My sister inlaw came to visit us last weekend. Of course, that meant we had to do something special whether we really could afford to or not. So we booked a room on Sanibel Island and packed the car...natuarlly I took many lights. All together we were five, wife, sister inlaw, mother inlaw, father inlaw and me. By the time we settled into our room and got a bite to eat it was dark. The weather had turned lousy, windy with drizzeling rain. Sanabel Island is known for it`s great shelling and the storm promised to make it especailly good. My sister inlaw grabbed the Expedition, wife got the PLW with three modifide LED`s (they all point straight forward) my mother inlaw the Baton light, my father inlaw an Infinity and I took the Bison LED I had just received. As we made our way down a long wood walkway that led to the beach I noticed it was dark, real, real dark...only an occational flash of lightening in the distance. Once on the beach I was surprised at how the sand and light rain seemed to gobble up the light. Even the Expedition seemed to have lost it`s brightness. Pointing them at the waves the breaking water lit up nice though and the shells stood out real well. I noticed some other lights coming toward us and stopping to show them our finds I was surprised at just how sad thier lights were. Ours looked like SureFires compared to theirs. The following day we spent at the shell museum, looking at an ugly lighthouse (yes...I thought about it, but there was no way it was going to fit in the trunk), going to a flea market, and of course, eating at way overpriced restaurants. That night as we were heading back to the beach my sister in law asked me if I had something brighter, maybe a real light...argh. This night was dark to but it was not raining and wasn`t as windy. Once on the beach there were flashlights everywhere...everyone scampering about to find that special shell before someone else see`s it. Everyone, as they past stopped to show what they had found and look at yours...sort of a show and tell. I pointed out to my sister inlaw that all these pathetic yellow beam flashlights they had were "real lights"...they were even worse in the light sucking sand. Ours were far better for the task at hand and seemed much brighter. She never complained about them again. Anyway, this was the first time I really did something worthwhile with my lights and I was very proud of their performance in the end. And...we came home with many very nice shells.
