The weekend here in South Florida was quite a washout, especially on the East Coast, but as planned on Sunday we set off for the West Coast and the Islands of Sanibel and Captiva, taking a risk that there was a 60% chance it would be cloudy and a 40% chance of rain.

We got up early, and were out of the door just after 7am, grabbing bagels and coffee before heading southwest to Alligator Alley and the 100 mile drive across Florida. Alligator Alley is one of the few roads that cross the Everglades in South Florida, and in the canals at the side of the road you can frequently see alligators sunning themselves. Not sure whether it was because it was cloudy and also early in the day, but I only saw 2. The only other time Tony had been the full length of Alligator Alley he saw over 100! Reaching Naples on the West Coast we headed north to Fort Myers, and then across a pretty causeway to Sanibel Island.

We only had a printout from Google plus a tourist leaflet that we picked up from a tourist information place when we hit Naples, and apparently I did amazingly well with the navigation! We did get lost on Sanibel, but as it's only a small island (5 miles long) you can't get too lost. Still, we saw some very nice houses with very interesting mailboxes, we stopped and took photographs as we tried to find the main road again. There are lots of great holiday homes there, it's very quiet, and although most of the beaches are private or for residents, there are 3 public beaches.

I thought that Bowmans Beach, about halfway along Sanibel would be a good place, and it was a perfect choice. The parking was good, plenty of space, good facilities, and a wonderful beach. Sanibel and Captiva are world famous for their shells, the beaches being covered in them. Unlike most beaches, these have dunes and mangroves at the back of them rather than buildings, so it seems really remote, and there are just thousands of shells. I found several hermit crabs in nice shells (put them back though), and Tony also found a puffer fish that was about the size of his finger nail. He managed to pick that up and I filmed it swimming in his cupped hands. We got great pictures of Blue Herons and Ibis's fishing, and one Blue Heron let Tony get within 20 feet of it too. Didn't manage to get any spectacular shells, but we did find lots of pretty smaller ones to bring home.

The weather turned out to be practically perfect, and we had a wonderful time. However we hadn't got more than 20 miles on the way home before it started raining - hard - and it rained most of the way home too. Whereas we had a wonderful day, back on the East Coast it had rained most of the day and was gloomy, so we were again incredibly lucky, just like when we were in New York a month ago.

I've tried several times to upload our photographs from Sanibel and Captiva, but there's a problem with the website as it keeps crashing. It's a sahme because we have some fabulous shots. I said to Tony at one point that it was just like being on a tropical Island... he said, well actually, you've been on a tropical Island all day... doh!

So now I have just over 2 weeks left and thoughts are moving towards returning home. Amanda has been helping me try to find a new place to live. I got caught by internet scammers last week who led me a merry dance but HA! We were onto them and led them a dance back! Thank goodness I didn't fall for it. I was very disappointed though and angry too that I'd been fooled by these 'people'.

I'm not looking forward to going home. Obviously, leaving Tony here is going to be a huge wrench, especially after we've spent so much time together. Also, the weather is going to get to me. Even when it rains here or is gloomy, it's still mid 80's and it clears quickly. But the seasons all run into one. It's very different and I know I'm going to take time to re-adjust when I get back.

Well, that's all for now. We're off to The Keys for the weekend on Thursday evening, so I'll have more news for you next week. I'll keep trying with the photos and I have managed to upload a short video.

Love d xx