A walk on the beach

Eh, winter in Wisconsin gets kind of long.  So when we got a chance for a few days of low cost warmth in Florida we jumped at it.

Coastal Florida is an odd place....I am a youngster in these parts!

Sanibel Island to be specific.  The main activity here is walking the beach looking for shells.  I have enough shells but still follow the habit of getting up early for a walk.

A bunch of seabirds, very sure of themselves, in that odd light that you get just before the sun comes up over the waves.

You see some very nice sand sculptures here.  I don't think this is the work of any of the retirees who are the main population of the place.  But you do see a fair number of idle, bored grandkids about. This ensemble has a macabre look to it.

Not picking up shells I needed a different destination.  There is a lighthouse at one end of the island. It made for a nice stroll.

History is a bit on the new side here in Florida.  Oh, there were a few pirates about but nobody has every found any treasure here.  A light house for Sanibel Island was proposed way back in the early 19th century but there did not seem to be a pressing need for it given the minimal population of the area. Oh, and the Civil War kind of got in the way.  Finally they got around to it in the 1880s....only to have the ship carrying the steel components sink off shore!  Pluckily they salvaged the parts and assembled it anyway.