Leave the "dull and drab" in your closet. While I personally don't where white pants doesn't mean you can't. I tend to get tired of the pastels and bring out darker colors for the winter months. The last few days I've been wearing turtlenecks and long underware! I'd bring your bathing suit and your light jacket.

Are you a gardener? My favorite must see is the Edison/Ford winter estate. You will love the homes and gardens and DH will love the workshop and museum.

Are you bringing your bikes? Take a trip over to the east coast and visit DH and I (we own a bike shop). We could all go for a ride. Riding in FL is rather boring flat and straight.
Anyway...that's my 2 cents. Hope you enjoy your trip and let me know if you need more info.
Marion

Here is a link that might be useful: Check it out!

I wouldn't wear white shoes in Feb..... tan, taupe or dark beige are okay though white tennis shoes are fine.
I'd stay away from light pastel clothing and stick to medium or dark colors in lightweight fabrics.

The weather,hmmmm.

Last Valentine's Day I had to wear a coat and sweater when we went out to dinner. Two days before that I was wearing a sleeveless blouse.

Having lived in Tampa,FL most of my life, we've learned that we're not safe from cold weather until after Easter has passed. We have been surprised many Easter Sunday mornings with temps in the low 40's.

If you bring a light jacket I think you'll be fine. Just don't count on being able to wear summer, strappy tops all of the time. I'd stick to slacks and short sleeved tops just to be on the safe side.

Marion thank you so much for your input. I know about your recent cold snap and that it can happen down there. We of course will have a couple of changes of warm winter clothing, as we are driving from wintery PA to warm Florida. I am not a swimmer, but will bring some shorter pants for wadeing on the beach. I am a gardener and appreciate the tip on the Edison/Ford estate. Our rental comes with 2 bikes, I can't ride but DH will. It is unlikely that we will get to the east coast. Our daughter biked the entire coast several years ago and loved it.

Monablair, beige is good...I already have my beige tennies packed and since I am always cold, as you advised, I will leave my strappy tops home and pack mostly 3/4 length sleeved tops and jeans. You have been very helpful, thanks a bunch.

I am only a part-time Floridian, but you MUST go see Captiva/Sanibel Island! The J. N. Ding Darling bird sanctuary is fabulous, you drive on a one-way road and see tons of birds.

The islands are lovely, great place to have lunch. and if you can find a place to park, great place to hunt for shells.
Cape Canaveral National Seashore, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, Everglades...lots to see and do! Have a great time!
JoanMN/FL

Here is a link that might be useful: wildlife sanctuary

Come on up to Tampa and Monablair and I'll meet you for lunch!

All kidding aside - email me if you would like to meet on a weekend perhaps!

Barbara

I'm in for lunch and I'm sure Mustangs will come,too.

We have Busch Gardens that makes for a nice, day long visit with rides and sites and performances and safari animal enclosures.

Sarasota is close by with the Ringling Museum of Art and the Ringling estate, Ca d'Zan. Check to see if there are any public functions you might like to attend in February if you visit there.

St. Armand's key is there as well.

St. Augustine is wonderfully historic and a fun place to visit.

Sounds like a great escape to me. I'm jealous.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ca d'Zan

Thank you all for the tips. Joan, that bird sanctuary will be put at the top of the list I am making. I am missing my birds here as we didn't start feeding them in October as usual because DH was going to be laid up due to 3 different medical procedures for a month or better, then being gone for this trip to FL.

I am sure that there won't be enough time to see and do all that I want. Several old cronies of DH's from his working days have retired to the southern half of Florida, so I am sure there will be some visiting amongst them. As time nears to leave, I hope to have a better idea of what we can work in.

gazania - I am also a part timer. I agree with msmarion and monablair re clothes. It can get a little chilly at night in Feb (I go to Marco Island).

If you love nature or just being outdoors, make a day trip to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples - it is not too far from Ft. Myers and will take your breath away. The Edison House for sure - you are right there. Downtown Naples has some fab shopping but there are also some great outlet malls in the area.

your post is getting me all excited to get outta here - I live near Chicago, snow covered, cold. We go down for Feb and March.

Rent a boat for a day - the waters are beautiful and if you stay intercoastal, no problem.

Great fishing - I provide a number of dinners for DH and I -I love to fish!

Good golf - you have to research that cause some courses are very $$$.

Tennis - DH plays often at the local YMCA - they have seasonal fees and lots of court availabilty.

Can you tell I have a lot of enthusiam about SW FL? We have been going there for almost 20 years.

If I think of anything else, probably will, I will post another.

We're heading for Florida in a week. Last year was our first time down there, we stay in Rotonda West, near Port Charlotte. Don't bring any clothes! Buy new stuff. I went crazy shopping at Beall's. Got all new shorts, capris and tops. Just loved the colors you can get down there!
We had frost one morning, but all we needed were light weight jackets.
One thing we really enjoyed doing was walking the beaches looking for sharks teeth. They sell actual baskets for looking for teeth and shells
I think I would like to see the Edison house and the bird place. Thanks for the heads up guys.
Kathy G in cold, snowy northern MI for one more week!

Forgot that but kathyg added it. Don't bring a lot of clothes. Fab outlet malls. We will not bring a lot of clothes this year and will spend the first week shopping. How bad can that be? You will find all of your Spring and Summer clothes at great discounts then you don't have to shop again till July for the next season. I do not like to shop BUT the deals are soooo good, I get into it.

well considering it hit 35 in Homestead (very far south FL) Wed night i would bring some warm clothes. things even as far as miami are going to be totally brown in a week, we just had the coldest temps in 6-7 yrs here in orlando, tampa and south fl. like others have said bring a few things but shop locally for things for warm temps. here's hoping it warms up in FL soon LOL! of course we only quit using the A/C just before christmas cuz it was low 80's and now we're heating w/ highs near a frigid (for me lol) 70. guess it better than anywhere else in the U.S. now, including hawaii whose highs are only in the mid 70's brrr....~ liz

I agree the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples is a place to go. If you head up to Clearwater, go to the Salvidor Dali art museum. He's not my favorite but my DD's. The tour is very interesting along with the museum itself. Being right by the water, I wondered how they handle a hurricane to protect the artwork. Fascinating how they planned that museum.

The Thomas Edison home is fascinating also, now they give tours at the Ford home also. We took some type of trolley tour in Fort Myers. That might give you an idea of what else is there.

Boy, I'm trying to remember where else we used to go. Since we moved my folks out of Naples, we haven't been to Florida

I live near St Pete/Clearwater-much to do in our area-also. Madeira Beach is fun-big boardwalk, casino boat and lots of unique shops plus they just added a Comedy Museum.
As long as you are staying in Ft Myers-surely you'll be going to Sanibel & Captiva Island..LOVE it there!! The shell collecting is addictive and fun and the sunsets are like no others. Oh-if you go to the northern part of Captiva Island? There's an awesome restaurant called "The Bubble Room"-don't miss it. The food is wonderful & every table gets a loaf of their famous bubble bread. The tables are all glass cases & each is filled with memorabilia of things you'll remember you forgot all about!
The entire 2 story building if filled with cool stuff-don't miss it.

Well, I have to say that you all have helped a bunch. Thank you, thank you!

This whole month in Florida was all dh's idea and I have not been very enthusiastic about it. In checking on line about most of the places that have been mentioned by all you kind kt'ers, I am not finding much handicapped accessible info. If I am going to get out of the van, I need paved trails or boardwalks for my 3 wheeled scooter. Most places do talk about boardwalks, so I think I will be able to do most things thai I want to do. We found out the hard way that sand is a no no. I wanted so badly to get out on the beach in S.C. that even though we knew it would not be easy... well, it took 4 guys to pull me and the scooter the 20 feet back to solid ground. If I can get to the wet sand where footing is solid, the scooter goes well.

I am looking forward to good restaurants and sea food and all that 'nature' up close and personal. Thank you all for your suggestions. I am really starting to get excited about it all.

You've gotten some really good advice...I've been going to Ft. Myers every winter for 30 years and it's wonderful..I do take white pants, shorts etc. and wear white tennies..The 1st time we went, I could not believe how part of the country (SWPa.) could be so cold and dreary and Florida could be so lush and gorgeous...You will love the restaurants and of course the outlets especially Beals...If you get a chance, drive out to the end of Pine Island and have lunch/dinner at the little restaurant...That has to be one of our favorites...Also, visit the Shell Factory, N. Ft. Myers, on 41 and see the dancing waters.I'm leaving on the 3rd and am so looking forward to seeing some sun....
Where are you in Pa.? I'm in SW, about 20 miles from Pgh...

What I wouldn't have given to spend February in FL when I lived in IN. You will be pretty far south--my sister lives down there, so you will be a little warmer. We do have cold fronts come through, but they don't last more than a few days. It will seem warm to you because you'll be acclimated to the cold. As far as clothes, just bring what's comfortable. Most restaurants are very casual.

There is a boat from Ft. Myers that takes you down to Key West. I think it's $90 per person, but Key West is something else! You can stay a few days or go back to Ft. Myers that evening.

If you like to fish you may want to take a charter boat out. That's really fun. Or take a gambling cruise out. They usually have a buffet meal and lots of slots. LOL! Or you can just bask in the sun and relax with a Pina Colada.

I hope you enjoy your time here. Please do go to the bird sanctuary Joan/MN mentioned. We saw the most beautiful sight there one evening. A tree was full of roseate spoonbills and it looked like the whole tree was covered in big pink flowers. (Take your bird book along.)

I am headed to FL on Feb 7 to visit my folks for a week. I will be in Naples which I love. The Edison/Ford museums are wonderful. I have also taken the catamaran cruise to Key West and that was really interesting. We left early in the morning and returned pretty late at night. We left out of Marco Island. Because of this post I have been doing some checking into what there is to see in Naples and am surprised at how much there is to do there. I love walking the beach looking for shells.

Do try to go to the Edison Festival Parade of Lights. It's held in the middle of February. Pine Island is a nice place to visit, as is Cape Coral just over the bridge from Ft. Myers. I've lived here 31 years and I'm sploiled with the weather! It's important to layer cause when you leave out on a cool morning you shed as the day goes on!
I always keep a light weight sweater with me. Next week it will be in the 60's in the evenings and a high of 81 during the day. Have fun and enjoy Florida. Carol

gazania - do not hesitate to do the Corkscrew Swamp - it is boardwalk through the entire sanctuary. Check ahead but there are some beaches which have boardwalk access to the piers. Wish you could come to where I am. right on the water, marina, boardwalk the entire length of the property. You could sit on the pier all day and watch the boats and dolphins.

Gazania, if you do 1/3 of the things suggested, you will be busy and have a great time. We also saw the Corkscrew Sanctuary, it was also cool!
It did get cold enough to freeze a couple of nights this past week, we were glad to have electric heaters. Now it's back up near 80 in the daytime!
A lined flannel shirt or light jacket or sweatshirt and a pair of long pants should do you if it gets cool.
JoanMN/FL

gazania,
shequit is correct - Corkscrew has great boardwalks and they allow scooters. We saw a Night Heron from the boardwalk as well as many, many other birds. What is neat is that the birds are not very shy and tend to stay within sight even when a crowd gathers on the boardwalk.

Ding Darling on Sanibel is terrific since you can see birds without getting out of the car. Tons of birds there, too.

The best place by far to see birds IMO is Merrit Island National Wildlife Refuge on the east coast - it it just across the Intercoastal Waterway from Cape Kennedy. MI is mostly holding ponds with dikes that you can drive across (most of the time - we went the season after all the hurricanes and not all the dikes were repaired). We saw hundreds of birds without getting out of the car and a few more with only going a little way from the car.

I know the east coast is not on your plans for this year, but if you are a bird watcher, you might want to plan it from another trip to Florida. ;-)