Marco Island May 19-20st, 2018

After a very long winter and a very wet spring, I was really looking forward to a trip to Marco Island, Florida with my college friends. Since 2007 we have taken annual trips. This year we decided on Marco Island. My one friend, Linda Psomas, has always shared her wonderful shelling experiences at Sanibel Island some 20 years ago. Since Marco Island is just a bit south, we thought it would be an ideal place to spend a week. Finding a condo on VRBO, Linda made our reservations. After booking flights to Ft. Meyers and reserving a car, we were ready for a sunny fun “girls” week.

Marco Island is the biggest barrier island in Southwest Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands area. It is just south of Naples and has a tropical climate, with a distinct wet and dry season. It’s wet season is from June to October. (We were hoping that the rains waited until June.) Spanish explorers gave the island the name La Isla de San Marcos after the gospel writer St. Mark. The first hotel was opened in 1896 which is known today as Olde Marco Inn. Clam Digging became the main industry in the Ten Thousand Islands area in the early 1900’s. The Doxsee Clam Cannery flourished from 1911 until 1947. Marco Island’s big push to attract tourists started in the 1960s. As a result the SS. Jolley Bridge, the causeway to get to the island, opened in 1969. The biggest development took place in the 1980’s and 90’s. The estimated population of the island is around 18,000.

Linda Psomas and I waiting to board our plane at Lehigh Valley Airport. Yes, it was raining. Our two other friends were flying from Harrisburg.

Changing planes in Charlotte, N.C. Finally, it was sunny – a very good omen!

Janet Sanders and Linda Hasson met us at the Charlotte airport. We were on the same flight to Ft. Meyers. After we landed, we went to pick up our car. I thought I had reserved a small SUV. Unfortunately it turned out to be a bit bigger-a Nissan Pathfinder. Linda P. and I were the designated drivers and while we were not thrilled, we decided to keep it. We certainly didn’t have any trouble fitting our luggage in this monster!

View from our condo. We were on the 9th floor. The Tigertail Tidal Lagoon was right in front of our condo with a wide beach to our left.

Another view from our balcony. You can see lots of condos to the south.

Heading for Winn Dixie which was only about a half mile away, we got in some groceries to hold us over until we made a bigger run on Sunday.

On Sunday morning after our coffee and breakfast on the balcony, we headed to the beach. I have never seen a beach so wide. Of course, Linda P. immediately went on her shell hunting. She’s a shell-aholic!

Here are Linda H., Linda P. and Janet in front of the pool, ready to head to the beach. Colorful aren’t they?

Walking right by the lagoon, Linda P and I had to take the pathway and investigate. We were amazed to see fish jumping about five feet out of the water. No wonder the birds are plentiful around the lagoon.

Lagoon showing its access to the beach to the center right.

We saw this little guy on the way to the beach and stopped to check him out!

Janet, Dori and Linda Hasson ready for a dip in the Gulf.

Looking back to the South Seas Towers Condominiums from the beach . Our condo was Tower 3, the third from the right.

Janet and Linda doing what they love to do!

As you can see from the picture our beach was wide and expansive. Most of our days were cloudy with a thunderstorm in the afternoon. With my fair skin, I was glad!

After cleaning up from the beach, we did a bigger grocery run. Next was finding a seafood restaurant. Heading south on Collier Boulevard we found Pinchers whose logo was a Big Red Lobster. Just as the logo implied, the menu was teaming with seafood. We were all pleased with our selections. No serious cooking for us; eating out is one of the highlights of our trips.

Our tables were covered with brown wrapping paper. Eating seafood can get quite messy, but really yummy!

Returning to the condo with full tummies, three of us decided to catch the sunset. Walking to the right of our condo, we walked along the Tigertail Lagoon.

Linda P. and Linda H. in front of the Tigertail Beach Cafe sign. Linda P. and I made a mental note to check this area out further tomorrow. It was rather smelly so Linda H. did not share our enthusiasm.

Linda P. getting a picture of the sunset on the way to Tigertail Lagoon Beach.

All in all, we had a great day exploring our condo and beach front. A more in depth exploration of Tigertail Beach will be on our agenda for tomorrow. Who know what new adventures await us?