Fun in the Sun

The plane took off early in the morning and the kids were still half asleep as we took aim for the Florida sun, Fort Myers Beach to be exact. It was what this Midwestern family needed. Sun, sea, and sand to make it complete.

Our vacation held home base at the GullWing Beach Resort located on Fort Myers Beach. The resort offered spacious condo-like settings with a kitchen, bedrooms, living room, dining room, and even a small bar area. It worked very well with our family having two small children. It allowed them to move around instead of being cramped in little hotel room.

We took to the wonderful beaches of both Fort Myers and Sanibel. The sand between the toes was great and the seashelling was even better. We found so many beautiful shells, we had to ship them home separately via UPS.

We took a day to travel up North to Orlando and the world of Universal Studios. I was very excited and the 3.5 hour trek to and from was certainly worth the time. This park has all the rides you need as a thrill seeker as well as those rides the whole family can enjoy. Universal certainly provided a highlight for our trip to Florida.

With all the stores, museums and tourist attractions in and around Fort Myers, what kept calling our name was the beach and that is where the family spent a large amount of time. We loved the kid-friendly atmosphere of Fort Myers as well as a relaxing environment for all. Looking forward to next year!

Quick Tips:

A few suggestions we learned on this trip:

Rent a car. There is a lot to see in around the SW Florida area.

Hit the beach mid morning until mid afternoon. At least in our case, storms tend to roll in after 4pm.

Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen!

We went in mid May and then heard from locals that this was off season. That made for far less traffic and most spots were not very crowded including Universal Studios. With small children that made a world of difference.

Go shelling on Sanibel early if you can. Many treasures await.

Ask the locals. They know the good places to eat, visit, etc.

Best Way To Get Around:

We found that the best way to travel for us was a rented minivan. It got us where we wanted to go and more. With the time of year it was (Mid May), there was little or no traffic on the Fort Myers Beach area, Sanibel, or even North Fort Myers. Parking does cost at most Public Beaches but it is minimal (minus Sanibel. Upwards of an hour).

There is also a trolley service that runs the extend of the Estero Blvd. which is Fort Myers Beach. We did not try it but it is available.

The Gullwing Beach Resort is located on Fort Myers Beach with perfect access to the large, expansive Fort Myers Beach. Bring your walking shoes. The beach is a nice little jaunt from the resort, but it is such a nice walk with white sand as far as you can see.

Needless to say Gullwing made the trip a home away from home with all the facilities you may need. We were able to use the kitchen to cook meals, so bring your own food. Everything else you needed was provided such as utensils, plates, pots, pans, bowls, etc. The washer and dryer did its job like a champ. Some complimentary soaps, detergents, and towels are supplied, but if you are making it an extended stay you may need to drive down to the local Plubix supermarket (only about 1 mile down the road) for additional supplies.

The kids loved the lanai giving us a picture-perfect view of the ocean. Such an appealing backdrop while eating dinner or enjoying a nice bottle of wine.

The bedrooms are large with ample closet space and drawer space. Everything was readily available, towels, hand towels, and soaps. You may for extra fees have daily housecleaning or towel replacement or like we did, wash your towels at the end of the night, ready for the next day's use.

The location is farther south than most of the action on Estero Blvd. But I saw that as a good thing. Only a short trolley or car ride will bring you to the Fort Myers Beach shops.

Beach access is right outside the back and the pool was well kept and a nice change from sand in your shorts. The hot tub is available although a little warm for my taste.

The management was very nice and helpful. They answered any question you had and were quick to solve any problem. But since this was an extended stay resort, they really were invisible to guests unless you needed assistance.

Only two minor complaints. Ethernet is available (bring your Cat 5E cable for your room, wireless available in the lobby and by the pool). However, during our stay, it was down for 2.5 of the days. I am a geek so it was kind of crazy for me but others may not be so affected by this

We also requested a highchair for our son. Upon first inspection, it was caked with years of food and crud (best word I could think of) in the cracks and crevices of the highchair. Needless to say we did not use it at all. But these are only minor issues I had.

All in all this a great place for families who want great accommodations, more than just a hotel room, and access right next to the beach. Looking forward to next year at the Gullwing.

Before our trip to Boman's Beach on Sanibel Island, we had to stop and refuel the gas tanks for us and the kids.

Driving around we found a kind of whole in the wall little pub/bar and grill place called the Great White Grill . Up close it just seemed like a place to grab a bite but the food was surprisingly good and fast. With two small children who wanted to get to the beach, this was a good thing.

My wife and I both got the Sanibel Salad which has grilled chicken, walnuts, garden greens (not the iceberg kind), and great vinaigrette dressing. This surprised us not thinking this was the place to find such a great, out of the ordinary salad. But we were wrong. All the flavors seem to work together. Kudos to the Great White Grill.

The kids got a cheese pizza. I snuck a bite and this was a very good pizza. Fresh mozzarella made the difference and it too, was freshly made to order. So while we started out for a a place to quickly grab a bite to each, it turned into a great dining choice.

BTW the Great White Grill is a self-proclaimed center for fans of Pittsburgh Steelers football. The memorabilia and pictures attest to that. So show your black and gold pride if you stop by.

Back from a morning at the SeaShell factory, everyone was starving especially for some seafood. We had seen Pinchers on the first day of vacation and I kept a mental note of that.

We stopped in and it was not very crowded. We were seated promptly at a table. I ordered the Mahi Mahi lightly breaded, baked, and served with coleslaw and fries. The fish was very good and not fishy tasting at all. My wife ordered the grilled shrimp, seasoned with Old Bay Seasoning. She is very finicky about seafood and she thought the shrimp were excellent.

The atmosphere was warm, casual, and comfortable with typical seafaring decorations adding to the feel. It was located on a Marina so the kids got to watch some pelicans duke it out for a piece of fish. It surely passed the time while we waited for the food.

The interesting part of this restaurant was the seafood market at the front of the place. You could take home some shrimp perhaps grouper or red snapper. As the chef said about the fresh seafood "most of it slept in the Gulf of Mexico the night before". Now that is fresh fish!

In conclusion, Pinchers is a great casual place to bring the family or stop for a cold one and have some decent seafood. And the price is reasonable.

We drove early across the Sanibel Causeway ($6 to cross) with dreams of seashells dancing in everyone's heads. It truly was our goal for the day. To gather our booty of seashells.

We drove throughout the island, making turn after turn in hopes of running into a beach access point. Finally after several turns we came upon a dirty road that pointed the way to the beaches of Sanibel. The funny thing is that we still do not know what part of the beach this was called. Maybe someday we will find out.

The beaches are beautiful on Sanibel and the shells are everywhere. We walked close to a mile down the beach and shells were just about everywhere. It was so much fun watching the family look and look for shells of any kind. And the shells were beautiful as well as colorful. It truly is the seashell capital of the United States.

After amassing a large amount of shells we shoved off to one of the popular public beaches on Sanibel, Boman Beach. Now bring your walking shoes because the beach is a good 3/4 mile from the parking lot. Showers and bathrooms are available along the way.

Once we entered the beach, it was beautiful, with the water warm and the sand white, the kids had a blast making sand castles and splashing in the Gulf of Mexico. The beach is so large it can accommodate a large amount of beach goers so no need to worry about being crowded on this beach.

Not only were there shells and swimming but the kids went crazy over the wildlife. Of course the herons paraded up and down the beach but we also saw some other interesting things. We saw the shell remains of a horseshoe crab and a small hermit crab made its way down the beach. But the strangest of all had to be the multitude of millipedes on the walk to Boman Beach. I had never seen so many walking along the path in my life. It was quite a site to see.

We picked up our things, seashells in hand as large storm clouds started to roll into the small island. It was a good end to a great day at the beach.

Note: There were several other beach access parks that we were not able to see due to time constraints. Also there is a large nature reserve, J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, on Sanibel that might be of interest. A lot of good things have been made of it however nap time called for our youngest and it was time to head to the condo. Sanibel has a lot to offer. A must visit when in Southwest Florida.

The Shell Factory was a morning excursion that took quite a bit of time to get to from Fort Myers Beach. I'm not sure if it was worth the drive.

It seems to have aged and I assume it has been around for quite some time. The center is a large complex similar to a western town in layout only. Once you enter the main building that changes. Packed in this long, gymnasium looking building is every shop you can think off the top of your head. Jewelry, T-shirts, hats, glass blowing (Yes, I said glass blowing), trinkets, stuffed animals, refreshments, post office, and of course shells, and lots of them. If you could not find a shell you were looking for then it does not exist. Row after row of seashells and the like.

We did pick up a few gifts for the family and seashell decorations for the house. However, all in all, it was not up to my expectations and with limited things for children to do, it was hard to keep them in check.

I will preface by saying we did not stop to see the animals section which I think included petting zoo but we had other things to do.

Orlando was not a short drive from Fort Myers, it was a good 3.5 hour drive. But we could not pass up the opportunity to spend the day at Universal Studios in Orlando.

It began early as we left Fort Myers Beach for Orlando around 6:15am. With both youngsters groggy-eyed we pulled onto the road in search of fun for the whole family. 3.5 hours later we pulled into the massive parking structure just outside Universal Studios. Only a maze of moving walkways separated us from fun.

Since we purchased electronic tickets we went straight to the ticketing machine, entered confirmation number, and it spit out all of our tickets and passes. We opted several different plans:

2-Park tickets (Both Universal Studios Park and Island of Adventures).

Express Pass allowed us to skip the lines and go up ahead on the rides. This was valid one per ride (although many of the attendants did not mark the ticket so we were able to use it over and over on several rides).

Meal Deal pass allowed us to order food without dishing out money. It only worked on about a select three eateries per park but that was enough for us Sipper Cup allowed us unlimited refills which was great with the kids who were always thirsty.

I think we got our money's worth minus the Meal Deal. But still it allowed us to get food and feed the kids rather than rummaging for money to pay. A nice convenience.

We started the day by entering the Islands of Adventure. Our first step was Suess Landing which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. The whole section was built in the scheme of Suess backdrop from Thing 1 and 2 to The Cat in the Hat. We were able to ride all the rides from the Car-Suess-el to the new The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride.

Some more of my favorite rides in this area where the Spider-Man ride which my daughter thought was the coolest! The Hulk Coaster was probably my favorite although the Mummy's Revenge in Universal Studios side of the park might have something to say about that. If you are a roller coaster fan the Dueling Dragons is a fierce ride. Twists and turns and go two roller coasters at a time.

We moved over to the Universal Studios Park which centers around the movie industry with sections named after Holloywoodesque themes such as Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, and the back lots of some of the neatest scenery you will see. The kids and (adults) loved the Shrek 4-D ride and my daughter had a fit over the Jimmy Neutron ride. The JAWS ride was the old standby that nearly scared my daughter to death. The must ride in this park had to be the Revenge of the Mummy Ride.

In closing, Universal did it right with this park. Fun for all ages!