SW FL Lesser Resorts v. The Others

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

We spent last week in what passed for a 2-bedroom at Sea Oats in Englewood and are now in an extremely spacious 2-bedroom at Lighthouse on Sanibel, with it's bedroom wing and 3 lanais, 2 of them screened.

The most delicate way to say this is that for those who justify, defend, and explain away the desirability of the lesser resorts, that is all it is, 'cuz the difference is like night and day.

The lesser resorts are, plain and simple, not very nice.

[bevvy5 Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bevvy5]

Well, nice it worked out this way, saving the best for last. Have a great time.

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

It's good to have those sorts of problems. Right now, I'd take even a lesser Florida resort, seeing as how I shoveled a good 8-10" of snow off my Michigan driveway today.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

It's good to have those sorts of problems. Right now, I'd take even a lesser Florida resort, seeing as how I shoveled a good 8-10" of snow off my Michigan driveway today.

and we'll be doing the same here tomorrow morning.

I'd rough it at Surfrider in a heartbeat as long as I don't have to drive there.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

There's a 2-bedroom at The Galleon for next Sat.

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

I'm going in the wrong direction next weekend. I'm taking the kids up north to do a little skiing at Shanty Creek, on a Last Call for the holiday weekend.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Doing my homework, here at Lighthouse there are 30 units, and only two this week are exchanges.

In the never-ending battle for truth, justice, the American way, and how best to get the best, at least half of the exchanges this week were not obtained via ongoing search . Since Lighthouse is dual-affilated, perhaps 0% were.

I obtained ours by continuing to search manually after already booking another exchange, it also here on Sanibel. So, this is one of my upgrade switches, the fourth I've done. IMO, it would not have been prudent to have an ongoing search for a week we already had booked.

Not all switches are upgrades. The one I have done for next year is from a better to a lesser resort, because of dates. I am continuing to search for it and the next week, so a double-switch may be in the offing, although the lesser resort will be OK because of friends and golf in that area. We double-switched for last week last year.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Along this line, those who accompany us on our FL vacations know a little bit about the tit-for-tat that I put up with on these boards, sorta my way v. those who have a better way, my 20 years of coming here v. others' suggestions.

So, as we were coming over the causeway last night, full moon over the Gulf behind us, after dinner with TS friends, after golf with the same, heading to our wonderful unit at Lighthouse, they all started laughing kinda simulatenously.

When I asked what was going on they just said, "Dude, keep doing what you're doing."

Each year I have been telling them that this is gonna end, and this may be it.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Along this line, those who accompany us on our FL vacations know a little bit about the tit-for-tat that I put up with on these boards, sorta my way v. those who have a better way, my 20 years of coming here v. others' suggestions.

So, as we were coming over the causeway last night, full moon over the Gulf behind us, after dinner with TS friends, after golf with the same, heading to our wonderful unit at Lighthouse, they all started laughing kinda simulatenously.

When I asked what was going on they just said, "Dude, keep doing what you're doing."

Each year I have been telling them that this is gonna end, and this may be it.

Jim,

I am a very big advocate of "whatever works for you". I have had luck with on-going searches but most of my best trades have been looking at what's available on-line or seeing an ex-op posted to somewhere I didn't know I wanted to go to in the first place.

Enjoy your stay it is a lovely resort and a lovely island.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Conchman, sitting beside me, drunk as a skunk, finally agreeing that there is a full moon tonight, which I knew there would be because it is my Moonrise Party, wonders what Mr. Bum has to say about it.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

It had to be a full moon: as we left your unit, someone pulled into the parking lot , attempted to turn his car around, kept backing up despite me waving and yelling to stop, and backed right into a car with Ohio plates with a loud smack, and then hot footed out of the parking lot as fast as he could.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

So many things I could say . . .

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Back to the original topic, here's the other side of the coin.

Because US 41, and then I-75, divert inland to go around the body of water at Punta Gorda/Charlotte Harbor, the Englewood/Rotonda area is off the beaten path. It has stayed pretty much a sleepy fishing village, well at least compared to Estero, Bonita Springs, Ft. Myers Beach, Vanderbilt Beach, and points further south.

Precisely because of this . . . the lack of development and all of the congestion and other problems associated with development . . . while we were there we heard on the news that Englewood has been named one of the Top 5 Destinations for 2009 (by one of the major travel groups).

In fact, Englewood is very much like the Bonita Springs I first visited in the 1970's.

"You don"t know what you've got til it's gone . . ."

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

Nobody goes there no more. It's too crowded!
---Yogi Berra