Thanksgiving

It's Turkey Day and we're counting our blessings at the beach. In fact, this is our second beach visit of the day because the DH indulged his fantasy of stopping on the causeway and picnicking with the fishermen. No tourists here. My take - any beach is a good beach. At any rate, it's very easy to find things to be thankful for by the sea.

I forgot that we travel with our beach chairs in the trunk of the car - always. However, who needs expensive luxury items when you've already got it all?

Hmmmm......there was a turkey dinner with all the trimmings on the menu, but, as long as we were dining on the water, the ubiquitous grouper sandwich seemed like the logical choice.

It's not pumpkin pie, but we did dine at Gramma's on Thanksgiving Day.

No Turkeys Here

How can Thanksgiving be right around the corner, and not a turkey in sight?

Brr...@ the Beach

The TV weather guys keep touting the coldest temperatures of the season. Don't remind me. How can it be 40 degrees in Fort Myers? This is Florida for pete's sake. Well, at least, that's not snow I'm standing in. I'm not wearing socks either.

Beachin'

Another sunny day at the beach.

The seashells must have been partying all night and didn't notice that the tide went out and left them behind.

My face is smiling, but my foot is bruised from that previous unexpected encounter with a lightning whelk. Gotta watch out for dark clouds even on the sunniest of days.

Seashells at the Seashore

Only the shell in the middle is a keeper; the others are still alive and are not permitted to go home with anyone. See.......I'm putting them out in deeper water so they have a better chance of escaping both low tide and greedy tourists. In fact, I confronted one woman who was wading through the water clutching three whelks and searching for more. I inquired whether she was aware that Sanibel is a sanctuary island where it is illegal to harvest inhabited shells from the beaches (first offense is a $500 fine), and she promptly dropped one on my foot! Ouch! Like they say, no good deed goes unpunished, or as the DH informs me - MYOB. I don't know whether I felt compelled to rescue the gastropods from a horrible fate because I was concerned for their welfare or because if I couldn't have them, I didn't want anyone else to have them either. Truthfully, I could never kill any sea creatures - not even those pesky seagulls. After all, they are right where they should be. We, on the other hand, are merely intruders.

Moving In

You can tell by the size of this truck that we own way too much stuff. Our possessions were not the only freight heading south from Ann Arbor - there were also stops in Panama City and Jacksonville.
At this point, things don't seem too bad. Items are still neatly contained in their cartons. I'm exhausted and just beginning to realize that the furnishings that seemed oh-so-chic in that former corset factory converted loft in the city of trees doesn't transfer so easily to a wannabe Florida beach house by the Caloosahatchee River.
Boxes and paper - it's almost like Christmas except the temperature is 86 degrees.
End of the day on the other side of the water, looking back at our new condo (far right of the five towers) sitting in an open-air restaurant, right at water level - eating stone crab claws. Who can complain?

Movin' on Up

This is the new space - 21 floors up. We were supposed to move in November 1, but our furniture had not arrived yet so we spent one night sleeping on the floor. One night, and then we headed out to Sanibel and checked in to comfy lodgings on the beach. After several delays, our belongings are scheduled to arrive tomorrow, and we'll be surveying the world from the clouds.