Sanibel Island

Ahhh, Sanibel Island. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think I love you. Going to Sanibel Island over our trip to Disney World was a bit of a stretch. It took some scheduling, some maneuvering and a lot of planning. We flew into Orlando to go to Disney and flew out of Ft. Meyers since it was much closer to Sanibel. We had to chose a hotel, rent a car and find the island. I have to tell you, all the extra planning was worth it.

Our drive to Sanibel was uneventful but longer than we had expected. We drove through a lot of small Florida towns. I wish I would have been able to take pictures of all of the semi trucks filled with oranges. We drove past several orange groves. I wanted to hop off the highway, roll down the windows and take in the sweet smell. But, I didn't. As I said, the drive took a little longer than expected. But once we saw that bridge, we knew we were there. What a beautiful view of the ocean. What a beautiful island. They advertise their sand as "white sugar sand". No lie my friends. White. Sugar. Sand. We loved it so much we brought some home. Yes, I am that person that stuffs shells and sand into my carry on luggage. Again, sorry if I hit you in the head with that luggage. It was heavy.

Sanibel Island (at least at the end of May) is far from "touristy". We had the beach to ourselves when we woke up the first morning. Of course, we were out on the beach by 7:30am. But oh what fun! We walked, we swam, we shelled. Oh my, the shells! If you went out into the water just where the waves were rolling in, you could pick up amazing shells with your toes. That was the prime picking spot. We found whole clams, conch (pronounced conk), tiger stripe shells, buttercup shells....you learn all these names when you spend 3 hours in a shell shop. Of course, there were all kinds of shells on the beach too. But if you wanted to "prime" shells, you had to dig with your toes. Small price to pay for some great souvenirs.

Before we left Orlando, we stopped at a Ron Jon shop and bought the boys (all three of them) skim boards. All three boys had a blast on those boards. The technique was a little tough for Cam. The board was a bit heavy for him to throw. He couldn't quite throw and run at the same time. Colin picked it up a little quicker. He was able to make a few good runs at the board and skim across the water. And then there's Steve. He is talented at every sport he tries. That guy amazes me. I can barely stand on my own two feet when I walk and chew gum. He can skim across the water and turn a 360. No experience. Just determination. Pretty amazing.

It did rain while we were there. In fact, it rained a lot. There was no lightening, so who cares. We stood in the ocean and played while the rain hit our faces. We swam and shelled for two days until we dropped. On our last day at Sanibel, we had about 7 hours to spend at the beach. The boys lasted 2 hours. They were done. Cooked. Chicken fried. We went back to the hotel, took showers and headed out.

So, I fully and highly recommend Sanibel Island. I fully recommend our hotel. It was modest but had everything we needed. We even had a fridge and microwave. Although there was not a cabana boy to bring drinks down to the water for me, there was a bar. We really didn't have time to sit and sip a drink. It seems that our vacations are more action packed and athletic than most normal families. We don't sit still much. I stopped long enough to take a few pictures but other than that we were playing, swimming and shelling for the entire day and some of the night.

I hope that the pictures speak for themselves. This island made me want to be a beach girl instead of a mountain girl. I loved the heat. I loved the sun. I loved the ocean smell and the beauty of each different shell on the beach. Disclaimer: I did tell Steve that I am now willing to move, but only if we live ON the beach. Not near the beach, not close to the beach, ON the beach. That would make me one happy girl. Here's the strange thing, I hate swimming. I actually don't like water. But I LOVE the beach. I can tolerate swimming in the ocean. The fish and swimmy creatures don't bother me. It's a weird connection; me and the ocean.