Florida Gulf Coast

With our remaining time in Florida, we explored the western shores along the Gulf Coast.  After crossing the Everglades again, we stopped in Naples, with a quick peek at the downtown and beach.  The downtown seemed a bit more swanky than we anticipated.  Next, we scooted up the coast to Fort Meyers and ended a long day of driving from Key West.  The next morning, we drove out to Fort Meyers Beach for a beach walk.  There were a surprising amount of people enjoying the sun and warmth, the most crowded beach we had seen so far on the trip. We also checked out Sanibel Island and Captiva Beach.  We couldn't find any public parking at Captiva, but we had a nice walk on Bowman Beach. In the afternoon, we drove up to Sarasota where motel prices were through the roof for some reason.  We ended up in an overpriced Super8 which was a disappointing dive.  That didn't stop us from enjoying the waterfront park and a good ramen dinner in the trendy downtown. 

The next morning we drove out to Siesta Key and walked again before driving north across the mouth of Tampa Bay to St. Pete's Beach where we found a small fixed up retro motel with a patio and pool.  We really enjoyed this cute little motel and the vibe of the area-a little more laid back, and a little quieter.  We even ate dinner in the room, snagging some frozen dinners at a grocery. store nearby.  Deciding to slow down a little and stay in the area, we tried to reserve another night, but it was booked. So we searched for another option nearby in Madeira Beach and scored on a beachfront room on the fourth floor.  Between check out and check in, we drove up to Clearwater Beach. We spent a lot of time either walking the beach or enjoying the balcony and absorbing the warmth.  Our last day we drove into Tampa.  We walked the downtown waterfront park and then found a motel near the airport, where we got to bed early for our early morning flight back to Seattle.