at an old fishing cafe. It was rustic and wonderful. We had gator, shrimp, grouper to eat. We left to return back to Ft. Myers and came across a State Nature Boardwalk. The walk was about a mile long and it took us through lush trees and plants. We saw some wildlife along the way. We ended up at a secluded pond that was home to a mother gator and her two babies. We walked our legs off this day. We found a Prime Outlet mall and walked until the stores closed. It had been a long time since my legs were that sore. Once again we found the world an amazing place and the company heavenly.

We slept in on Saturday until about 8:30. We got dressed and checked out of the hotel. We stopped for breakfast and headed back to Venice for some more shark tooth hunting. We stayed on the beach for about 2 or 3 hours and then decided it was time to head back home.

We talked about all we did and the fun we had and how we were so glad to be together. I told Mike I was going to cry all the way to work on Monday. We needed to return to our normal activities since that is what our lives are made up of. One must ponder how do you keep these golden moments in the for front of our minds. So when life gets tough you can take them out anytime and replay them time and time again.

I couldn't have spent 4 days with anyone else and had as much fun as Mike and I did. It truly was Heaven!