Week 2 Part B

Estero Bay Field Trip

I have to say that our trip to Estero Bay so far has been my favorite experience from class. I expected our trip to be rather boring. I’ve been to Ft Myers Beach so many times I didn’t think there was anything else I could possibly have missed there. But I was very wrong, as we arrived at Matanzas Pass Wilderness Preserve the first thing I saw was a little cottage, it did not look like a preserve to me at first. Inside this cottage was Jo Hughes, a bubbly woman with a big smile on her face. She was so sweet she set out snacks for us too. My favorite part of the trip was just listening to Jo, her stories were so interesting, and life on Ft Myers Beach was a very different place 70 years ago. Jo had this quality to her, I see in my own Grandma, she was as genuine as one person could be. It was so easy to listen to Jo as she depicted what she has seen on Estero Island as she grew up. Her side stories that made her chuckle seemed to be contagious; when she laughed so did the whole room. After leaving the Estero Island I contemplated what life would have been like for me if I were placed in Jo’s shoes. My generation is extremely lucky to have all of the luxuries that we have today and I think we take a lot of it for granted. We have been desensitized, we grew up with air conditioning, television, and electricity never knowing what life was like without these luxuries. Talking with Jo and listening to her stories gave me the opportunity to step back, look at the bigger picture of life, and realize we are so lucky to be here today.