A Letter from Estero, Florida

A Letter from Estero- August 11. 2025

       It is hot here at Spring Run, in Estero, Fl. Just like it is all across the country. Daily temperature highs run into the mid 90’s, with the “feels like” range around 107 degrees.

        Still, if you get going early enough, you can play golf, stop for coffee and run a few errands before the heat of the day chases you inside of your air-conditioned bubble. After Noon, it is just too hot to be outside. You fry up like two eggs in a pan.

       Having said that, we are still able to sit, in the shade of Coconut’s Point’s Panera Breads, and enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee, with the pleasant zephyr, from an off shore breeze, cooling us.

       Businesses here are still doing okay. Several restaurants offer inexpensive “early dining “ options. The “Happy Hour” scene still rocks daily. Places like “Aqua” and “Real seafood,” pack them in.

      Although it is officially “off season” here, Rtes. # 41 and #75 are still clogged with traffic at rush hour and lunch. The area is becoming a “year-round” venue for people of working age. Builders are erecting enough apartment housing units  to fit in half of Florida. The new complex at Three Oaks and Coconut Rd. has all of the foundations laid and structural walls have risen up to the second story of the 135-unit complex.

       The rains here have been sporadic. “The Bonita Bubble” seems to steer much of  the rains offshore or inland. Pine Island and Sanibel got hit with 10-12 inches of rain on Sunday. They got by with minor flooding and are just fine. Last week, a monster electrical storm lit up the skies all around us, like it was daylight. The fireworks centered east of us, near Immokalee. The pyrotechnic fireworks lit up the skies for miles around.

       We were up in St. Pete’s on Thursday, at the Dali Museum. A deluge caught up to us, accompanied by 40 mph winds. We were literally soaked to our skins running to the parking lot. It also reminded us of the ferocity of storms yet to come. 

       In the Spring Run complex, the golf course and club house are closed through next Thursday. Joey Small woods’ crews are focusing on aerating and top-dressing all of the greens, readying them for the season to come. The fairways are lush and fun to play on. We got in a few nine-hole rounds before closing, last week. The sparkling emerald glint, from these grassy expanses, shines like the cool, cool grasslands of Ireland.

       In the club house, workmen are laying in a new tile floor. It runs from the lobby to the side entrance opposite the pro shop. We walked on it today, half fearing the wrath of Shane or Josefina, after a session in the gym. They smiled and said it was “okay.” We have had a chance, after gym visits a few times weekly,  to sit at the Springs bar and enjoy a cup of that wonderful La Vasa coffee that Josephina makes daily. Several of the staff pass through in pursuit of their duties. We got a chance to talk with quite a few of them and get to know them better. They are what makes “Spring Run, Spring Run.”

         Weather reports list “Erin” as a tropical storm forming off the far away coast of Africa. Thee thousand miles and ten days away, it should become our first named “Hurricanes” of the season. There are no predictions yet as to where it will make landfall in Florida or the mainland states. News of Erin’s arrival will generate the sale of 50,000 rolls of toilet paper in local stores.

        Like most year-rounders, we have a three-day stash of food, water and batteries, to tide us over when a storm hits. Reviewing our second story height and distance from Estero Bay, an Insurance adjuster told us, “If you guys get hit badly, at your location, we are all screwed.”

        The vibe here is slow and casual. So far, I find it restful. We play golf a few times a week,  read our books, hit the gym regularly, stop for Panera coffee and enjoy the casual pace of a beautiful, sub-tropical paradise.

          A few “medical adventures” have also occupied us.

         We also look forward to all of your return in the Fall.

         Vaya Con Dios, Amigos.

         Joe & Mary Martin.