Memorial Day

Memorial Day morning I took a mini road trip with my mama and Jonathan. We drove up to Fort Myers Beach, down to Bonita Beach and almost to Naples just checking out the sights and scoping out fishing spots.

Highlight: all ride down we'd been joking about a nudist colony that advertised in an area guidebook. I died when we found a mermaid statue out in front of a complex on the way to Bonita Beach that was topless and very anatomically correct. We laughed so hard over how we must have found the nudists that I had to pull the car over and catch my breath.

Later that afternoon we picked up 'The Bob' from the hotel and headed over to buy a fishing license and some bait. Then we hit up one of our favorite Fort Myers spots, Sun Harvest Citrus, for some yummy ice cream cones (my favorite is the Key Lime/Chocolate twist), juice, and citrus samples. After all that we headed over to Lighthouse Beach on Sanibel for fishing and a sunset.

This was the night I decided I probably wouldn't use the Canon much on this trip after a) the humidity gave me fits and b) I dropped the lens cap in sand. My mother wondered when I'd stop being paranoid over this camera, my answer: give me one year and a big girl job with real income and I'll stop freaking out.

Schnapper's Hots

On Wednesday we piled into the van for a morning of shelling at Turner Beach and Blind Pass in the Santiva area (the bridge area that connects Sanibel and Captiva). After looking around and a failed attempt to visit the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum the three of us who went were STARVING. A drive up Periwinkle (the main commercial area for shops and restaurants on Sanibel) landed us at Schnapper's Hots, a hotdog stand sort of place.

We bought plain hotdogs, chili dogs, and bratwurst.

And then took our order over to the Causeway Beaches (the bayside beaches on either side of the big bridge to the islands) to enjoy lunch and watch the passing boats. The food was good, but the view definitely made it the best lunch I've had in a while.

"Mom, she's like bigfoot--rarely seen on film."

I always come home from a trip and think, "dammit, I still forgot to be in any pictures."

Hate the way I look in this first one. I forgot to pack conditioner, not that it would have helped because the salty breeze at the beach everyday left my hair in a constant state of disarray. And I turned this black and white because this was pre-burn and therefore my little farmer's tan was a bit blinding.

That said, PROOF, I was there.

After the burn in my salmon colored shorts that I HAD to buy before I left town. I love them:

I ♥ Sanibel-Captiva

I don't want to seem braggy or anything about vacation. After all, I'm covered in bug bites to the point I'm almost concerned about toxicity. I'm sunburnt all over, even my knees. And I've had enough silly family squabbles to last a year. But man, the view? Worth it.

T-Minus 5 Days

I've been thinking about my upcoming trip to Sanibel.

About how different it will be than the last time I was there, in 2008.

For one, Jonathan is now taller than everyone.

He has officially lost the little boy chubbiness. Which I didn't even know existed the last time we were there. He was 13 then, I thought 13 was old.

I also watched a video of that trip. Holy crap! Voice change. He sounds like a MAN now. Gross.


(P.S. I have the camera I coveted the entire time we were there and hopefully will no longer have crappy dusk photos like this one. That is, if I'm not too paranoid to take it out.)


Jill lost a few teeth. Although I doubt anyone will notice.

And Sanibel's crocodile died! It's so tragic.

Serious question: should we take the gnome again?

If you could, please pray or send out good vibes for me. I have a job interview today at 3, for a job I desperately need. These bills of mine aren't going to pay themselves. And this job is perfect. It's temporary, it pays well, and it utilizes my college experience so it'll look good on a resume. But mostly, money would be really nice.