As part two of our trip to Florida we spent some time in the area of Fort Myers and Sanibel Island.  It’s a truly beautiful region on the Gulf of Mexico.  There’s so much nature to see, gorgeous scenery, and in July, perfectly warm water for swimming in the ocean.

I don’t necessarily have “tips” for viewing this area like I did for Disney World, but I can list off some tasty restaurants and some fun places to go.  If you get the chance, you should definitely head down to this area!

Fort Myers:

• 6 Mile Cypress Slough: Tons of nature to see here including various birds, gators, turtles, and insects.  Even if it’s really hot the trail is mostly shaded so although you’ll feel the warmth you won’t be in direct sunlight for most of it.

• Fort Myers Beach: Although you might need to park in the crazy-busy touristy section of town, when you get down to the beach, keep walking…don’t stop with the crowds of people.  If you’re willing to walk for 10-15 minutes you can get past some of the big crowds and find some rather empty stretches of sand for yourself!

• Pizza Fusion: This was a really tasty pizza shop that caters to carnivores, vegetarians, vegans and even the gluten-free crowd!  I personally tried the Pear & Gorgonzola pizza and it was absolutely delicious.  You can choose their regular organic crust, multigrain or gluten-free.  You can also build your own pizza with their vast ingredients list, or you can have a salad, sandwich or wrap.

• Lush French Bakery: The French don’t disappoint with their pastries, that’s for sure.  I had a chocolate almond croissant (YUM!) and Peter had an apple tart.  It was perfect because it was literally pouring rain and we stayed nice and dry inside enjoying our tasty pastries.

Sanibel Island:

• J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge: Much like the slough, lots of wildlife to see.  This is more of a driving trail where  you can pull off to the side and see the wildlife as you wish.

• Cheeburger Cheeburger: This is a local favourite, it seems.  They have a fun concept where you can choose your burger size (and type), toppings and cheese.  Mine was super delicious!  It had olives, 2 onion rings, banana peppers, guacamole and feta cheese.  Oh, and super yummy fries, and milkshakes too…I had a cheesecake milkshake!  Yup, delicious and fatty. :)

• Schnapper’s Hots: This is a quick fast-food type stop with some tasty burgers and hot dogs!  We both got all beef hot dogs.  I can’t totally recall the toppings, but I think mine was their classic version, and Peter had one with sauerkraut.  Both were delicious!!

• Sanibel Marina: If you are there at the right time (and apparently we weren’t), you can see manatees just hanging out in the marina by all the boats!   But even if you don’t see manatees, you can enjoy a gorgeous sunset.

And, we finished off our trip by traveling back to Ontario on our anniversary, July 8th.  This is the only shot of us on that long day of travel (we were on the airplane…and then de-planed immediately due to weather in the northern states, and then we no sooner got off the plane than we were told the weather warning was cancelled and got back on within 5 minutes…it was a little nutso).

Ever been to Florida?  Like it?  Love it?  Leave it?