So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye

Dear Sanibel,

What a wonderful week it has been getting to know you. I thought a week on the island would be nice but never realized exactly how much stress was pinned up inside this body just itching to get out. Just hearing the waves crash on the sand, watching the pelicans dive for fish, and searching the shores for amazing shells was all it took to make this one of the most relaxing vacations we have ever had.

My favorite memories from this week include picking up living sand dollars and starfish off the ocean floor, having a dolphin swim near the shore just 10 feet from us, getting to see more dolphins on the Captiva cruise, listening to the waves outside my bedroom window at night, and attempting to kayak with my sis-in-law, Marci (so what if we got stuck in clumps of tree roots and almost tipped a couple of times? and so what if we were asked if we had been drinking -- which sadly we had not and could not blame our lack of kayaking skills on that. and who cares if we almost wiped out an entire guided kayak tour because we couldn't steer around them? -- it is still a fun memory!).

We met such friendly people and were greeted with smiles everywhere we went. I don't know if it's the ocean air or the lush, green surroundings, but I smiled the whole time too, happy just to be there.

I can't believe that I got to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my family the whole time we were there -- what a treat! I love that there is no fast food on the island, and I loved having a great kitchen in our condo. (And, Sanibel, you don't know me too well, but I am definitely a room-service-breakfast-in-bed kind of girl, but something happened to me on this trip that made me happy every time I got to cook and serve a meal...) Plus, I can't believe that I finished two books while lounging on the beach. Heavens, I am becoming domestic AND a reader...

My only regret is that Chris had to work the entire vacation -- poor guy didn't get to see much of anything and definitely did not get to relax with me, Marci, and ChellBell.

Although we met only one short week ago, I feel like I have known you much longer. And I hope that we will be friends for a very, very long time.

Well, Sanibel, I'm not so good at saying goodbyes. So I will just say, "Until next time" which hopefully will not be too long of a wait.

Love,

Christie

The view from the lanai

The beaches of Sanibel are covered in shells

One of the living starfish we picked up off the ocean floor -- it's a little disconcerting to step on these... We also picked up living sand dollars the size of pancakes. Sanibel's rule is to put any living shells back in the ocean, so these guys didn't make it home with us...

The beaches were virtually empty, thanks to FL schools starting last week and it being off-peak season