Barefoot Beach, Bonita Springs, FL

One of the things that I am loving about living in Ft. Myers is that there are so many beaches to explore within an hour's drive and I am trying to relax on as many of them as I can!  I had read about Barefoot Beach in my AAA magazine and decided to give it a try this holiday weekend.  I knew being the first day of Memorial Weekend, and the generally agreed upon start to summer, that it would be crowded so I got there early in the morning at 9 am. 

One thing I am super grateful for with all this traveling around and living in different places is having a GPS on my phone.  It has been a life savor and saved what I am sure would have been many hours of frustration.  So when my GPS said turn left here to get to the beach, I questioned it a little.  Turning left involved going through a neighborhood with a guard shack in front and was full of fancy mansions that I think I've stayed in hotels that were smaller than some of these "houses".  Turns out it was a good thing I trusted the GPS because it was correct.  After winding through this neighborhood of these incredible homes on a brick paved street for about 1.5 miles, I arrived at my destination.  For only $8/day I was granted access to the county park with gorgeous beaches and one of my favorite things of any park... bathroom access. 

I walked on the boardwalk as far as I could go in an effort to get away to a less crowded part of the beach before settling on my piece of paradise for the day.  Before I could even set my stuff down and prop my chair up, I had already started finding some beautiful shells!  Within an hour of my arriving on the beach and without wandering far from my chair, I had already found a plethora of fun and colorful shells to add to my collection.  The water was so clear that even in thigh deep water I was still able to see my watermelon colored toe nail polish!  The beach filled up fast with people celebrating the weekend with their families but I was happy to have a little piece and quiet with not too many people on this beautiful beach even if it was only for a few minutes.  This was my first time going to this beach but it definitely won't be my last.  It has quickly moved up my list to my favorite beach so far in Southwest Florida.

 The view was incredible

 Toes in the water

 I spent part of the morning watching this bird fish in the water.

My awesome shell finds.

The park is also home to the gopher tortoise and I was super excited to see one as I was leaving the beach in my car!  It crossed the street in front of me and I just happened to be lucky enough that I had put my camera with my long range lense on the passenger's seat (because doesn't everybody??) and was able to grab it quickly and take a few pictures. 

 Why did the gopher tortoise cross the road?

To get to the other side, of course.

If you get the chance to go to this beautiful strip of sand with clear blue water then I highly recommend!  Or maybe I don't... I might want to keep this place a secret ;)