Trip to Florida - Part III

We'd heard plenty about Ave Maria being in the middle of nowhere-- those saying this have obviously never been anywhere in the Appalachians! Yes, the town of Ave Maria was down a road without stores, and the nearest gas station is a good 15 minutes away, but we didn't find it to be as isolated as we expected.

The school and a shot of the homes surrounding the plaza

So Alan did all his official business at the school while Lucy and I drove around, walked through the "piazza" and shared a smoothie. I'm not much for places that are big and new, and those were the first words that came to mind as I poked around. Still, everyone was very friendly and I especially enjoyed visiting with one of the faculty members and his family.

Sunset in Naples

I just had to go the beach, so we caught the sun setting into the gulf. It was lovely. Then we ate a nice dinner, I reveled in all the North Eastern accents around us, and we turned in.

The next day Lucy and I went to the beach at Sanibel Island. What fun! You have to drive across a causeway to get there. We had a great view of the water and the mainland. Lucy had a great time digging in the sand, picking up shells, and pointing at all the birds. I haven't been to such a pristine beach in the US in all my life (Virgin Islands excluded).

My little Kentucky baby, loving the beach

By the time the afternoon rolled around we were all ready to head home. We didn't make it past Gainesville before needing to rest for the night, then sped home the next day (it was a very long drive).

It was really a perfect trip.