Magic in the Kingdom 2012! BIG 2/16/2014 FINAL UPDATE!

[mom2rtk]

Thursday, June 6th Continued:

After lunch in our room and a chance to clean up and dry off, we did a little shopping. Tradition for us on Sanibel includes several trips to She Sells Seashells.


IMG_0485 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

We stayed in most of the afternoon. This was the day the worst of the storm hit. They actually had a tornado touch down in nearby Ft. Myers. It rained really hard that afternoon on the island.

Thankfully the rain let up closer toward evening and we were able to spend sunset at the Lighthouse again.


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Closer toward sunset, the sun actually popped out. What a welcome sight! Someone actually drew a picture of the sun in the sand and wrote the words "Welcome Sun" in the sand. I tried to photograph it, but it just didn't show up well.


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What's with all that bright light??????? Man, I hardly knew what to do with all that light!


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And what's that big yellow blob up in the corner of this shot??????


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And after days of no sunshine, and no pretty sunsets....... I got this gift.


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And in the opposite sky..... even more color..........


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What a great mix of colors and clouds!


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I ended the night with this shot. And was so happy to finally have a few colorful sunset shots to bring home with me. This is almost the exact spot I had taken those golden sunset shots 14 summers ago. I was sad Robbie had stayed home. It just didn't seem right to take shots of Timmy by himself there, or even with Katie. But Robbie values his alone time and he enjoyed having the house all to himself while we were gone.


IMG_0628 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Wow first I could not believe I remembered the she sell seashores store it has been 14 to 15 years sense I have been to the island I am more of a disney person two loved the picture at sunset

 

[mom2rtk]

Wow first I could not believe I remembered the she sell seashores store it has been 14 to 15 years sense I have been to the island I am more of a disney person two loved the picture at sunset

Thank you!

And I know She Sells Seashells has been there since my own first visit in 1992, so almost 21 years ago. I have no idea how long it might have been there before then.

 

[francis6306]

How funny… They went to She Sells Seashells too! I should look through her pictures and your pictures just to see if you guys were ever in the same area!!!

 

[mom2rtk]

How funny… They went to She Sells Seashells too! I should look through her pictures and your pictures just to see if you guys were ever in the same area!!!

I think it's some sort of requirement that everyone must shop there at least once before leaving the island.

Any chance they ate at DQ? It's one of only two fast food places on the island so we eat there a couple times every trip. (The other is Subway).

 

[francis6306]

I think it's some sort of requirement that everyone must shop there at least once before leaving the island.

Any chance they ate at DQ? It's one of only two fast food places on the island so we eat there a couple times every trip. (The other is Subway).

I don't know… but I know she went to a lot of tasty places- one had a lobster mac and cheese that made me want to lick the computer screen (she posted a picture on facebook from their meal)! She has two teenage boys, so there is a good chance they were there at some point!

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't know… but I know she went to a lot of tasty places- one had a lobster mac and cheese that made me want to lick the computer screen (she posted a picture on facebook from their meal)! She has two teenage boys, so there is a good chance they were there at some point!

We did try a lot of new places this time. I never found that one "wow" dish I was looking for, but I sure gave it a good try. We all loved McT's Shrimp House, but were sad to find it gone this trip. Timmy was sad to find the Hungry Heron gone. It wasn't that great, but it had a HUGE variety. And Robbie and Timmy hid a note under one of the booth seats years ago and he wanted to go in and see if it was still there!

 

[mom2rtk]

Just a quick little flashback:

To give you all an idea why I set the alarm for 5:45 every morning when I'm in Sanibel. I got my first DSLR in November 2004 right before our trip to Florida. I was treated to his amazing sight on one of my mornings there. I've been trying to find another sunrise like it ever since.


2004 Sanibel Sunrise by mom2rtk, on Flickr

And here was one of my earlier shots by the She Sells Seashells sign. I'm sure I have earlier ones, but probably just on film. This was in March 2007:


2007 She Sells Seashells by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[YodasMom]

Whoa!!! Those are AWESOME sunset shots, Janet!!! Looks like your efforts weren't totally lost due to the weather.

I'm like you, though, in that my favorite times of day to photograph when I'm out in nature, are sunrise and sunset. And, if I get up that early expecting a knock-out sunrise, there better be one at least once during the trip...LOL!!! But, your evening of gorgeous ever-changing sunset views didn't fail you!

Great job!! Looks like a fun trip!

 

[mom2rtk]

Whoa!!! Those are AWESOME sunset shots, Janet!!! Looks like your efforts weren't totally lost due to the weather.

I'm like you, though, in that my favorite times of day to photograph when I'm out in nature, are sunrise and sunset. And, if I get up that early expecting a knock-out sunrise, there better be one at least once during the trip...LOL!!! But, your evening of gorgeous ever-changing sunset views didn't fail you!

Great job!! Looks like a fun trip!

Thanks Karen! Mother Nature did indeed come through for me. In the end, in spite of all the rain, I consider the trip a complete success. If I can get one knockout sunset over the course of a week, I'm happy. Add to that my chance to enjoy some outdoor things without having to sunscreen 4 people, and I consider that win too..... even if we did get a little wet in the process!

Mother Nature wasn't done with me yet there. She one even better sunset in store for me.

In addition, Katie and I left Sunday morning for Orlando, and Drew and Timmy stayed until the next day. And Drew SWEARS it was the most amazing sunset ever on the face of the earth. But of course neither he nor Timmy had a camera along. Not even a cell phone. So I just told him if he didn't have a picture, it didn't happen.

 

[YodasMom]

In addition, Katie and I left Sunday morning for Orlando, and Drew and Timmy stayed until the next day. And Drew SWEARS it was the most amazing sunset ever on the face of the earth. But of course neither he nor Timmy had a camera along. Not even a cell phone. So I just told him if he didn't have a picture, it didn't happen.

HaHa!!!

You know when I was at WDW the first week of May, we got about 4 inches of rain daily until the last 2 days. I only used a little sunscreen on my face and it was almost on the cool side!

It was a good time for a lot of close-up shots until the last 2 days and then I let loose!

FL is getting a lot of rain this spring!!!

 

[KCmike]

What a fun mini trip report you've got going on! I'm a real sucker for the before and after pics especially when it deals with family. My oh my how time flies. I think I might have said some choice words as well if I saw a manatee break next to my kayak. That would have scared me straight.

It's funny about the rain because with us it did rain alot as well but I think we will remember this trip because of that. For us your trip this past time will be remembered for the HS Band and their many accomplishments and then the back side and the battle of the raindrops. We did get one glorious day at Epcot which my wife really wanted but other than that it was a bit of a letdown.

Glad to hear you didn't let the rain slow you down. Hope the pics keep coming. Oh and I don't think I would have risked my camera (whether new or old) on that kayak sailing.

 

[jenseib]

Gorgeous shots. i think I would be scared of kayaking. Well I know I wouldn't want to do the work and that guide would be having a beer on me!

 

[rndmr2]

Beautiful pictures! Glad you finally got a nice sunset. Too bad the weather wasn't the greatest but like you said at least it wasn't blazing hot.

Soo cool that you saw those manatees while you were kayaking! That would be awesome to see but I might be a little scared too, due to their size, and afraid they would tip me over!

 

[nannye]

Gorgeous pics I will have to add sannibel island to my list olaces to visit

 

[mom2rtk]

HaHa!!!

You know when I was at WDW the first week of May, we got about 4 inches of rain daily until the last 2 days. I only used a little sunscreen on my face and it was almost on the cool side!

It was a good time for a lot of close-up shots until the last 2 days and then I let loose!

FL is getting a lot of rain this spring!!!

I think we've just been really lucky with weather on our FL trips. I know to expect the afternoon storms, but never had many totally rainy days.

4 inches a day is a LOT though. We didn't even get that during Andrea. Just the one day had really heavy downpours.

What a fun mini trip report you've got going on! I'm a real sucker for the before and after pics especially when it deals with family. My oh my how time flies. I think I might have said some choice words as well if I saw a manatee break next to my kayak. That would have scared me straight.

It's funny about the rain because with us it did rain alot as well but I think we will remember this trip because of that. For us your trip this past time will be remembered for the HS Band and their many accomplishments and then the back side and the battle of the raindrops. We did get one glorious day at Epcot which my wife really wanted but other than that it was a bit of a letdown.

Glad to hear you didn't let the rain slow you down. Hope the pics keep coming. Oh and I don't think I would have risked my camera (whether new or old) on that kayak sailing.

A Sanibel trip always begs for comparisons over time. It's hard not to pull out the old photos. I'll probably dig around later for the first set of photos I have at She Sells Seashells in 1999. Where did those tiny boys go?

Congrats to your kids and their band. What a great way to cap of the year for them. So glad your wife got her one grand day at Epcot. I guess if you had to pick one park to have a great day for, it would be Epcot. Since it seems you're headed to DLR next, it would be hard to make up for an Epcot miss out there.

It really was a calculated risk to take my camera along. From the moment we expressed interest in kayaking, I started asking questions about camera equipment. The first two people (inside the shop where they do rentals, then our fishing captain the day before) assured me that people rarely fall out, and that people take nice equipment out on the kayaks all the time. Then of course just as I was getting in the kayak, the person helping us said "are you sure you want to take that along?". Talk about a mixed message! Maybe he was just talking about the risk of rain, and not the risk of falling into the water..... who knows. But I was fully committed at that point. If I knew how little wildlife we would actually see though, I might have changed my mind!

Gorgeous shots. i think I would be scared of kayaking. Well I know I wouldn't want to do the work and that guide would be having a beer on me!

I wasn't scared of kayaking. After all, I was in the boat with my tennis playing 18 year old son. I figured he could pick up my slack, right? It really did take both of us to get back though. It was harder then I expected. I asked Timmy if he would have been better off without me. I think he thought he would be, but was afraid to say so. And heck, if I was in my own kayak, I would have TOTALLY taken the guide up on his offer to be towed back in.

Beautiful pictures! Glad you finally got a nice sunset. Too bad the weather wasn't the greatest but like you said at least it wasn't blazing hot.

Soo cool that you saw those manatees while you were kayaking! That would be awesome to see but I might be a little scared too, due to their size, and afraid they would tip me over!

Thanks so much. I was really glad we had a decent amount of time there. It would have been really disappointing to leave a couple days sooner and miss the big payoff from Mother Nature. Those sunsets do make it all worthwhile.

And yes, I'm really glad when the first manatee surfaced, it wasn't right next to me. It would have totally taken me off-guard. I'm sure I would have said something equally memorable.

 

[mom2rtk]

Gorgeous pics I will have to add sannibel island to my list olaces to visit

Thanks Erin! We are completely spoiled for visiting the beach anywhere else. Sanibel is just "it" for us.

 

[mom2rtk]

Friday, June 7th:

Another day, another gloomy start. Wake-up call was at 5:45 again, but still no great sunrise. I got a peek at the sun, but it still wasn't what I was hoping for.





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We had done a pretty good job of finding things to do in spite of the rain, but we were running out of ideas at this point. We had considered driving down to Everglades City and taking an airboat tour (you know..... in our quest to find alligators.....) but the radar showed a risk of rain there as well. And the only thing worse than having it rain all day would be to drive 2 hours away and having it rain on us still.

So we decided to hang out and think on it a bit. They squeegeed the tennis court and Timmy challenged Drew to a match:


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They also swam for a while. Katie has finally gotten pretty decent at actually swimming. Not good enough that I'd trust her alone at a pool, but good enough that I don't get nervous every time she ventures to the deep end. And good enough that I trust her to just walk down to the pool or beach with Timmy.


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We finally decided that since it wasn't actively raining, we'd try something closer to home for the day. Drew had seen some information on the Edison Ford Winter Estate in Ft. Myers and thought that looked interesting. Since we'd be leaving the island, it gave us a chance to eat somewhere more reasonably priced. So we started with a stop at Perkins. Sorry, no food photos.

It turned out to be a little longer drive than we expected, but we didn't have any trouble finding it.

We were greeted by the sight of these awesome Banyan trees, complete with signs warning of falling figs.

IMG_0765 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

The Estate was the winter home of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. It is located on the grounds of the Caloosahachee River.



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The estate consists of Edison and Ford homes, guest house and caretaker's cottage.



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I believe this is Henry Ford. I missed getting a photo of the Edison statue.


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This was Ford's home:



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The garage looked rather unassuming but housed some nice pieces:


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The grounds were quite amazing, and included citrus trees of every variety you could imagine. It is apparently a popular location for special events like weddings. It looked like they were setting up for one soon after our visit. I honestly can't imagine having a wedding out there though unless it was in the middle of winter. It would just be far hotter than I would want for an event like that.


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The pool looked ready to just jump right into. It had a high dive, but was a fairly small pool. I'm not sure how deep it was, but must have been deeper than it looked.


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[Caretames1]

Oh Janet, Those sunset photos are just breath taking!

I haven't picked up my DSLR since Dec 29th. I just felt the "want to" last weekend, when I drove past a small creek and saw a pretty scene with some purple and white flowers and a lush grassy bank. I envisioned Kadence sitting there, in white, with a nice smile. I'm going to attempt it this weekend. (Cross my Fingers)

Anyway, I love the kayak shot where it just started to rain, you actually can see the raindrops like jewels! The kids look so happy, and having fun.

Beautiful pictures in all!

edited to add: A co-worker just went to the estate there, and brought a coffee table book back and those Banyan Tress are awesome!

 

[mom2rtk]

June 7th Continued:

One thing I hadn't counted on was that most of the tour would be outdoors. Even the tour of the homes was from outdoors. They had window and door openings set up so you could look in, but you couldn't actually go in. The views were fine, but it would have been pretty miserable on a really hot day.

These were all from Edison's home:


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See the writing on the glass in the upper right hand corner of the photo? That's the opening to see the living/dining room.


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I believe these are from Ford's home:


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I believe this was the secretary's quarters:


IMG_0847 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

I found the tour to be somewhat interesting. I wish I could say Timmy and Katie loved it. But alas, it seems their brains have turned to toxic summer mush. I think they sensed that it might be mildly educational and never seemed to get into it.

All day we kept thinking it would start raining again at any moment, but it never did. We probably should have tried the drive to Everglades City, but you just never know. But I think everyone was happy to get back to the island and see what Mother Nature had in store for us that evening.

Sorry, but I can't walk past the lighthouse without snapping yet more photos. It just seems to have a different sky behind it every time we walk by.


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Then off to comb the beach for a while. I'm not sure what these little guys all over the beach are called. But they aren't very nice to take home, so they just stayed put. But I guess the sheer quantity of them should have been a clue about how great the shelling would be that night.


IMG_0884 by mom2rtk, on Flickr