Made it back from Florida today and I was extremely lucky to miss any bad weather. Everyday was 80 degrees and sunny – such a nice, welcome change from our cold and snowy Wisconsin December! I spent the week of Christmas in Fort Lauderdale visiting family and doing a bit of sightseeing. While there, we went to the Zoo in Miami, rented bicycles and peddaled around in Palm Beach, went to the Hard Rock Casino, ate out at the local restaurants, and spent a good amount of time at the beach. On Christmas Day after dinner, we got to have a nice hot soak in the outdoor hot tub. Now that was my idea of how to spend Christmas.
A couple of days after Christmas, I left Fort Lauderdale and headed over to the gulf side of the state. Once there, I decided to spend a couple of days at Sanibel Island. It’s probably been about 17 years since I was there last and had forgotten pretty much every everything about it. I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to get a room with it being the holiday season. Luckily, there was availability at the Holiday Inn, located right on the water. While I was in the process of registration, the hotel clerk said “300″ and I assumed that she was talking about the room number. In actuality, it was the cost per night. Ouch! Little bit more than I had planned on spending but since it had been a year since my last break, I bit the bullet and rented the room for 3 days. I was able to get a $250 room rather than the $300 one.
It was a sad day when I had to get back in the car and head back to Wisconsin. It is a 23 hour drive and I did it in two days – drove about 12 hours per day. What helped, is that I listened to a couple of books on CD (on iPod, actually) to help pass the time. I listened to Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” and “Anansi Boys“. Needless to say, I am a huge Neil Gaiman fan. Listening to the books certainly eased the pain of the drive and I was home before I knew it – back into the Winter Wonderland of Wisconsin.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s great you got to spend some time in the warm weather. I don’t envy your going back to the cold. I did the opposite, going from Sanibel to Indiana and cold for a week and was truly happy to get back home to the 80’s.
The prices are a little high here, but much better in off season and when you can deal with a condo owner or individual. When I was coming as a tourist, I used to find nice 2 BR condos for less than a Holiday Inn room. That is especially true if you contact an owner just a month or couple weeks before the trip.
Have a great new year!
I had a wonderful time in Sanibel and will definitely return in the off-season. How lucky you are to live on the island!