yoopermom
Come join Bravo by the fire...
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2000
- Messages
- 4,409
Cast:
Me, Terri the Yoopermom, turned 35 during the trip, trip planning fanatic
Yooperdad, 39, would rather be in a national park than a theme park
Yooperson, 7, thrill seeker and animal lover extraordinaire
(and joining us later )
DM, who loves WDW, but hates to fly (WDW wins out, I promise)
DSF (whose age enabled us to get a great rate at HIFS)
Day Four: December 29, Good-bye Orlando, Hello Sanibel
DH got up at 4:45 a.m. (thanks to two wakeup calls and one regular alarm clock; a sign of how tired DS was that he slept through it all). Hotel provided free shuttle to airport which picked him up at 5:30 a.m. for a 7:45 a.m. flight. Both legs of the flight (through Cincinnati) were uneventful and actually fairly empty. As a sign of how badly I overpacked, we ended up having him take DS backpack full of keep busy stuff home, because we had already bought so much more stuff!
DS and I got a fairly late start because my back was creaky. The luggage guy (as DS insisted on calling him) was very helpful in toting our many pounds of stuff down to our car (which took me a moment to find since I had temporarily forgotten that we had switched cars the night before!). We finally broke down and wore shorts, because we were going to the beach, darn it!
I had been nervous while planning this about the fact that I would need to navigate and drive these two days, but it actually went okay. DS and I are both travel bums who just love to hit the open road, no matter where we may be going. Stopped at a McDonalds drive-through just outside of Orlando for breakfast, were astonished to pay something other than theme park prices, and we were off! The drive to Sanibel was unremarkable except for two things: the sighting of a poor doomed(?) turtle plodding alongside the expressway (I made the mistake of telling DS, who immediately started shrieking that we must risk life and limb to pull over and save it, but common sense/harsh reality won out, and Mr. Turtle was left to his fate), and the abundance of radio stations that play Tejano music (which DS dearly loves, and, (un?)fortunately, cannot find on the radio stations up here in the upper Redneck Midwest). AAA directions, which had been great so far on this trip, totally led us astray once we got to Ft. Myers, which we saw much more of than we wished to.
Finally got to the causeway, paid our $3 to cross, and then, not having realized that there were choices (I was picturing something more along the lines of Gilligans Island), followed the signs for the first beach that we came to. Parking at Lighthouse Beach was rather precarious; be prepared to squeeze along the edge of the road and walk in quite a ways. Changed to sandals immediately, but not to swimsuits (to be regretted later). DS had to go to the bathroom right now, of course, so we took the jungle walk along a long boardwalk that seemed to go on forever to a 7-yr old boy who was jumping up and down. After that, we realized that we were actually just down around the corner beachwise from where we started. I got to be in charge of carrying the plastic bag for the shells and DSs sandals (removed despite my warnings, after all, what do mothers know?). I had picked this location because of its shelling, but I hadnt realized that the entire beach was basically made up of shells, it was just unbelievable. At first DS stayed high and dry, picking one here, one there, but, after studying another ladys example, he soon waded out calf deep into the water. Scooping up handfuls of sand and shells, he would rinse and sort, rinse and sort. The tide really was very strong, and knocked him down a few times (swimsuits would have been a good idea ), so he eventually gave up and just sat and sifted. There were quite a few people there, but no one was out more than knee deep, Im sure because of the current and also because of the water temperature.
After about an hour (scoop/sift/scoop/sift ), someone down the beach shrieked and pointed out into the water. After seeing Jaws at Universal the day before, my first thought was shark!, but it was actually two dolphins (porpoises?) leaping and playing. They were really fun to watch, and not that far off shore. It was the pinnacle of a nearly perfect day.
Four hours and a large bag of shells later, DS agreed to call it quits. There is no restroom/changing area by the parking, so I held up a towel so he could get changed in the privacy of the car (he was NOT thrilled!). We attempted to leave the majority of the sand there, rather than take it all into the rental car to be vacuumed up later. Against my better judgment, I let him have a hot dog and bottled water from the street vendor in the parking lot (DS must have an iron gut, because this sort of thing never seems to bother him). Traffic coming onto the island as we were leaving was very heavy, so we took the time to stop at the first tacky gift shop we came to (couldnt leave without a few typical tourist souvenirs!).
I had bid on a hotel in Ft. Myers through Priceline, but regretted it after seeing that it was in what I would call a rather borderline area (Im a country gal, and being alone with a child, just would not have slept well), so we took the loss and hit the highway. Called ahead to the Holiday Inn Express in Braedenton, which was about halfway back to Orlando, we figured. Stopped at a Cracker Barrel after an hour or so and had a delicious supper (we both love that chain, and dont have any up north). The first room we were given had a terribly warped door that would move a good 2 without actually being unlocked. That gave me the willies, so we tromped back downstairs, and the nice young man at the desk upgraded me to a king executive room for the same price, since he didnt have any regular rooms left. It was a beautiful and clean room, with a 27 TV, mini-frig and micro, extra sink, couch, etc. I almost wished we were spending more than 12 hours there! The one washer/dryer was in use, so I set the alarm early to get a load done before we left.
Postscript: This had been DSs day of choice. Out of all the possibilities (Discovery Cove, Gatorland, another day at Universal, etc.), he wanted to go shelling at Sanibel. In retrospect, it was probably the nicest day of our trip, overall; very relaxing time between the parks. Sanibel was unbelievably beautiful, and well worth the 3 ½-4 hour drive from Orlando.
Me, Terri the Yoopermom, turned 35 during the trip, trip planning fanatic
Yooperdad, 39, would rather be in a national park than a theme park
Yooperson, 7, thrill seeker and animal lover extraordinaire
(and joining us later )
DM, who loves WDW, but hates to fly (WDW wins out, I promise)
DSF (whose age enabled us to get a great rate at HIFS)
Day Four: December 29, Good-bye Orlando, Hello Sanibel
DH got up at 4:45 a.m. (thanks to two wakeup calls and one regular alarm clock; a sign of how tired DS was that he slept through it all). Hotel provided free shuttle to airport which picked him up at 5:30 a.m. for a 7:45 a.m. flight. Both legs of the flight (through Cincinnati) were uneventful and actually fairly empty. As a sign of how badly I overpacked, we ended up having him take DS backpack full of keep busy stuff home, because we had already bought so much more stuff!
DS and I got a fairly late start because my back was creaky. The luggage guy (as DS insisted on calling him) was very helpful in toting our many pounds of stuff down to our car (which took me a moment to find since I had temporarily forgotten that we had switched cars the night before!). We finally broke down and wore shorts, because we were going to the beach, darn it!
I had been nervous while planning this about the fact that I would need to navigate and drive these two days, but it actually went okay. DS and I are both travel bums who just love to hit the open road, no matter where we may be going. Stopped at a McDonalds drive-through just outside of Orlando for breakfast, were astonished to pay something other than theme park prices, and we were off! The drive to Sanibel was unremarkable except for two things: the sighting of a poor doomed(?) turtle plodding alongside the expressway (I made the mistake of telling DS, who immediately started shrieking that we must risk life and limb to pull over and save it, but common sense/harsh reality won out, and Mr. Turtle was left to his fate), and the abundance of radio stations that play Tejano music (which DS dearly loves, and, (un?)fortunately, cannot find on the radio stations up here in the upper Redneck Midwest). AAA directions, which had been great so far on this trip, totally led us astray once we got to Ft. Myers, which we saw much more of than we wished to.
Finally got to the causeway, paid our $3 to cross, and then, not having realized that there were choices (I was picturing something more along the lines of Gilligans Island), followed the signs for the first beach that we came to. Parking at Lighthouse Beach was rather precarious; be prepared to squeeze along the edge of the road and walk in quite a ways. Changed to sandals immediately, but not to swimsuits (to be regretted later). DS had to go to the bathroom right now, of course, so we took the jungle walk along a long boardwalk that seemed to go on forever to a 7-yr old boy who was jumping up and down. After that, we realized that we were actually just down around the corner beachwise from where we started. I got to be in charge of carrying the plastic bag for the shells and DSs sandals (removed despite my warnings, after all, what do mothers know?). I had picked this location because of its shelling, but I hadnt realized that the entire beach was basically made up of shells, it was just unbelievable. At first DS stayed high and dry, picking one here, one there, but, after studying another ladys example, he soon waded out calf deep into the water. Scooping up handfuls of sand and shells, he would rinse and sort, rinse and sort. The tide really was very strong, and knocked him down a few times (swimsuits would have been a good idea ), so he eventually gave up and just sat and sifted. There were quite a few people there, but no one was out more than knee deep, Im sure because of the current and also because of the water temperature.
After about an hour (scoop/sift/scoop/sift ), someone down the beach shrieked and pointed out into the water. After seeing Jaws at Universal the day before, my first thought was shark!, but it was actually two dolphins (porpoises?) leaping and playing. They were really fun to watch, and not that far off shore. It was the pinnacle of a nearly perfect day.
Four hours and a large bag of shells later, DS agreed to call it quits. There is no restroom/changing area by the parking, so I held up a towel so he could get changed in the privacy of the car (he was NOT thrilled!). We attempted to leave the majority of the sand there, rather than take it all into the rental car to be vacuumed up later. Against my better judgment, I let him have a hot dog and bottled water from the street vendor in the parking lot (DS must have an iron gut, because this sort of thing never seems to bother him). Traffic coming onto the island as we were leaving was very heavy, so we took the time to stop at the first tacky gift shop we came to (couldnt leave without a few typical tourist souvenirs!).
I had bid on a hotel in Ft. Myers through Priceline, but regretted it after seeing that it was in what I would call a rather borderline area (Im a country gal, and being alone with a child, just would not have slept well), so we took the loss and hit the highway. Called ahead to the Holiday Inn Express in Braedenton, which was about halfway back to Orlando, we figured. Stopped at a Cracker Barrel after an hour or so and had a delicious supper (we both love that chain, and dont have any up north). The first room we were given had a terribly warped door that would move a good 2 without actually being unlocked. That gave me the willies, so we tromped back downstairs, and the nice young man at the desk upgraded me to a king executive room for the same price, since he didnt have any regular rooms left. It was a beautiful and clean room, with a 27 TV, mini-frig and micro, extra sink, couch, etc. I almost wished we were spending more than 12 hours there! The one washer/dryer was in use, so I set the alarm early to get a load done before we left.
Postscript: This had been DSs day of choice. Out of all the possibilities (Discovery Cove, Gatorland, another day at Universal, etc.), he wanted to go shelling at Sanibel. In retrospect, it was probably the nicest day of our trip, overall; very relaxing time between the parks. Sanibel was unbelievably beautiful, and well worth the 3 ½-4 hour drive from Orlando.
