Gayle and I decided to use a day of vacation this week to visit Sanibel Island. We had not been back to the island since we moved to Orlando and thought it would be fun to practice our "Sanibel stoop" again. We checked to weather reports and decided Tuesday would work, so we left at 6 AM Tuesday on the motorcycle. Weather was cool - mid 50's - and traffic was light. We enjoyed watching the sun come up as we rode. We took I-4 down to US 17 to get as scenic a route as possible. We were on Sanibel by 11:30; went to the Lighthouse Park close to the causeway because of the high traffic on the island. It was a joy to walk the beach and find many of the familiar 
Gulf side shells. Many people were scouring the beach, but there still were nice specimens for the finding...if you knew how to look! The names of the shells did come back also. The lighthouse was decked out in Christmas ribbons! This was the first time we saw and drove over the new causeway; no more waiting for the drawbridge.We had called our Ft. Myers friends Jim and Ardith Smith last week-end; thought we could visit with them before we went back to Orlando. Turns out they were up in the Pittsburgh area visiting family and didn't get back until Monday evening. Jim called us when we were in Ft. Myers and we went to their house after the beach. We had a wonderful catch-up-on-family-and-events time with them. They invited us to spend the night, which we had not planned on. Their hospitality prevailed -- and they had an extra tooth brush! We spent a delightful evening with them and slept in their cabana/guest room. We left their house about 9 AM and rode by our former house on Beechwood Trail. Apparently the owners were not interested in maintaining 
the bushes and landscaping we had. The neem tree is gone, as well as all of the hibiscus, angel leaf jasmine, bird of paradise (all in front of the knee wall), crinum lily, and crepe jasmine that was on either side of the garage door. The Silver Bismarck palm in the front was 8 ft or more tall. The yard needed work but the house itself looked good -- had been repainted. We could see the Weaver's bamboo in the back yard that we had planted was doing well. Ah well, different strokes for different folks...
We took Palm Beach Blvd. to LaBelle and then US 27 north to Haines City; then US 17-92 north to Orlando. It was a little breezy (for Florida) but the ride was
great. Back home by 3 PM -- sore buns, but a beautiful trip.
After this, our longest bike trip to date, I came up with some Rules for Riding:
1. Dress warmer than you think you need. Wind chill is nasty and you can always take a layer of clothes off. Can't put on what you don't have.
the bushes and landscaping we had. The neem tree is gone, as well as all of the hibiscus, angel leaf jasmine, bird of paradise (all in front of the knee wall), crinum lily, and crepe jasmine that was on either side of the garage door. The Silver Bismarck palm in the front was 8 ft or more tall. The yard needed work but the house itself looked good -- had been repainted. We could see the Weaver's bamboo in the back yard that we had planted was doing well. Ah well, different strokes for different folks...We took Palm Beach Blvd. to LaBelle and then US 27 north to Haines City; then US 17-92 north to Orlando. It was a little breezy (for Florida) but the ride was
great. Back home by 3 PM -- sore buns, but a beautiful trip.After this, our longest bike trip to date, I came up with some Rules for Riding:
1. Dress warmer than you think you need. Wind chill is nasty and you can always take a layer of clothes off. Can't put on what you don't have.
2. Take a tooth brush and extra socks. You never know what a road trip will bring...
3. Bring an extra bottle of water. Riding dehydrates a body.
4. Riding time is longer than driving time. Biking makes the road personal, more intimate, which then takes more time.
5. Good friends are a treasure. No explanation needed!
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