Saturday, January 31, 2009

On The Road To...........

.....Ft. Myers Beach.

It was just over 98 miles from sunny Buttonwood Bay to the beach and the last part of the trip was new to us.  We'd been to Ft. Myers before but never to it's beach and as I was in the back of the truck with little else to do, I took some photos along the way.....which explains why they're not as sharp as usual. 




The first two are just typical road scenes from over here but I'm aware that people from other countries read this blog (bless you all) so I'll throw them in. The last one is a bit unusual as you don't expect to see a Mississippi style riverboat docked by some exclusive private houses when the rest of the boats are your typical yachts and speedboats. Maybe the owner won it gambling !!

As we approached the city, we were cut up by this 'flash harry' who obviously made a late decision to head for the beach - by crossing all three lanes without giving any indication to the rest of us.


At one point we had to join I-75 South for a few miles and this involved going up a steep on ramp. Why the photograph ? I told you I was bored.


Then we drove down the East side of Ft. Myers to get to it's beach. This involved going up onto a causeway bridge that spanned a stretch of San Carlos Bay and when I took this following photo, I wasn't aware that one of the signs was worthy of comment. Have a look at the sign closest to the camera. ALL TRAFFIC MUST YIELD TO TROLLEYS.

Nothing wrong with that as it's only right and proper that tourist trolleys should have the right of way. You can even see one heading up over the bridge in its very own lane. But look at the bit under this wording if you can.


I know it's difficult with this reduced image but it actually says.....

Min Fine $113.50

How precise is THAT ? I wonder if they'd let you off if you only had $113 on you ?
Someone on the fining committee was having a bad day when that one was drawn up.

The views from the bridge were spectacular and here you see the view to the north showing San Carlos Bay and in the distance, the Causeway Blvd (bridge) from the mainland over to Sanibel Island. This is a toll road and although it costs $6 to get to the island, the return crossing is free.


Driving down the other side of the bridge, we got our first glimpse of Ft. Myers Beach and this was the part I mentioned on my previous post when I described it as a typically colourful US 'seaside' area. The road then split left and right with the right fork taking you a short distance to the ferries that went to Key West and Ft. Myers and also took boat owners to the craft you see in this photo of a small harbour area.


We took the much longer left fork which ran south and after a mile or so, the cluster of t-shirt and souvenir stores gave way to hotels and motels built on both sides of the island.

After about 15 minutes we arrived at 6200 Estero Blvd and pulled into the car park of The Outrigger Beach Resort and........well that'll keep for another post. It's gone midnight and I'm off to bed.

All that driving has worn me out !

4 comments:

  1. I enjoyed the trip vicariously from your photos, having been on similar roads! I love the bottom photo with all the yachts - and I also liked it when I clicked on the map and it said "Gulf of Mexico". I've SWUM in the Gulf of Mexico, you know!!

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  2. Ditto Daphne's comments. And I have too swum in the G of M. :-) In a bikini an' all. (It was some time ago when I looked good in a bikini).

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  3. Looks like a lovely trip. :)

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  4. But ... where's the snow? Doesn't everyone have snow? We have snow!

    I bet you're jealous, aren't you?

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