Monday, May 27, 2013

Sanibel Island 2013 Day 6

Why is it that the days leading up to our trip always drag by so slowly, and then once we are there, they fly by with a flash?  Day 6 had us up and out the door early and sitting at Over Easy CafĂ© for breakfast.  That seems to have been our tradition the past few years and one that we're not likely to break.  I like the cute little restaurant and their good food.  Why change a good thing?

After breakfast we went back to Shalimar and checked out, stopped at Pak n Ship to send home our box of shells and slowly drove down Periwinkle, saying a silent good-bye to all our favorite places.  Once we hit the bridge, we nosed over into the sad lane and kept one eye on the road and the other eye on our final glimpse of the lighthouse. 


We always stop on one of the causeway beaches for a final picture and to grab a small shell to place in our pockets for the flight home. 





This year we had a late afternoon flight and we were torn over staying at the beach for the day or driving to Ft. Myers and visiting the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.  This year since the shelling was so bad, the Edison Estate won.  Once we got there I wanted to kick myself for waiting so long.  This place was amazing - so much to see, so large, so interesting.  I immediately knew we weren't going to have time to see it all.




First things first.....  A virtual geocache was located near the entrance, near this famous Banyan tree.  GCBAF6  The tree is immense and SO cool.  How badly do you think I wanted to climb this tree?  Unfortunately there were signs all over the place specifically telling you not to climb the tree. Spoilsports....  :-)




Once I got my geocaching fix under control, we entered the museum.  They have several different packages available for touring the property.  Since we were short on time, we opted for the audio tour of the grounds and the museum.  They gave us small audio boxes to hang around our necks and off we went to explore on our own.  Here's the entrance to the estates, which are located across the street....



The first thing we came across was a huge mango tree.  Look at all those gorgeous mangoes!  As we were standing there taking a picture, a beautiful ripe mango fell off the tree and landed practically at my feet. 

I wanted that damn mango so bad, but they have signs posted that you cannot take the mangoes.  Plus an employee was standing right there, thwarting any wild ideas that may have crossed my mind to bend over and just shove that gorgeous mango into my purse... 


Everywhere we looked was an explosion of fruit trees, dozens of different species of trees and flowers....



















I just realized how many gorgeous photos I have and I haven't even gotten to the buildings yet.  So I think I'll stop here and break this into 2 separate posts.  But I wanted to leave you with this last group of pictures because it's so unusual to capture this in person.  I am warning you however, it is X rated....  Proceed at your own risk and don't say you.... weren't.... warned.....



Did you proceed??  Yeah, I kind of thought you would.  LOL!  Ok, we were walking along the harbor area and I was poking around to see if there were any shells laying about.  There weren't.




Check out the look on my face....


I spied this lizard sitting on a rock doing this....



I'd never seen anything like that so I sat and watched him, trying to snap a picture of him when the orange thing was out.  It happens so quickly and every couple of seconds.  Then he leaped down between the rocks, grabbed another lizard and they did this....




The whole thing took about two minutes (hmm.....) and then the female ran off and the male sat there looking all proud of himself and I swear he was smiling....


Now I guarantee that is something you do not see everyday!

19 comments:

  1. lol! Lizard porn!!! :p
    We usually get to witness a lot of beetle activity around here in the spring... I've never happened upon any reptiles in the act... :p

    I love that tradition of picking up a final shell to take home with you in your pocket! :o)

    And WOW! What an interesting place to visit! That tree is AMAZING!!!

    It's a pity the mango didn't happen to fall into your bag... bad aim! :p

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    1. LOL - Lizard porn!!! That mango was still sitting there a couple hours later when we left. I looked! But so was the employee...

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  2. I've never stopped to see the Edison Estates -- guess I'll have to put that on my to-do list! Beautiful! I like the Over Easy Cafe, too -- hadn't been there for a few years because my old friend Dr. Cranky was KICKED OUT and banned for life from there for his bad behavior way back when it was Amy's OEC! But Nancy and Chuck and I went there for dinner right before they moved from Sanibel. Always good and always comfortable. LOL about the lizards -- I've seen the males posturing like that, but I've never seen them be so successful. Ah, young love.

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  3. When you live in FL....you see a lot of lizard antics! lol But you got some funny photos...which are NOT easy to get! And the time does just FLY by. I have never been to Sanabel and would love to go sometime. I'm so glad you had a beautiful week! Looks like the weather was fabulous! Did you get to meet any blog buddies? I sure would love to meet you and Chablis some day! Sweet hugs!

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    1. The weather was actually perfect. Well, blogger buddies we saw were Brian, of course, and Pam from I Love Shelling. That was it for this trip. You have GOT to get to Sanibel. You will love it.

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    2. We have it on our list of places to go! I would love to meet Pam...she is such a sweetheart! I'm glad you got to see her and Brian, too! Hugs!

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  4. Ow, you look like you are having a great time. I know...how can we slow these awesome times down?

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  5. Ha, ha, ha - timing is everything! It's not everyday you see lizard love. Nice photos of the landscaping around the estates. Thanks for sharing your vacation photos.

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    1. We certainly had a lot of good photo ops this trip.

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  6. Well actually I do see that just about every day, lol! It's a pretty common sight here in Florida. I can't say that I've ever got a photo though. You really got some great shots :)

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  7. My parents used to have a home in Sanibel. Such a beautiful place.
    Hugs,
    Laura

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    1. Seriously? Oh how lucky. I bet you miss it sometimes.

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  8. Hahaha - I think National Geographic should hire you!

    Great pictures - looks like you had a great time! J

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    1. Oh you are so sweet. That would be a dream job, wouldn't it??

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  9. I've never seen a mango tree! Oh my word, that is an awesome set of photos!

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    1. It is a picture perfect location, that's for sure. And I still want that stinking mango!!

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