One of the best summers of my life was almost over. We had 2 weeks of summer left and we were leaving for vacation. We woke up early and crammed breakfast in our mouths as we rushed to the airport. We were flying Delta for the first time in a few years. My parents were stressed out because the last time we flew Delta they lost all our luggage. I could tell that this time would be better. We carried on and made our flight with plenty of time to spare. As we got seated we went through our normal routine. My siblings were fighting over who got the window seat, not that I cared, I always get the aisle seat. Mom pulled out the Clorox wipes and we wiped down our seats. I always assumed this was normal, but I asked my Mom and she said, “We do this because airplanes are so, so gross.” Unlike Southwest, above the tray tables were touch screens. We asked one of the flight attendants if the movies on each one were free. They were and we spent the rest of our flight wrapped up in the world of new releases.

About half-way through Paddington 2, I remembered something that my mom had told me a few days ago. Sanibel Island had Red Tide. Red Tide is a phenomenon caused by algal blooms during which algae become so numerous that they discolor coastal waters. The algal bloom may also deplete oxygen in the waters and/or release toxins that may cause illness in humans and other animals. When we arrived at our hotel we could immediately tell how bad it was. There were hundreds upon hundreds of dead fish lined up along the beach. This wasn’t even the worst part, there were big black birds that looked like crows on steroids. They were eating fish. Sometimes among the fish, you would find a pretty oyster shell, but then you would realize it was probably from a dead oyster that was killed by the red tide. You could feel the tiny spores entering your lungs. This is not an exaggeration, when you have a cold you can feel the junk in the back of your throat, this was like that, except that it was not made by you. We ended up spending the whole day at the pool. It was nice we had a great time, but it still wasn’t the beach. It was frustrating that we had a beach right outside the hotel, but it wasn't one we could use.

The next day we wasted away at the pool again. Eventually, we all got bored and loaded up the car. Last night when we went out to eat we found a restaurant and it was right up on the beach. The shocking thing was that there was like 3 dead fish on the beach. It was like something you see in a movie or photograph. The water was a beautiful turquoise color and in deeper waters it was purple. The waved were gentle and danced on the shore. There was a storm rolling in and it brought a soft breeze with it. It was perfect. The only problem was the fact that it was the restaurant's property and you couldn't be on that part of the beach unless you were eating there and the food ended up being terrible. That day we drove to beach after beach only to find strong winds that brought dangerous currents, more dead fish, and at one point crabs and water snakes. We drove back home because it was getting late and everyone was tired. We had the smell of rotting fish all over us and we just wanted to shower and go to bed.

The next morning we realized we had forgotten about this one beach. We piled back into the car once again cramming breakfast into our mouths, excited to finally find a beach that we might be able to use. When we got to the beach it seemed that maybe hope wasn't lost after all. The water was warm and there were only a few dead fish floating in the water. I was able to find all these beautiful shells and even have some of them on my nightstand. It was 30 minutes away from our hotel but it was worth it. We had the best time, one of my favorite memories was coming up from underwater after searching for shells, only to see my brother chuck a dead fish at me! There wasn't only dead fish there, I and my cousin kept getting scared by this school of black and white fish. In the end, we all went back home with tans and heads full of amazing memories.