Sanibel 2013 Part 1

Sanibel 2012 was such a magical time, we decided to give it another go, but even MORE.

Vacation started on Friday, with us dropping the dogs off at the Pampered Pooch and waiting for the taxi: Pamela had been our packing professional and had got us beautifully arranged for the trip. The house is clean and ready for us to return... and we wished the cold weather farewell. The lines were pretty short for our early afternoon flight, and we even had time for a quick lunch at Ike's to start our trip. The flight took off on time, and landed a little early. It was bumpy, but no puking.... Isaac was definitely restless and didn't really want to sit still, but we made it through. We were up in the front of the plane (not first class, though) so we were off the plane nice and fast.

Getting the car was a bit nutty - we had rented a small SUV, but realized with our luggage, it wouldn't work and requested an upgrade. They accommodated for a pretty small fee (interestingly, the guy wrote down the "standard" upgrade rate, and our discounted upgrade - 75% off, but didn't SAY the numbers - just pointed to them with raised eyebrows). But then he couldn't find the truck in his system, and walked us OUT to the lot... and then couldn't find the car, so did yet another upgrade in the lot, with a hand-written note on our form... which didn't really thrill the gate guy, but he waved us through nonetheless.

We headed straight to our Chicago friend Rick's parent's house in Cape Coral - Rick and Kari are of course the parents of Bailey and Ty, the twins who I have known since they were less than a year old - they're as old as my relationship with Pamela - which means that Pamela and I are now in the "junior year of college" phase of our relationship. Whatever that could possibly mean. The house is on a boat canal, and we took a little cruise before dinner. We discovered this feature of so many houses out here - the enormous screen structure - sample at http://superscreening.info to see what these huge screen structures are like.

Off to dinner - Rick's second cousin opened a small italian restaurant in Cape Coral, and it was simply wonderful: The owner was a hugely loveable creature filled with smiles, hugs, and laughter: She kept coming over to chat, and the food was delicious - many of us went simple - I had spaghetti and meatballs and sausage. Halfway through, a trio of plates emerged with fettucini alfredo, which I was told was delicious. Dessert was cheesecake and cream puffs. We left stuffed. Isaac was tired and excited and we played a lot of tag in the parking lot between courses.

Bed was at the Marriott right on the bridge to Sanibel - a huge king suite bought with points from my travels. Lights out immediately. We slept in, had room service for breakfast, and then a few hours of swimming at the resort. Rick and Kari joined us for a little cocktail in the sun. Big excitement out on the dock: A pair of dolphins were hanging out just 20 feet out from the dock. They were swimming around and around, surfacing, flapping their tails, and generally showing off.

Lunch at the Lazy Flamingo - the land-side not the island one - with grouper sandwiches, raw oysters, and conch fritters with cool iced tea. A completely Florida lunch, in a very Jimmy Buffet style old school bar atmosphere. We parted ways with Rick and Kari, and headed to Target to stock up for the Island. Happily, there were no heart attacks (or exposed boobs) at this Target, just a little panic as Wells Fargo decided that they couldn't understand why I was charging things in Florida when I am supposed to be in MN. After a few min on the phone, all was cleared up, but it was an ANNOYING moment. I do love me some fraud detection (just 2 weeks ago, somebody started using one of my cards to buy textbooks in Russia, and they shut that DOWN), but not necessarily when it IDs ME.

Crossed the bridge to the island and found our resort - just a half mile further up the road/beach than last year. Much larger complex, and a lot of teenagers. LOTS of teenagers. Not really that LOUD, but present. But who cares about teenagers when we have COUSINS? Yes, the Wisconsin arm of the family is here for the same week, in the same complex, just a few units away. Seeger, Liam, Julian, Trent, and Clyde. Plus friends from back home, Bill and Gracie. Bella and Isaac were out the door and running around, and we suspect that will be how the week goes. Of course there was swimming - first a visit to the ocean, then some serious pool time.

Off to Jerry's for shopping, libations, and a little dinner. Made it home, unpacked, and then off to bed... Isaac passed out pretty quickly, but Bella took some time to unwind with Catching Fire... Lights out by 10 for the kids, and 11 for us. ZZZZzzzz.

Easter Sunday: Isaac was back to the early wakeup, and Pamela surprised me by getting up FIRST, taking the early shower, and being generally the conscious person in the house. It was wonderful to be lazy, if only for a little while. One of our treats from Jerry's was small boxes of sweet cereal, and the kids were loving their breakfast of Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs. And hey, the Easter Bunny found us out here! YAY! The kids found their "Baskets" - actually mesh bags for shell collecting - filled with toys and chocolates. As the kids played with their new treasures, I pulled on some clothes and took a little run: 2.1/4 miles for a refreshing wakeup, listening to the new Depeche Mode album.

The day itself was a BLUR of fun - lots of pool time, lots of beach time, a little couch time. A little grimness - a dead bird on the lawn, a dead bird washed up on the beach, but some really cool beach finds too - a lot of crab parts and some bright coral pieces! Bella was very into the hunt.

The kids were all a PACK running around with some "secret agent" game where they were all wearing sunglasses. All day excitement. Isaac was in-and-out of the game, choosing to pair up with kids when possible: Trent for a while exploring the elevators, and Gracie at the end of the day, hunting for lizards and practicing cartwheels. He's really more of a one-on-one kind of kid. Dinner was tacos, and we met up with the Wisconsin gang to celebrate cousin Scott's birthday. A little cake, a little scotch, and some good laughs.

We ended the day with a walk down the beach as the sun set. It started with just me is Bella having a little stroll, and we met on the way back with Pamela and Isaac... One the way to the room, Isaac challenged us all to a race back, and sprinted off, and we caught up to him distracted by a climbable tree: Bella taunted him "That's how it works with the Tortoise and the Hare" - Eventually, Isaac did actually catch back up to us and was the first through the door and into bed.

Well, that's what happened so far. It's time for bed! Just 7 more days? WOW.