We have visited Florida several times. Vacations to Walt Disney World, Cruises from Port Canaveral. But over the last few years we have been travelling to Florida in the very early spring/late winter to visit family. Jason's parents have been wintering in Fort Myers since 2012, so we have been to visit them in that historic little city a few times now. This post won't be a day by day travel journal like I most often do, instead I will write about the locations we have visited and some of our favourite things we like to do while visiting the southwest coast of Florida. For our family its the outdoor adventures that we love even more than the city ones. And posting these pictures also shows how much our children have changed and grown in the last few years. Fort Myers Take a Trip to The Edison and Ford Winter Estates Living across the river from Detroit and having a membership at the Henry Ford Museum gives us an advantage to knowing a lot of information about the Ford and Edison families. But we can honestly say that we really loved visiting their winter homes in Fort Myers where they hosted the greatest innovators, and even presidents. They discussed inventions, made new friends and even developed those new ideas, while away from those cold Michigan winters. Sanibel Island This may be our favourite place. We have visited Sanibel Island on all of our visits to Fort Myers. One day it would be lovely to actually stay right on the island and live the island life. One of the biggest tips I can give about visiting Sanibel Island for the day is to go EARLY. We usually rise very early and head across the causeway and onto the island while most people are just thinking about getting out of bed. Why do you ask? 1. No crowds and we get a private beach for a few hours for us to swim and collect all the new washed up shells. 2. The animals are active, and that includes the dolphins swimming along the shore. 3. We get to swim and play before it gets too hot. ( No sunburns!) 4. We get off the island without a traffic jam. (and trust me, there are traffic jams.) We get there early in the morning and have our fun, and by 1 pm were ready to go when the beach gets crowded. And we get the chance to smile and giggle as we drive passed all the people trying to get onto the island. Dolphins and Pelicans and even a few more friends join us as we play along the shore. Check out a Dolphin Tour out of Fort Myers Beach On our first visit to Fort Myers we visited Fort Myers beach and booked a Dolphin Tour. We lucked out though as the other family who was booked to share the boat with us cancelled and we had the tour to ourselves, along with Grandma and Grumpa Beaton and of course our Captain Jay Holloway. Captain Jay even let the kids drive the boat for a part of the tour. We were able to find a few dolphins, but even just being out on the water on a sunny day was great. Head North to Clearwater One of the most exciting days we have spent in Florida was at the Mote Aquarium . It wasn't inside the building itself, but the boat tour that takes you out into the bay to explore what is under the water. We had the opportunity to see seahorses, touch star fish and conch shells, see dolphins swimming, and pelicans flying.
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