Stalking "Doc Ford" Again

Shawnette ( my friend and business partner in Chesapeake Bay Christmas Co), and I have wanted to go to Sanibel Island since 1996 when we both read our first Randy Wayne White Novel "Sanibel Flats". We have read and reread every novel in his series of 18 books!  Mr. Whites protagonist of the series is Doc Ford. He is an intellectual/marine biologist/ex-NSA operative who takes you along on awesome Florida/global  adventures laced with wonderful Florida and world history, political intrigue,amazing character development, twists and turns,and some of the most evil bad guys one could ever imagine. After years of reading his books and being dedicated fans we are also sure that Doc Ford is probably a character that Randy  loosely bases( with lots of fiction of course) on himself ! Therefore now that we were here on Sanibel Island we felt compelled to identify all of the spots we had read about in his books, and walk the same paths that our beloved characters had walked, and imagine where Dinkins Bay, the stilt house, and Tomlinson's Sailboat were.....but most of all we wanted to meet Doc Ford...I mean Randy!!
   We were really not very good stalkers. We arrived on Sanibel one month before Randy was scheduled to be at his two local restaurants (Doc Fords) signing books. Good planning!... but we still had this little bit of hope that we would just coincidentally through good karma... trip over him sitting in the corner of "Doc Fords " waiting for us to come by and say hello, or maybe run into him walking on the beach, or shopping at Jerry's market, or eating lunch at the local marinas... Fantasy laced with hope is a wonderful thing! Just the possibility of a Doc Ford/Randy encounter kept our entire week at Sanibel  high with child like anticipation . We explored and visited as many Doc Ford hangouts as we could and talked about the books as we went. We drove our other two  travel companions crazy with our talk! ( although I am sure they will read the books after listening to us for the week!) Needless to say we did not randomly run into Doc...I mean Randy...but that was OK because it gave us reason and permission to come back to this magical place....next time with better stalking intelligence.
   We are waiting anxiously for Randy's  next book to be released on February 22nd (see link below)
Visit our website(below) to find the finest  Bay Santas and  Coastal Christmas Decor anywhere!!
Follow us tomorrow for  "Farewell Sanibel"
Lynn McPherson
http://www.chesapeakebaychristmas.com/
http://www.randywaynewhite.com/