From the Editor: This trip report has 15 images and they take a few minutes to load despite their conservative resolution and moderate JPEG compression. This is my first trip done entirely digital. All images were captured either on a Nikon D70 or Nikon Coolpix 700. This story was prepared in near-realtime and the final segment was uploaded the day we returned home. Enjoy!
We hadn't been to Florida since our 1994 trip to Fort Myers Beach. Reasoning that Reagan wasn't "ready" for Mexico, a ten year anniversary trip back to Fort Myers Beach seemed perfect. Two year olds seem more interested in the minutia than the big picture, and Rea thoroughly enjoyed the plane ride she had been chanting about for weeks. The flight to Tampa on Southwest was 
uneventful and after a couple hours in our rented SUV we were on the beach. We were ready for bed and an early start to the next day as the sun set over Sanibel Island.
Sunday dawned crisp and clear. The Gulf was flat calm and the sun was warm. We brought chairs and sand implements down from our condo and staked out a claim on the wide northern section of Fort Myers Beach. Reagan's first sand castle proved easier to destroy than build. Walking on the beach takes on a new meaning with a two year old. Rea understands walking to the beach, but not along the beach. In the old days we would put in a 5 mile beach walk before breakfast; now we're lucky to cover 50 yards the whole day. It's not
the ground we cover, it's discovering the little funnels sand crabs make and endlessly tossing shells back into the water. After dinner at the Pierside Grill we walked out on Fort Myers Pier to watch pelicans dive for fish and the sun set.
Angie had been looking forward to shelling for months, so we woke up early, packed up and headed across the causway to Sanibel and Bowman's Beach, the best beach on Sanibel and perhaps all of southwest Florida. Bowman's really lived up to its billing. The sand was pure white, the water aqua green, the shells plentiful and the people 
scarce. Angie headed down the beach to collect shells while Reagan and I tried to throw all of the shells back into the Gulf. Sanibel and neighboring Captiva turned out to be more fun than we could digest in one morning and we decided a return trip was in order. After lunch at the Hungry Heron and poking around some shops, it was back across the causeway for nap time. After a full morning it felt like a good day for a relaxing, stay on the beach evening. Hot dogs on the condo's grill were enjoyed by all.
A morning at the beach, our typical 50 yard walk and splashing in the pool led to an early nap in preparation for an early afternoon drive out to Captiva for shelling and the sunset. We ate outside in the light breeze at The Island Cow, stopped for coffee at the The Bean of Sanibel then headed for Captiva. Sanibel is a long, thin island that ends at Blind Pass. Captiva
isn't the last island in the chain, but that's where the road ends and that's where we parked for the sunset. Angie and Reagan searched for shells (Angie keeps them, Reagan throws hers back into the water) and I took pictures. There's a long list of really fun stuff to do here, but tossing shells into the surf is by far Reagan's favorite.
We have a history with Fish Tale Marina. Thirty years ago Dad and I sailed our Newport 17 from Grandma and Grandpa Resor's out the Caloosahachee, under the Sanibel Causway drawbridge, down the length of Estero Island, through Big Carlos Pass and into Fish Tale Marina. Ten years ago Angie and I rented a 15 foot Whaler and cruised the back bay mangrove
islands behind Estero Island. This year we introduced Reagan to boating. Earlier in the week she had been chanting "we need a boat" and she was duly impressed with actually being on one. We cruised in to Salty Sam's Marina for burgers to go from the Parrot Key Caribbean Grill and ate them while idling through the no wake zone on the way back to Fish Tale. That afternoon Reagan beat her typical 50 yard walk on the beach and we actually made it clear to the north end of Estero Island. The day ended with lime chicken on the grill and gelatos in town.
We made it clear to the north end of Estero Island again, and this time with energy to spare. Reagan threw shells, chased birds, saw crabs and fish, and studied the starfish we found. The busy morning made for a successful nap time and we drove out to Sanibel for the late afternoon and evening. The Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (who is Ding Darling anyway?) attracts 139 bird species including the spoonbill. A small crowd of photographers gathered along the five mile one-way road to watch their pink feathers came to light in the warm setting sun.
Sanibel kept attracting us and we spent the morning of our last full day there collecting shells and shooting wildlife in Ding Darling along the Indigo Trail. This big gator never moved a muscle and 600 mm of telephoto kept me at a safe distance, but I still felt thankful to escape 
with all my limbs. Angie soaked in the warm sun on the beach during nap time and I kicked back on the screen porch with a copy of National Geographic Adventure. That afternoon we again made it clear to the north end of the island, except this time we made it all the way around to a small, "private" beach. We rescued lots of starfish, saw a sea cucumber and a giant stingray, 
and generally soaked in the warm afternoon sun. We watched the sun set on our last day and capped the evening off with a return trip to Cordella's for gelato. Reagan's first beach trip was a complete success and she is already looking forward to the next one!
