It is now 16 months since hurricane Ian demolished Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Sister Jill and I, wanting to see the sun and visit friends, planned to spend a week in January in Fort Myers Beach. The person who purchased our house 4 years ago offered to rent the house to us; with mixed feelings, we decided to make the trip. Although there still are many signs of devastation, we were determined to focus on signs of resilience.
People: Owners of homes, shops, services, and restaurants who are innovative in their determination to return their lives to a new normal. Each has a story; we listed to many and came away amazed at how each person or business has managed to cope by supporting each other, their neighborhood and their community.
Places: Fort Myers Beach, Florida, post Ian. Each day, we walked one direction on the beach and back the other way on the sidewalk to check on all of our favorite places. Almost all are open! The post office is in temporary quarters, so we still could purchase our supply of Forever Stamps. The Goodz, “our” hardware store, is operating out of a large trailer…..nuts and bolts, chainsaws, extension cords, bug spray, you name it, are stacked on floor to ceiling shelves and a refrigerator holds their signature key lime pie! Mom’s still serves a full breakfast of egg sandwiches, her famous cinnamon buns, and coffee, now from a food truck with beach views. Several bars have appropriated space in the fresh air for tables, umbrellas, drinks, and live music.
Pies: We did not lack for having pie for dessert (and snacks!) Everyone in Southwest Florida understands the power of serving pie. We enjoyed several delicious key lime pies and one fabulous apple pie, all hoping for a Happy New Year.
Sounds like a great trip!