FORT MYERS 

It’s time I posted a  blog about Fort Myers, a place that has become our winter home away from home. This entry will be long on photos and short on text.

After I retired in 2013, Elva and I looked for a place where we could warm our bones during the worst months of an Island winter. We considered the southern countries in Europe, maybe one of the Caribbean islands, or Mexico somewhere, but each one seemed to have a drawback or two: not warm enough, too expensive, hard to get around without a car, etc. One day, quite by accident, we found out that a relative had spent a few weeks in a condo in Ft. Myers, FL, that belonged to Elva’s second cousin. He rented only to close family and, lucky for us, second cousin was close enough.

I scouted Ft. Myers on the internet and found the link to the Caloosa Riders Bicycle Club. The group looked tailor-made to our riding styles so we booked the nice condo at Alta-Mar on Palm Beach Blvd. and headed south in a snowstorm one day in January 2016.

We felt at home as soon as we crossed the threshold of our two-bedroom condo and we spent an enjoyable month there getting to know the area and rolling with fellow riders. We had a nice view of the pool and the Caloosahatchee River from the condo’s balcony.

We soon discovered Ft. Myers’ historic downtown, just a fifteen-minute walk away. Its beautiful older buildings are protected by heritage bylaws, similar to rules in effect in our own city, Charlottetown. Streets are lined with the distinctive and majestic Royal Palms. Downtown has the kind of buzz we like: lots of good places to eat, activities almost every weekend, and a Starbucks on First Street! The city closes down several blocks when hosting a special event, sometimes an art show, sometimes a car show, other times a musical event featuring several bands. A band plays every Saturday evening in Bootleggers’ Alley, another of our favourite haunts. We’ve christened our evening strolls “The Losers’ Walk”, just like the one we take almost every evening back home, because most times we get entertained for free!

Ten years ago, the city commissioned 23 metal statues by Columbian artist Edgardo Carmona. There’s the ribbon dancer, the chess players, the juggler, the man peeing on a post, and many others. They are a great addition to the downtown landscape.

We’ve hosted family and friends in our southern home. Our cycling friends from the Island, Ira and Liz, visited in 2017.

Lana and Bob Waugh live just north of Ft. Myers and we’ve exchanged visits and stories every year we’ve come to Florida.

Jacques, Isabelle and Lucie visited in 2019 and we spent a few days at Disneyworld. I love the look of terror on Elva’s face…

This year, we hosted Réjeanne Arsenault and Richard Goguen who were on their way to Ft. Lauderdale to board a Caribbean cruise.

Ft. Myers Beach is another of our favourite haunts. The beach and the pier were busy places when we first came south in 2016.

The town of Ft. Myers Beach is located on a barrier island, a sandbar basically. Hurricane Ian made landfall there in September 2022, burying everything under a fifteen-foot storm surge. Buildings were swept away and many that remained standing are beyond repair. The once-busy pier, which today looks like a cross between Stonehenge and the Confederation Bridge, has been transformed into the resident pelicans’ preferred perch.

While a few brave entrepreneurs seem determined to rebuild, many property owners have simply walked away. It will be interesting to see what Ft. Myers Beach will look like in ten years. Check out the toilet hanging off the edge of the second floor in the first photo. The second shows all that’s left of a shoreside cottage and a “For Sale” sign advertising lots.

We’ve ridden many miles with the Caloosa Riders Bicycle Club and have made friends here. We’ve seen changes since 2016, traffic is much worse than it was and some folks have stopped riding, moved away or, sadly, passed away. Still, there is much to enjoy in the shared effort, the fresh air, the camaderie, and the mandatory post-ride coffee. The first photo was taken several years ago at the halfway point of our Cape Coral ride at the Coral Oaks Golf Club. The second was taken on April 9, 2024, at the same location, the day we enjoyed our last ride of the year with our good friends, Laurie and Brett Lockerbie from Kingston, Ontario.

We’ve booked a place in Poinsettia Park for 2025 and will keep coming back to this part of the world for as long as our health allows, a good many years, hopefully, and enjoy seeing the sun set over the Caloosahatchee River.

“It’s easy to get old.

It’s staying young that’s hard.”

Jean-Paul Arsenault