Arrival on Florida's Gulf Coast

Unlike previous trips we did not have to leave home at the crack of dawn.  We slept in until nearly 7 am and finished preparing the house for us to be away for a week.  We always look forward to our January visit to Florida.  Escaping the West Virginia cold weather is great but just getting away is good as well.

We arrived at TriState Airport a little after 8:30 and went through security easily.  We saw a number of friends and acquaintances while we were in the airport and the time passed quickly until our 10 am departure.  We were fortunate that the flight wasn’t full and that I could move to the same row as Mary.  We even had an empty seat between us.  Before the fees and taxes, our Allegiant flight to Florida cost $32 and our shared checked bag was an additional $25 even though we were a little over the 40 pound weight limit.

We arrived at the St. Pete/Clearwater Airport a little after noon. 

Mary at Fort Myers Beach

Mary picked up our bag while I went to the nearby Enterprise desk to pick up our rental car.  We were pleased to get a 2016 Toyota Corolla Sport.  We started south and stopped for lunch along I-75 for a Subway sandwich then continued on our way.  We made it to the Wyndham Garden Inn at Ft. Myers Beach by 4 pm and got checked into our first floor room which is very nice.  Our room is just steps from the beach.  We have a fairly large refrigerator, a microwave and a comfortable king sized bed.  After we unpacked a little we walked north along the beach for about an hour.  We were surprised at how fine and soft the white sand is here.  It is like walking in talcum powder.  There were few people at the beach while we were walking but several groups were playing, digging in the sand or just relaxing.  Since the temperature was in the upper 70s, the walk along the beach was very nice.  We came back to the room and cleaned up a little before dinner.

Snowy Egret

Mary checked TripAdvisor and some other review sites and found some promising places to eat.  After driving around a bit and getting the lay of the land on the island, we drove to the business district of the island and ate at Key Lime Conch Shack.  It is a counter that sells local seafood that is prepared to order.  Mary had coconut shrimp and I had fried shrimp then we both had a personal key lime pie.  We were both pleased with our meals as well as the care by the people working at the counter.  We ate in the small outdoor area but many people take their meals with them as carry out.

On our way back to the room, we stopped at the Publix grocery store and picked up breakfast items (Wheat Chex, milk and bananas) and some travel snacks for the car.  We crashed in the room and planned travel for the rest of the week.