Leaving Ft Myers Beach

A reluctant "Adieu" to Ft Myers Beach. After 5 weeks we will be cruising on to the Florida Keys and I want to leave you with my impressions of this grand area of southwest Florida.
My pre-conceived notion about Ft Myers Beach was it is "just this side of seedy", and some ways, that's still my imression after 5 weeks here. BUT, Tom and I have decided that we like a place with personality, with diversity with a little "edge" to it. We like "ole Florida" where the yellow and pink wooden cottages from the 1950's haven't been torn down to make way for the mega condos; we like Mom and Pop motels with old fashioned neon signs where families return year after year; we like getting a drink at a beach front "tiki bar" where we can watch the sunset; we like being able to walk Kodi on the magnificent beach, we like the public access every third block so everyone can enjoy the ocean front; we like hearing German and French and Spanish spoken as we stroll through town; we like peaking in to "the sunset bar" a colorful beer joint thats been there since the 50's, to see the "regulars" hunched ovcr their drinks, sitting on the same stool everyday. FMB is NOT Naples, or Sannibel or Captiva and maybe that why we like it so much....it is a place that has not been homogenized.
We will miss this place, but our wander lust has struck again and its time to move on. Our next stop will be the Florida Keys by way of Everglade city. We'll keep you posted. If you ever want a taste of Old Florida with fabulous sugar sand wide beaches...come to Ft Myers Beach...we have plenty of recommendations for you!