Marco Island Florida — Patti Part Two

Time to check out another spot so I headed south to Marco Island. It was only about a 30 minute drive from Naples - and it is an island! You drive over a long bridge and you’re there! I was only there for a day so I don’t claim to be an expert - but it had a really different feel to me then Naples. Still very pretty but more down to earth. I had heard they have a fabulous Farmer’s Market on Wednesday and since it was Wednesday I decided to make that my first stop. Big mistake!!! It was wonderful and I wanted to buy everything! Fantastic produce, beautiful flowers, handmade crafts, music, food to eat and more.

I had to try a beignet and it was delicious! The smell from the Tomato Lady stand made my mouth water and they were making huge skillets of paella.

I kept reminding myself I was leaving the next day!! But it was all so tempting.

I ended up buying some homemade granola that is fantastic. Then I had to haul it home in my suitcase but it was worth it!

My next stop was the beach. One big difference between Naples and Marco Island is access to the beach. The beaches in both places are public - but it’s very easy to get on the beach in Naples and not so easy in Marco Island. The beach in Marco is lined with hotels, resorts and condo’s and you can’t get to the beach through them. So I drove all the way to one end and was able to enter through Tigertail Beach. You pay $8 to park for the day and that seemed like a pretty good deal. The beach was beautiful, and so many shells! In fact it hurt my feet to walk on them because instead of sand you are basically walking on all shells. I had brought a plastic cup from the hotel to pick up a few shells and very quickly the cup was overflowing with beautiful and perfect shells.

These are the shells I brought home. So pretty!!

I walked a couple of miles down the beach. It was such a beautiful day and there were people fishing right from the beach. I asked them if they really were going to catch fish so close to the beach and they said of course! So people were swimming and people were fishing in the same spot. The water was super clear and pretty warm.

As I was walking down the beach wading in and out of the water I saw a starfish!! It was in the water but I reached down and grabbed it and placed it on the sand to take a picture. Then I put it right back in the water. I figured that would be better karma since it was alive. I sure hope it’s not like a baby bird that once it’s touched by a human it’s ostracized by it’s peers!!

After walking for a couple of hours I decided I needed some food. A beignet only sticks with you so long. So I headed down to the marina and a place called Mangos that a friend recommended. It did not disappoint. Great food and friendly people.

After my leisurely very late lunch I headed back to Naples to pack. The next day I needed to drive back across Alligator Alley to Fort Lauderdale and fly home. The weather was fantastic the entire time I was there. Missing the ice storm in Kansas City was a bonus. I highly recommend Florida in February!

A couple of miscellaneous musings:

* I think GPS is the greatest invention of the 20th century. The fact that you can go almost anywhere in the world now and simply type an address into your phone and have someone tell you how to get there never ceases to amaze me. So every time I use it I want to silently thank the person who invented it, so I decided to look up who that was. Unfortunately there is no absolutely clear answer. There are 3 different men that are credited with creating the technology that got us to the point where we can put satellites into space that give us the information. So thank you to Roger Easton, Ivan Getting and Bradford Parkinson. Thanks to them today there are 31 operational GPS satellites orbiting the earth affecting every aspect of our life.

* Travel requires stamina and energy. The most important quality I have is my good health, and I am very grateful for that. There are so many times that I am reminded of this - especially when lots of walking is required to see something or get somewhere when parking or access is limited. Do everything in your power to get and stay healthy. There will come a day when you can’t do things so delay that as long as you can by making the effort now. It’s worth it!

* Packing to travel is challenging! I am committed to never taking more than a carry-on no matter how long I will be away. It’s just too hard to lug a large suitcase around with you, and really how many times do you return with half or more of your suitcase untouched? Shoes are the biggest problem - at least for women. They just take up too much room! And why do we need so many different styles? A good pair to walk in is the most important. The rest is just icing on the cake. Make every space count. A great website that I use for good tips and products is ebags.com. I’m working on the perfect packing list and will post soon!

My next trip is something totally different! A total bucket list item and I can’t wait!! Check back soon!