Sandee and I had an epiphany of sorts this past winter. We had rented a home on Pine Island, near Ft. Myers in southwest Florida for a month. We were down there from mid February through mid March. Considering the winter we left behind in Minnesota it was like a brief visit to heaven. We fell in love with the island and with the weather. It was about 80 degrees and sunny every day but one while we were there. Now that may seem a bit monotonous, but we did not view it that way. We encountered no icy driveways to negotiate. We shoveled no snow. We did not need to insure we had plenty of layers before venturing outside.
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| Pine island Cove |
Instead we kayaked, and photographed wildlife and birds by the thousands. Sandee rollerbladed. We had pleasant dinners outside by the canal. We visited nearby friends and relatives who had already discovered this hidden paradise years ago.
After one week we realized we had discovered something quite unique and very, very pleasant. We decided we might just look at some real estate. We had absolutely no intention whatsoever of buying anything when we went down there. At the end of the first day looking we had not only found a lovely little place but had made an offer on it.
The place we picked was a manufactured home in a community of such homes called Pine Island Cove. It is a 55+ community and is beautifully manicured and maintained by proud homeowners. I find it interesting that about 75% of the homeowners are also snowbirds, most from the upper Midwest. There are more from Michigan than any other state. It is a two bedroom, two bath of only 934 square feet. But it does have a covered, screened lanai in front and an even larger one in back that nearly doubles the actual living space. One of the selling points for us was the covered, indoor pool in back. The yard is very small which should help insure our yard work will be minimum. It is located on a canal with access to the Gulf of Mexico through Pine Island Sound.
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| Our Florida home |
The place we picked was a manufactured home in a community of such homes called Pine Island Cove. It is a 55+ community and is beautifully manicured and maintained by proud homeowners. I find it interesting that about 75% of the homeowners are also snowbirds, most from the upper Midwest. There are more from Michigan than any other state. It is a two bedroom, two bath of only 934 square feet. But it does have a covered, screened lanai in front and an even larger one in back that nearly doubles the actual living space. One of the selling points for us was the covered, indoor pool in back. The yard is very small which should help insure our yard work will be minimum. It is located on a canal with access to the Gulf of Mexico through Pine Island Sound.
It was a short sale, and while it took us over 3 months to finally negotiate the frustrating experience of a short sale, we ultimately ended up with a nice place at a much lower price than we could have imagined. We spent several weeks down there this summer picking out a new laminate floor, buying furniture at the many consignment stores nearby, and painting every inch of the walls and ceilings. While we still have some more painting of trim, and on the lanais, it is essentially ready to move in.
Pine Island is just north of Sannibel Island, which many people are familiar with. It is a bigger island than Sannibel and is actually protected somewhat by the barrier islands of Sannibel and Captiva to the west. It is not widely known by the tourists, as there are essentially no beaches. Much of the shore is made up of mangrove bays. These mangroves provide unlimited nesting and feeding areas for shore and sea birds of all types. The bays are overflowing with all types of herons, several types of egrets, white ibis, roseate spoonbills, pelicans, many osprey, and countless other species. Twenty five pairs of bald eagles call Pine Island home. To see a short video I filmed from my kayak showing the mangrove bays and tunnels check out this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13T3Vmx5TJ4
The island is basically agricultural, with palm tree groves, mango groves, lychee and other tropical fruit. Palm trees from the island are shipped around the world. There are growers of hybrid hibiscus, and organic vegetables. It is also very popular with sport fisherman who go out after tarpon and other game fish.
It has a small town atmosphere, little to no traffic and skies so dark you’d think you were many hours from any civilization. And it is so very quiet. With mostly agricultural zoning, they have escaped the cement and skyscraper development which tends to predominate on other Florida islands. There is not a single traffic light on the island.
Alligators are sometimes seen in our canal, and a bobcat was spotted only a short distance from our house. Egrets, herons, and wood storks walk around the yards as though they are neighbors, which they are. This summer an egret walked right up to Sandee and I as we were sitting on our dock. He looked at us for about a minute, then walked between us and looked me in the eye from about two feet in front of me. That was an experience I will not soon forget. They are beautiful, delicate creatures, but their rapier-like bill is potentially very dangerous.
As new snowbirds we are about to begin our migration. Part of that migration will be to drive our vehicles down. Sandee’s back does not allow her to drive or ride for long periods so that job has fallen to me. She will fly down as true migrating snowbirds do. As usual the hard work falls to me.
Sandee thought we should maybe get a small, fuel-efficient vehicle, which we could leave in Florida for when we fly down during the summer. Ever the attentive and doting husband I immediately set out to find the perfect car for my lovely bride. No ordinary car would be sufficient for such a wonderful woman. Ultimately, I settled on a beautiful little 2006 Mazda Miata MX-5. It is a pretty red roadster with a black top that quickly comes down to let in that wonderful winter Florida sunshine. It also goes up quickly for that hot summer Florida sunshine.
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We don't plan on spending much more than six months down there. We love Minnesota in the spring, summer and fall. We hate Minnesota winters. We love Florida winters but hate their summer. So becoming snowbirds seemed like the most logical thing in the world.
(All photos by Steve Russell). To see the best of my wildlife shots taken this past winter in Pine Island, see: http://www.pbase.com/photoguy73/root
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