Summer Scrapbook: Fort Myers

This summer has been filled with lots of weekend trips, family time, & making the most of the warm weather. This week I’ll be taking you along my trip to Fort Myers, Florida! For the Fourth of July, me, my boyfriend, & my boyfriend’s brother took the 11 hour road trip from Charlotte, NC to the home of my boyfriend’s dad & stepmom. Let me just say, it was not my choice to drive an actually 12-hour trip (when including stops) to spend two days in Florida, and then turn right back around & head back. How much can I really complain though, I didn’t have to drive for even 10 minutes! I will say, getting to their dad’s place at 3am in the morning of the fourth was not fun for anyone, even if I didn’t have to drive.

All that being said, we had a nice, relaxing couple of days in Florida! I had only been to Florida one time prior to this for my 8th birthday. We went to Disney World so it is safe to say I didn’t see much of Florida and I don’t remember too much of it anyways! Even driving in at the witching hour, I could see why people are pulled to Florida. As we drove along the nearly empty highway, there were palm trees lining the streets and a sense of relaxation & luxury despite the fact we had been up for nearly 20 hours straight.

Once the drive was over, we got some sleep, & was ready to explore, I was surprised to realize that Florida isn’t actually as hot as I expected. Yes, it is pretty humid, but it was hotter in Charlotte than it was in Fort Myers! Plus with the nice breeze nearly everywhere we went, it truly wasn’t that bad unless you stood in the sun for more than 10 minutes.

Day 1: Miromar Outlets

Miromar Outlets in Estero, Florida

Our trip was relaxing & full of free time so we didn’t do too many Floridian things. The morning of the Fourth, we had some yummy quiche & blueberry scones before heading to the Miromar Outlets. Growing up right outside of Wilmington, we drove to Myrtle Beach every now and then to go to the Tangier Outlets but those were no match for the Miromar Outlets in Fort Myers. These outlets were insane! They have over 140 different stores, some I recognized, some I didn’t. Our first stop was the Nike store of course where I found items for 40-50% off! The most exciting part was finding a pair of sweatpants that Nike used to sell, but discontinued & I had been looking for almost a year. I had received a pair of Nike sweatpants for Christmas one year and they became my favorite piece of loungewear by far. After a few months, I tried to buy another pair and could not find them anywhere — not on Nike’s website, not on Amazon, not on Poshmark, nowhere. I had basically given up until we went to this outlet & I decided to do a desperate check for them. They only had them in black, but honestly, that’s the best color anyways! I picked up a sports bra for $20 and a cute tank and spent under $80!

The next stop was Old Navy. It was a bit disappointing due to lack of sizing but I still found two pairs of flowy pants, a tank top, and an umbrella because I somehow haven’t owned an umbrella for two years. I spent about $90 here so the deals weren’t as good as Nike, but you can’t win everything, you know?

I could’ve spent another 5 hours shopping but I cut myself off from spending (we move in less than two weeks) and everyone seemed to have their shopping fill for the day. After a coffee stop, we headed home to have a nice chill night. We had a very American-themed dinner of corn on the cob, lays potato chips, honey dew, mac n’ cheese, burgers (which I didn’t eat), & salad. We finished the night off with the new movie Head of State with John Cena and Idris Elba (it was okay — I’m not a big action movie gal).

Day 2: Beach Drive & Dinner

On day two, we were supposed to head to a local’s farmer’s market but unfortunately, the rain prevented us from going. We tried to stop by after the sun came out again but it seemed like the rain chased the vendors away. For those who are curious, the Farmer’s Market we were going to was the Local Roots Farmer’s Market in Bonita Springs, Florida. There are tons of other ones closer to the city of Fort Myers & in the surrounding areas. I wish Charlotte had as many Farmer’s Market options as Florida does!

Once the rain lightened up, we packed into the car and took a drive down Bonita Beach in Bonita Springs. This was such a gorgeous area! I highly recommend taking a drive or walk along the neighborhoods to get some inspo for your future house:) That’s what I used it for! There was a good mix of spanish-style and modern-style houses and most of them were on the newer side since previous years’ hurricanes wiped some houses out. Bonita Beach also has a dog park & lots of cute restaurants and charming beach shops to stop into.

Divieto Restorante in Coconut Point

We went back to the house to chill, get some movement & a game of pool in at their clubhouse, and get ready for an early dinner at a restaurant in Coconut Point. The place we went to was an Italian restaurant called Divieto Ristorante. This place is known for their Routa Di Parmigiano, a fettuccini alfredo pasta that is freshly tossed & served from their $600 parmigiano cheese wheel. My boyfriend got the Routa DI Parmigiano, so I could to taste a little & it was delicious! Before our entrees got there, we had the Spinach Formaggio, a spinach & artichoke dip served with garlic bread. This appetizer was delicious and had a pepperr-y taste to it that I haven’t experienced many other places. We were also given bread with oil & vinegar which was actually served warm (yeah, the standards are a bit low)! For dinner, I got the Fiocchi Di Pera, which is pasta stuffed with pear and italian cheese in a cream sauce. This was absolutely amazing and nothing like anything I had before. The pasta was sweet, but not unpleasantly sweet for dinner and it was served with arugula & candied walnuts which really added a nice touch to it. I’m not food critique, but I would absolutely go here again. The service was good & it was a beautiful area as well.

After dinner we stopped at a small gelato shop right across the street called Sospiri. I got the extra dark gelato which was a rich, chocolate gelato and my boyfriend got the mint. Both were yummy & paired well together! They also served espresso drinks and had other desserts like Tirimisu, other cakes, & cannolis.

After our dinner & dessert, we headed home where I had the pleasure of watching Caddyshack for the first time. This is one of my boyfriend’s family’s favorite movies and it delivered. It was funny, lighthearted, & a great way to end the trip.

I hope you were able to take some inspiration out of this post. I didn’t get too many pictures which is a great sign because that means I didn’t spend much time on my phone. It was a nice little escape & we got the benefits of a nice, relaxing, Florida escape. If you have any recommendations for what we could do next time we visit Fort Myers or ideas for our next weekend trip, message me on TikTok, Instagram, or Pinterest @trainwithtorik or email me at trainwithtorik@gmail.com. See you next time!