Sunset Cruise

April and May are two of my favorite months on the island.  The weather is nearly perfect with highs in the 80s and little or no humidity;  the Gulf waters have warmed to a comfortable 82 degrees;  most days there is a gentle breeze blowing across the island instead of the gale force winds of the winter months; and finally it is quiet.  By this time the bulk of the snow birds have taken off for cooler climes and life on the island settles in to the slower pace of the off season.



On one such evening a couple of weeks ago we called our good friends, whipped up a salad with some tasty grilled shrimp, packed the cooler and a couple of towels and shipped off for a late day adventure.

The southwest coast of Florida features many small, uninhabited islands.  They come and go with the seasons; their fate in the hands of mother nature. The ebb and flow of the tides and the severity of the storms that brush our coastline dictate the rise and fall of these sandy out-croppings.  Once such little island lies just off-shore of the northern most part of Marco.  It disappeared completely following hurricane Wilma but has since resurfaced and has once again become a popular spot with the locals.  It was here that we beached the boat.



A Sunday evening in mid-April just about guaranteed that we would have the place to ourselves.  We did.



There was beach combing and shell gathering before we settled in for a quiet dinner.  As the sun slipped ever closer to the horizon the light took on a magical, golden quality that never disappoints.



A dozen or so pelicans were dipping and diving around us getting in one last feeding before heading home to roost.  Their antics both amazed and entertained.



As the sun set on another beautiful spring day in south Florida I gave myself a mental pinch.  Was this real?



Because truly it was a slice of paradise.