Monday, July 5, 2010

Monday Afternoon Rain

The weather forecast for today said 70% chance of rain, and it wasn't wrong. The temperature got up to 89 with a strong SSE wind. All morning it was partly sunny, but it was cloudy all afternoon with pretty steady rain, heavy at times. A very nice rain for the island, but bad for vacationers.

This afternoon I decided I wanted to hurry over to the beach to take a few pictures and see if many shells were coming in. Problem was, my 'hurry up' just wouldn't work. I waited too long, and when I was ready to leave, I found out that the rain clouds were getting near the island. I grabbed my umbrella and decided to try to get there before the rain hit. Just after getting started, rain began to pour down.:( Most of the time, rain is heavier on different parts of the island, so we hurried on. When we turned on West Gulf Drive, the rain was a little less heavy, the further we drove. We went all the way to resident access 7.

I jumped out and ran (if you can call what I do running) for the beach, trying to beat the rain. But, that didn't work! Just as I was ready to walk out onto the beach, it began pouring down. I had a big golf umbrella and thought I would be protected well enough that I could at least get a couple of pictures. I did get a few pictures taken, but the wind was really strong. I had to hold the umbrella almost sideways to keep the wind from ripping it apart, then it pushed me so hard, I could hardly stand up. It was difficult holding onto the umbrella and being able to stand still enough to take pictures with one hand. The rain kept blowing under and around the umbrella, getting me and my phone wet, I tried to wipe it off on my shirt, so I could take the pictures and go. By the time I started to walk back, I was pretty much soaked. I'm telling you, those are the lengths I will go to, just to keep you people entertained. :)





No, I wasn't even tempted to look at shells. And yes....I was the only person on the beach. Just perfect, huh? The wind was so strong, it was skeery! LOL I could have been blown out to sea and disappeared.








After getting towels to sit on, and turning the air-conditioning off, we continued on with our mission.

Two couples, that are friends of ours, are looking for annual rentals on Sanibel. After leaving the beach, we drove around through a few neighborhoods on West Gulf Drive, and around the island, looking for signs. We saw a couple and will give them the info. If anyone happens to know of any, please let me know.

While driving, I saw a couple of things, I had to get a picture of.

How often do you see a dolphin on top of a flag pole. Where I came from, all I saw were eagles.


I assume these people don't have a dog, and would prefer you not let you dog stop to take a p**p in their yard. :) I love it! But, I was a little curious about the rust. I wonder how many doggies stopped to take a p** on it.


Every time we pass this driveway on West Gulf Drive, I have to take a look. I just love the arch sculpted over the entrance to their driveway. It's a little hard to see in this picture because there is a green bush right behind it, on the left side. If you look at the darker green color on the left side of the arch you'll be able to see it. I'm not sure, but I believe I saw a sign showing that property is a vacation rental. I don't know what it is, call it the woman in me, but I just want to drive through that archway. :)


This sign is on a side street, just off Rabbit Rd. It is a warning as you enter an area where there is a bicycle path. A good friend tells me that she isn't going to use that path anymore because there was gator p**p all over it. :) That's good enough for me. This seems like a good place to add a link to some gator safety.

4 comments:

Gayle said...

You are brave...I bet that was quite a downpour!

Unknown said...

We were driving up to Captiva during the worst of the rain and just past Tween Waters Inn the road was so badly flooded that we were afraid our rental car wouldn't make it through. At some spots there were 4-5 inches of water on the road. Made me wish we were in our Jeep...

Mid-Atlantic Martha said...

Yes -- dog poo - not so scary -- gator poo -- very scary! I don't suppose a little "no" sign would work since very few gators get walked on a leash. Thanks for risking the weather for your followers to get their "Sanibel" fix!

Florida Native Mom said...

Don't think I've ever seen Gator poop. Not sure I would recognize it. Guess I'll have to put finding Gator poop on my bucket list.