We had plans to go to upstate New York over the labor day holiday. Flights filled up, but our hearts were set on going somewhere, so we started searching for a location with open seats. We searched 30 states and many locations in Florida and the east coast. We finally found an open flight with an overnight layover to Fort Myers, Florida. I had never heard of it before. We only had 5 minutes to finish closing up the house to get to the airport on time. Security was challenging with tired kids and we were still wondering if maybe we should just head home and have a quiet weekend. One of the problems/great things with standby is that you don't HAVE to go if you aren't feeling up to it. But we stayed and got our seats. Dave researched what to do in Fort Myers on the flight and found out that it is the shelling capitol of the world. We started getting excited for the beach with shells. There was a SUPER drunk man on the flight to kept saying that our family just warmed his heart and we were doing it right. He loved that we were traveling with our 3 kids and thought we deserved free flight vouchers(little did he know). He told Dave I was a 'solid' wife (fat joke?) and he wished he were married to me. It was funny and crazy, but for once it was nice to not feel like people were mad or judgy that we were traveling with 3 little kids. We landed in Charlotte at 11:00 pm and went to a hotel. Getting out of the airport with sleeping kids and into the hotel room was a challenge, and knowing we had to wake up in 4 hours to go back to the airport and do security was daunting. I was wondering if it was going to be worth it. But the morning went really smoothly and the flight was quick and painless. When we got there, we got a minivan with a DVD player and gps for no extra charge! Minivans make our trips so much easier!!
We immediately got a redbox, some food and buckets (I had packed for a trip to NY, NOT the beach, so we were under prepared) and headed to Sandibel Island to go shelling for the first time.
We were not disappointed. The whole beach was littered with shells!
The water was almost too warm, it didn't cool off the hot weather, but the kids could sit in it for hours. The waves were gentle and easy and the kids could touch the bottom for a good stretch, thus we could go look for shells together. We found so many sand dollars. There was a man there who started the group the 'shellanators' on facebook and he found a giant shell with a fish, shrimp and crabs in it. It was so neat to see.
After 2 hours at the beach, we headed to our hotel for a nap time. Mariah fell asleep and the kids and I went to the pool. We were in heaven with the great weather and the cool water. Hallie is learning to swim and loving the freedom of moving in the water on her own. After nap time, we grabbed lunch at Carvers and headed to lovers Key state park. This beach was great as well, but fewer shells and more sand. The water was still warm and shallow. It was a beautiful place to enjoy during dusk. 
Hallie had quite enough of the beach and sun (and the late night/'early morning finally caught up to her) and she laid down for a nap.
There was a turtle egg that didn't hatch that a ranger found. Inside was a 2 headed turtle baby! It was incredible, but I missed getting a photo of it.
We crossed this river to get out to the ocean, and there were fish jumping out of the otherwise peaceful waters. Once in the ocean, a fish jumped right near Jackson's face.
After finding what we thought were empty shells we took them to our hotel and the next morning they shells were all open with the animal dead inside. We felt terrible, but we didn't think they were alive, we were careful to put back the shells that we could see something in it, but these shells were closed up tight, like pebbles. Now they are open and beautiful 'butterfly' shells.
At the end of the night we drove up to Fort Myers beach and caught the sunset. ..
Just as an ominous storm was brewing from the east. It downpoured while we tried swimming in our hotel pool. We got ice cream from Carvers and crashed in the hotel room (Thanks Hilton points!)
On Sunday morning we found a flight that was direct from Fort Myers to DFW, saving us 5 hours from our original plan with a layover in Charlotte. This helped us have an easier morning and be able to attend all 3 hours of church. I love meeting members and seeing the church in many different places. We always bring a microwavable lunch (ez mac, oatmeal, tuna packets, popcorn) and use the church kitchen for a meal.
We took a drive while the kids rested/slept and found a beautiful barefoot beach, with amazing homes lining it.
We went to Lakes park and walked around, wish we had more time for a walk around the water (or even a tandem bike ride!) But alas, the time to go had come. We got through the long line of security just in time to jump on our flight and make it home by bed time.
Almost every new place we explore, I want to go back for more. This was just a taste of a wonderful place. The shells were incredible and we loved the warm water.
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