Farsighted Fly Girl

When I first arrived on Sanibel Island, I was sitting at a Tiki Bar, waiting for my room to be ready when a couple asked me if I was from Alaska. I had on a light sweater, a scarf and jeans. I explained that their theory was pretty close (I live in Chiberia). The temps were in the low 70's and I wasn't hot at all but that's not the point. Sanibel is all about the beach, the sun and wearing tropical clothes, regardless of the weather. It's like a rule. So I explored Sanibel and Captiva beaches, nature reserves and bike paths as one of the only people in pants, lol. I loved delving into these natural spots, and they were always mostly deserted. Cayo Costa  shown above, was my favorite beach. It was filled with piles of shells and a beautiful shoreline that I walked for two hours straight.  Sanibel's beaches were scattered with striking sand sculptures like this mermaid. On the Sanibel Heritage Trail,  this sign warning of an alligator caught my eye, as w...

For years, I've wanted to explore the unusual barrier islands of Sanibel and Captiva, located off the southwest coast of Florida.  Most islands have a north-south orientation but on Sanibel and Captiva, the layout is east-west, creating glorious sandy beaches and layers of shells. I'm excited to kick off my 2019 travels by exploring these under-the radar islands. I'll be biking the Sanibel Heritage Trail, hopping on a shelling cruise to Cayo Costa island, accessible only by boat, and hiking through the J.N,Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge.  ,where I hope to spot a few manatees. A stop by the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum , the only museum dedicated to shells in the U.S., is also a Sanibel requirement so hopefully I won't come home with pounds of shells to add to my collection!  Please follow along with my posts as I discover these intriguing islands.

Strolling the boardwalk in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, I spotted this scene and quickly snapped it. The parrot never moved or fluttered, he looked perfectly content perched on the bike and riding along the beach. Since I love parrots, biking and beaches, it turned out to be one of my favorite impromptu travel photos. What's your favorite unexpected travel pic?

I'm so sorry that's it's been so long since my last post but I was hunkered down writing my book, which was due yesterday. Now that it's at the publisher's, I can get back to my routine, which includes traveling and writing about it. I'll write a post about my book closer to the publication date but I really wanted to look back at all the wonderful places I visited in 2013 before I start my 2014 travels. My travel schedule was really busy last year but these are the places that I loved. Oaxaca, Mexico was one of them, that's Santa Cruz Bay pictured above. The nine bays of Huatulco, Mexico are breathtaking, it was a dicey experience for me to see all of them, since I was in a boat for hours and suffered from seasickness but it was totally worth it. This is the last bay, St. Augustine. I sampled fresh guacamole (they literally went to pick the avocados) in a beach cafe and climbed the top of the hill that overlooks the bay, to the local church. I promi...

It's no secret that I harbor a life long attraction to islands. I have never visited one that I didn't like although I do especially love the small, sparsely populated islands. St. Vincent, in northwestern Florida, fits that bill nicely. (Although St. Vincent & The Grenadines would also fall into that category.)  Floating smack dab in the Gulf of Mexico, St. Vincent is completely uninhabited. I explored the wild, unspoiled terrain one afternoon with a boat ride from nearby St. George.  The trees were windswept and sun burnt and the pearly sand was studded with hundreds of shells. St. Vincent is also home to a national wildlife refuge and even if you didn't know that, you get that feeling from the striking terrain.  I spotted Alligators, bald eagles and ospreys but wolves and snakes also lurk. I collected two pounds of seashells and lots of relaxing memories from St. Vincent.

Along the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida, St. George Island unfurls with long stretches of pearly sand and serene landscapes. I visited this hidden, 22-mile barrier island expecting the unspoiled beauty but I also discovered a very distinctive, old school lifestyle that includes oyster harvesting.  Oysters can only be harvested manually in St. George so the surrounding Apalachicola Bay is dotted with small boats like the one above. These oyster boats haven't changed much since they were developed 100 years ago.  The wooden structure measures 20-23 feet and are equipped with  a small cubicle to protect against the sun, a culling board to separate the oysters and long, 12-feet tongs used to rake the shellfish from the oyster beds onto the boats. Oyster harvesting is often a family business, I spotted many husband and wife teams out on the water, patiently culling oysters, piling them into 60 pound sacks that go for approximately $25 each...

I've seen a lot of strange sights during my travels and the phone booth/police station that I visited on my recent trip to St. George Island, Florida, counts as one of them. Clearly, the little town of Carrabelle right outside of St. George, which consists of a few streets and this police station, does not experience much crime. Before the phone booth, the police phone was a simple call box bolted to a building. That call box served as the police headquarters until they were plagued by tourists making unauthorized long distance calls. So in 1963, they erected a phone booth under a chinaberry tree. This booth and bench currently provides the local police with all they need to regulate crime. I am not making this up. The phone booth has been featured in Ripley's Believe It Or Not and the Today Show. I squeezed into the booth and it is a tight fit. I don't think Carabelle police eat many doughnuts or other stereotypically fatty foods popular with the police. S...