A Week At The Beach IV

I almost forgot the black skimmer we saw on the beach in front of our condo.  This is a rare bird in America because the lower bill is longer than the upper bill.  The skimmer flies with the lower bill in the water. When it feels a fish touch the lower bill it snaps the upper bill down.  Talk about fast food!  We were thrilled to see the skimmer skimming by.  And when the skimmer went back and forth in front of us five consecutive times we knew we were being treated to a special show.  Maybe the skimmer kept coming by until it was sure I got a good shot of it with the camera.  I'm so glad we chose to go on a final walk on the beach instead of staying inside the condo talking or packing.

While on Sanibel some of us chose to rent bicycles.  Our bikes were the one speed, coaster brake variety that I grew up on.  I loved biking. For the first two days I kept grabbing for imaginary hand brakes but I got used to it by the third day.  Sanibel has only four inches of elevation so biking was incredibly easy and a ton of fun.  The entire island is bike friendly.  We had smooth bike paths to use.  Automobiles yielded to us.  Stores and restaurants had bike racks available.  My bike had a basket but no bell.  I probably would have used the bell too much so maybe it was better I didn't have one.  If I passed anyone I did say, "On your left.  Three more coming behind me."  We biked to the grocery store.  We biked to the marina.  We biked to the light house.  We biked through the nature paths.  I was able to see things that I would have missed without the bike.  The paths through the nature preserves were part hard sand, part shell, part grass, and in a few spots, part mud.  My arthritis makes it hard for me to walk nature paths but I can bike them just fine.  My entire vacation was enhanced with the renting of my bright yellow boss bicycle.  I even, for just a few seconds, rode with no hands!  Lots of people bike on Sanibel.  I saw people riding bikes who I swear were in their eighth decade of life.  I hope I can still balance a bike when I'm 80.