We pause for a few moments of sanity

In spite of my general dislike of all things Florida, Sanibel was truly lovely. I was thrilled when my cousin Julie invited me to go with her and her friend, Eileen, for the week. Our place was essentially right on the beach, and we took full advantage of that. Our biggest decision every day was: pool or beach? So we went with both--mornings on the beach, afternoons at the pool. I walked for miles, especially in the mornings at low tide.

Once I got over the morning pain in my knee, it felt surprisingly good walking on the sand. I wish we had "real" beaches in New England, because they are so nice for walking. I got lots of great photos, especially at the Darling National Wildlife Refuge. We saw spoonbills, a great blue heron, an anhinga, a reddish heron, even a couple of bald eagles.

 We took a late afternoon cruise into Tarpon Bay (also part of the wildlife refuge), where there are huge rookeries for all kinds of birds: pelicans, egrets, ibis (ibii?), ospreys, you name it. And, right on schedule, they flew in to their nesting areas at sunset. The best part of this vacation was that we really didn't feel compelled to "do" something all the time. We did go to a marina where the manatees like to hang out, and saw about four of them, which was exciting.

We watched the sun set at the Mucky Duck, where, when I was working at Biogen, the executive team went during their executive retreat a few years ago. Hans Peter bought a baseball cap for me there, which I still have, and wear all the time.

I was able, for a few days, to clear my head. I couldn't help thinking how much Philip would have enjoyed the place, especially because there wasn't a speck of humidity in the air.  Being away was exactly what I needed.