Susan was up early. The woman doesn't sleep much after beating cancer, so once I joined her for coffee on the balcony, she woke up her sister--no sleeping in on this vacation. We did the breakfast buffet, sitting outside overlooking the pool, and then I insisted we bike ride so that I could get in my exercise. They agreed, and the nice girls running the equipment shack gave us a map to the lighthouse, a 3.6-mile bike ride. That almost put off Susan because that would be a round trip of seven miles, but I convinced her we wouldn't have to go the whole way if we thought it too much.
The weather was beautiful. It was only about 71 degrees, and we had a nice breeze and the sun the entire trip. I went first because my legs were the longest, and after a shaky start, I got into a nice rhythm. I've ridden enough with my biker husband, and so as I passed other bikers and walkers, I said, "Bike left" as I rode around them. I also used a lot of energy, saying good morning to everyone coming toward me from the opposite direction. Everyone was out either biking or hiking, so I bet I said that over a hundred times. It got exhausting. At one point, I wondered aloud if it were still morning and a walker assured me it was.
Her: "It's 10:45 a.m. You're still good."
I probably had gone a mile before I realized I had left the other two far behind. I had to pull over and wait for Susan and Gina to catch up and ask for directions, but Susan had left the map behind, so we decided to just wing it. I set off again and periodically pulled over to wait for them. We made it to the lighthouse, which turned out to be one of the top ten destinations on Sanibel. We parked the bikes and hiked around the lighthouse and the beach, chatting with people we met.
Sanibel is known for its shells. They are everywhere on the beach, but I kept making them put them back as they picked them up. I still have two containers of my mom's shells sitting on my front porch, and that's after we got rid of the other boxes she owned. I know they snuck some in their luggage, but I may or may not have tossed some back.
We were wearing our matching shirts that said we were part of Susan's 50th crew, so we met many people who wanted to read our shirts. Gina and I always pointed to Susan as the oldest. She always let them know she wasn't 50 yet. People were so nice, wishing her a happy birthday and chatting with us. It was a great bike trip. It was so great I'm looking to move to Sanibel because I would be skinny if I lived here and biked everywhere.
I made it back to the resort before the others, so I circled the parking lot a couple of times. There was a gentleman worried about his convertible. He kept walking back to it as if someone was going to steal it. I passed him twice and then again as he finally decided to leave the car and walked two rows over toward the resort. He stopped abruptly.
Me: "Don't worry, I won't run you over. I've got the hang of it now. I just biked 7 miles."
He laughed and moved on. I circled the lot again until the girls arrived.
We rode back to the return area, and as I came around the corner to the shack, the same man was standing there.
Him: "This woman tried to hit me in the parking lot!"
Me: "Please. I let you get away, but I think I may have dinged your car."
He stared at me and then threw back his head and laughed and laughed. People were so friendly on this island, I tell ya. I loved biking. I could have biked to the other end of the island, but my back was aching from sitting up straight for so long, so I didn't chance it. We changed into our suits and hiked to the beach, where our island boy, Omario, got us chairs and umbrellas. We also got a beverage from the tiki bar. It was 5 o'clock somewhere.
The weather was perfect. We had lunch, we sunbathed., and then we walked the beach. I got into the water.
Later that evening, we drove to Captiva Island thirty minutes away, to take a sunset cruise. It was chilly, but we were prepared for that, and the crew had blankets aboard. The cruise was about an hour and a half. It wasn't anything great. We only saw one dolphin, and some man kept getting in our way during the setting of the sun, but it was fun nonetheless. We learned a little history of the islands and met a bunch of nice people.
We ate at a restaurant in Captiva with a waiter that apparently had a bug up his ass. We tried our best to woo him over to the good side, but either we had lost our charm, or he was just too far gone, or we pissed him off regarding something.
Me: "I'll have a Captain Morgan and a coke."
Kyle: "Beer or wine."
**
Me: "What do you recommend for dinner?"
Kyle: "Seafood or no seafood."
**
Me: "Which dessert do you recommend? Never mind, I know. Dessert or no dessert."
We gave him his 20 percent, but I think I'm going to need to mention his behavior on my Yelp review. Jeez, buddy. He was the only unfriendly person we encountered the entire trip, and that includes the guy we were sure was stalking us. Of course, stalkers are always friendly because, well, they are trying to get into your good graces. I learned that in the FBI. FYI.
We ended the night the same way we had the previous night--we played cards. Gina won this night. We contemplated rearranging the furniture as the maid had put back a chair and an ottoman we had moved. We thought it might be funny to set up a camera to see her reaction the next day if we put our mattresses on the dining room floor and the dining table in the living room. But it was too much work, and we hadn't had enough to drink. 50 years and over, you know.
Day 2 in the bag!
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