Today started out stressful. My brother called me in the middle of night to encourage/warn us to get supplies and find somewhere safe. That CA will be going into lockdown in the next 48 hours most likely…and the country is likely to follow suit. Nothing has been put out there, but he is hearing it from friends in law enforcement etc…
We are not sure what we should do. Do we go home? Continue? Find somewhere in Florida to be…??
I felt anxious this morning so Edwin and I went to Walmart this morning and stocked up the fridge as best we could.
We have a reservation for Red Coconut RV park which is on the beach at Fort Myers.
We decided to check out nearby Sanibel Island first.
We found out that there is a national wildlife refuge on the island as well as this is the spot for shell collecting.
We first checked out the wildlife refuge. It’s got quite a name. The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. It is a 5200 acre refuge to protect the undeveloped mangrove ecosystems.
Jay Normand Darling nicknamed Ding Darling was a cartoonist. He was also a conservationist. He won 2 Pulitzer Prizes for his editorial cartoons. He then combined his two lives and began conservationist cartoons. “Darling criticized people who considered themselves conservationists but whose actions were limited to hanging a bird feeder and subscribing to an outdoors magazine. Darling said that true action was required in order to reverse the damage that had already occurred. Darling encouraged voting against political candidates who refused to help the environment.” He worked with FDR in 1934 and was instrumental in founding the National Wildlife Federation in 1936.
He also designed the first Federal Duck Stamp in August 1934. He did this to generate money for the restoration AND conservation of wetlands and wildlife. Money was to be put aside to purchase lands for restoration and conservation as well.
Thank you Ding Darling.
The 4 mile road through the wetlands is closed every Friday, today. We decided it worth a trip back and since we were paying for a beachfront rv spot at fort Myers we decided to head that way and enjoy the beach there instead of go shell collecting on Sanibel Island.
The 11 miles drive from Sanibel Island took over an hour.
I jumped out in traffic to buy a Coconut and we enjoyed the rest of the day on the beach. The RV park was great. We didn’t get a spot ON the beach, but we had a great spot.
What they say about the west coast of Florida is true. The sand is gorgeous. Super fine white sand. The water is warm. But a good amount of seaweed right at the beach that you gave to get through. Water not amazingly beautiful, but nothing to complain about either.