My wife and I are off to Ft. Myers, FL (flying through Sarasota) for 10 days beginning Thursday the 30th. We have friends there but would like to get some other input on what to do, see, or if you have a special eating place.
We like seafood, live music, dancing; I play a little golf and will do so as my friends also play. We are all in our fifites (with minds in our twenties:)).
What’s up there? Any local papers with the local happennings?
Thanks in advance.
hope you like chain restaurants 
i live a couple hours away, but have visited/house-sat there several times and it really is a sea of chain restaurants and malls. had dinner with a friend at olive garden on a monday night and it was like a half hour wait, to give you an idea.
maybe someone who lives there will know some better places but that’s been my experience
How do you feel about the elderly and planned developments?
There’s the Thomas Edison/Henry Ford Winter Estates museum thing, if you like things that are boring as fuck.
The Everglades are not far away, you can take a boat trip and possibly see dolphins surfing on the front wave of the boat. That is down at Everglades city
Well, thanks for the encouragement:rolleyes:
Our hosts will have to guide us.
Regarding Edison - Our host has one of the top five collections in the world of Edison [and RCA/Columbia] sound reproduction equipment. When we partied at his house, overseas, we’d make recordings on tin foil and wax cylinders and playback the resulting Karaoke efforts to great amusement:D And, yes, we’d sing and dance to the old [newer - 20s and 30s] records along with enjoying some very fine wine.
Hearing, examining, toying with rarer players was always fun. One of the best parts of his collection is the background information. He always tried to collect photographs and newspaper articles relating to the actual equipment and people who owned it adding to the interest level.
Tampa/St Pete is 2 hours away so you could do a day trip there , there is a lot to do there. They have Busch gardens if you are into theme parks.
Sanibel and Captiva Islands are close if the weather is warm enough for the beach; the shelling is pretty good over there. There’s a restaurant called The Lighthouse (http://www.lighthousewaterfrontrestaurant.com/) that my wife and I really enjoy. It’s not inexpensive, but the food is excellent, as is the service.
I may know a thing or two about Sanibel… 
If you like wildlife, check out the Ding Darling wildlife refuge. Or there’s the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, if you like shells. But yes, the restaurants are crowded and overpriced and the food’s mediocre. I’m down here now,actually, and flying back north tonight, but I’ll check on this thread and answer any questions I can.
Thanks again, we’re off tomorrow morning (12/30) for Florida. Temps are predicted in the 70s during the day with sun so that’s a great start.
You’re also going to be about a 90 minute to 2 hour drive to Fort Lauderdale. Lots to do here.
Sorry, I can’t help with Ft. Myers in particular.
-D/a
If you’re flying through Sarasota, you should just stop and stay. Sarasota has much more to offer than Fort Myers; earlier posts have been accurate. I used to live in Fort Myers and still have a few friends there. If you insist on going to Fort Myers, I will suggest that you avoid North Fort Myers and East Fort Myers. East Fort Myers really should provide bunkers as shelter for pedestrians; North Fort Myers just isn’t a good place. The yacht harbor isn’t too bad and the park next to it is nice; that will take care of an afternoon; don’t go there after dark. Fort Myers Beach was, once upon a time, a nice place. It isn’t so nice now. Good luck with parking and don’t leave anything you want to keep inside your car. Chain restaurants, chain motels, traffic congestion and a lot of frustration are in store for you in Fort Myers, formerly the garden spot of southwest Florida. Naples is nice, though. Much prettier beach with good access and decent parking.
If you go to Sanibel, I recommend the Jacaranda restaurant, if it’s still there. I ate there eight or nine years ago. Nice place.
Yep, still there. My parents, who still live there, also like Matzaluna for Italian and Timbers for steaks. Jerry’s and Lighthouse Cafe are good for breakfast. Otherwise, they eat out off-island for the most part.
(Posting from 40,000 feet on an iPod. Ain’t the 21st century grand?)
I forgot to mention Sanibel Island. That’s a whole 'nother thing and it is well worth the toll to cross the bridge. The beach is lovely and shelling is (or was) fantastic. Ding Darling wildlife refuge is great; if you’re lucky you might even see an American crocodile. Try not to see one up close and personal, though.