Sanibel Seasons: What the weather is like year round

Looking at the calendar today made me realize that Sunday is the first official day of fall. Growing up, fall was a very different experience than what I have gotten used to over the past 10+ years.

I remember the first fall my husband Josh and I lived on Sanibel Island. As soon as Labor Day was over, I began to sort through my clothes and pack away the summer-y pieces. Josh caught me and burst out laughing.

“What are you gonna do next?” he asked me, still laughing. “Get the winter coats and snow shoes out?”

“I was at least going to pull out all my thick sweaters and, yes, I was thinking about getting down a winter coat for each of us,” I responded, still not getting what was so funny.

I guess old habits were just hard to break. My husband convinced me to hold off on the coats, sweaters, at least the heavy ones, and not to pack away the summer clothes.

That year we did hit record lows in October (and by record lows I mean mid 50s). I called one of my friends up north and told her about it. She hung up on me. Apparently she didn’t want to know about our record lows! I’m pretty sure it was because she was already suffering from Chicago’s 35° nights.

I found this chart online that perfectly illustrates the difference between fall and winter in Sanibel compared to Chicago.

I love living in a place where I can enjoy the outdoors year round. Being able to go one bike rides, enjoy a day at Sundial Resort or just lay on the back porch and read a book. I’ll just have to invite my friend down to visit a bit more often!