STAY LOCAL

Let’s go see and do and taste the things our visitors dream of doing

Many Southwest Florida residents don’t even take the time or energy to go to the beach, stick an umbrella in the sand and enjoy the sound of the sea. Life keeps us all a little too busy—even in a crazy year like this one. So let’s go see and do and taste the things our visitors dream of doing.

It’s funny how we rarely do the things our own hometown is famous for. Fort Myers residents can go years without visiting the fascinating Edison and Ford Winter Estates, knowing they’ll get to it one day because it’s “right there.” Likewise, Sanibel Islanders rarely go shelling. Many Southwest Florida residents don’t even take the time or energy to go to the beach, stick an umbrella in the sand and enjoy the sound of the sea.

Life keeps us all a little too busy—even in a crazy year like this one. And because travel has become tricky at best, a staycation solves these dilemmas. Millions of people from around the world make a yearly trek, after all, to spend their precious accrued time in Southwest Florida. We get to live in the place that had them eagerly counting the months, weeks and days until they could visit again.

So here’s an expanded concept of the “Shop Local” theme: Let’s look at our own surroundings with the eyes of a vacationer. Let’s go see and do and taste the things our visitors dream of doing. Let’s ride bikes with ding-aling bells and take selfies with funny signs. Let’s sign up for tennis lessons, go boating or fishing with a guide, and order enormous king crab legs. Let’s check out museums and sing karaoke . . . just because we can.