Dear Hotel, I slept in your pull out bed once again last night. It was an adventure. Sincerely, Walking Around Like I've Been Pummeled by a Shovel. Today, after several cups of free coffee, I head down to the pool with my little sister, who is clearly ecstatic about this. She is waddling out of the elevator in her striped swim suit with her water toys in tow. It is a strikingly sunny ninety degree day. Our hotel seems to be housing by majority the elderly and retired, because nobody lounging in their all-too revealing swimwear looks under seventy. A scattering of deck chairs accompany a few tables poolside. Luckily, I am spared the task of actually getting into the water, since my father arrives a little while later. He swims with my sister, making indecent fart noises with the water noodle, while I soak up a few rays while listening to Coldplay, some Thompson Twins, and the Stones. What. A perfect day. Too soon, we retreat to the hotel room for showers and snacks. It is said we will be meeting up with Luda again to explore the area, see the sights, blend in with the locals, and all that. I don’t really know how, but somehow that constitutes going to see the Peanuts movie at a nearby dinner theater… And the theater is pink. One could easily mistake this building for some little old cat lady’s house, if there weren’t a big THEATER sign out front. It is tucked away, following a long expanse of open highway, in a well hidden neighborhood. Upstairs, the floor is old and crumby, and it looks like nothing has changed beyond a couch or two in about twenty years. We are seated with menus at dingy Formica counter-tops, set before a big screen. I am content, spinning like a five year old in my Office Depot desk chair.The fries are decent. They have a nice bottle of cold Perrier in the back for me. And seeing as I find myself snoozing through parts (alright, most) of the movie, I’m not the one to ask if it was good or not. Afterward, Luda takes us to a local favorite called Doc Fords, a multi-level wooden structure with staircases, interesting artwork, and a pretty impressive menu. It’s the only place I will encounter on this trip with ceviche (a delicious cold salad of white fish, scallops, and shrimp tossed with a lot of lime and something like pico de gallo). I order a gorgeous local snapper steamed in a thick green banana leaf, which is stunning, with a side of rich black beans and salty veggies. The only thing I would like to point out about Doc Fords is that the bathrooms are outside… and good luck finding them. I stumbled around for a good long while trying to locate them, and I (unlike much of the clientele) wasn’t drunk. (One more thing. Ladies: There are some good looking guys walking around this joint. Just saying.) Our last stop of the night is a cute downtown area with colorful shops, a few fast food places, and the evening’s highlight for me: a mad decent live band, playing Crosby Stills Nash, Phil Collins, and some really ingenious and unique 80’s covers. The lead singer has obviously been doing this a while, because he works the moderately sized, and adequately liquored, crowd with prowess. While Luda and my family browse the shops, I linger by the area’s center with the crowd. With the bass line of one of my favorite Stones’ songs reverberating in my chest, I can feel the Florida breeze and smell the salt of the ocean, some twenty yards away… I cannot imagine being anywhere, or doing anything else. It is moments like these, that unexpected swelling of the heart, where under the stars you could be anyone, you may not even exist at all. You stand in a bubble of misty perfection, watching the world turn around you, and wonder what it all means. Every person here is watching the same thing you are, thinking thoughts that may or may not be unique, in bubbles of their own. I tend to get lost in moments like these. This is my definition of perfection: getting a little lost in a moment. It's why I travel. This is the stuff I live for. Stay tuned for Day Four in the Ft. Myers Series!
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