Sanibel Island

Before Christmas, Chad and I took a week and escaped the cold weather and went to Sanibel Island with Chad’s family. We loved the calm gulf waters and the quiet island life. I had been to Sanibel as a child and all I remember was eating gator bites! But as an adult, nothing looked familiar.

When we started looking for places to stay, we had to keep in mind that the family dog would be joining us. We were so surprised to find this beautiful condo right on the beach, and minutes away from shopping, food, and groceries. But I guess that’s the beauty of a small island – everything is close!

Being on the gulf side of Florida has its perks! The water was so calm, and the sunsets over the water were incredible. Unfortunately, we were there for an algae bloom! Now, if you’ve never heard of or experienced this [like me], it’s much like stepping out on the beach and having an allergy attack. Coughing, sneezing, stuffy nose as long as you were on the ocean. It also killed a lot of little fish, so you had to watch where you walked. It lasted 3-4 days, but those were the warmest of the beach days we had so it was a bummer to miss sitting out by the ocean. But that didn’t stop us from exploring the rest of the area!

Just a short drive north is the even more remote Captiva Island. I loved the feel of Captiva, but it was hard to visit with little public parking and no dogs allowed on the beach. We were able to grab a few meals there, though! We LOVED the mexican food at Cantina Captiva. I had the shrimp and lettuce wraps, but their homemade salsa was a meal on it’s own!

Perhaps the most noteworthy meal was at The Bubble Room. No photos could capture this funky, kitschy experience, but this place should be on your list of MUSTS. Their menu is amazing, but their CAKE! Save room for dessert, that’s all I have to say! We heard that it’s popular to grab dinner and the sunset at The Mucky Duck, and then head a few blocks over for some Bubble Room cake. However you do it, just get the cake for sure.

Breakfast is a meal that is easy to cheaply make at home, but it’s also my favorite meal. So I do like to go out for breakfast or brunch on vacation for a change of pace. On our way to Ft Myers Beach, we stopped for breakfast at MoJoe’s Coffee Cafe. Fabulous place right on “the strip” with an outdoor dining room tucked back behind lush greenery and brightly colored condos. It was exactly what I hoped for with a wonderful menu, full coffee bar, and stray cats lounging in the morning sun. Oh, and GREAT food!

With a whole week, we filled our days with lots of exploring. Part of the draw to Sanibel is the shelling. I have to be honest. I love looking for shells, I love looking at shells. But I don’t have the urge to pick them up and bring them home. Shelling is verrry relaxing [Chad loved it!], but I didn’t take any home.

One beach I heard was the most impressive for shelling was Blind Pass. It’s also a popular spot for the sunset and fishing. We visited for an afternoon and saw a bald eagle, and met some super friendly beach combers.

We spent a day kayaking in Lover’s Key State Park, with the single goal of finding a manatee. I was really nervous that we wouldn’t find one… I mean, there are only about 13,000 left in the world!

We got some good tips from fellow kayakers and the employees at the park, and ended up finding two! We had to kayak for 2.5 miles, but it was so worth it. They are much bigger, slower, and shy than I thought, but very cute.

For the pup, we spent an afternoon at Bonita Beach Dog Park. Not much to say there except it’s basically either chaos or heaven, depending on your personality. It wasn’t very crowded, though. It had just rained so there were only 5 dogs there.

I loved seeing all of the dogs interact and run freely around the beach. It was perfectly tucked away through a jungly path away from the road. Aside from the no-see-ums, I could just watch the dogs play all day.

We spent time driving up to Naples, and exploring other places in Fort Myers, but it was hard to beat the beautiful views right outside our door. From our condo we could see both the sunrise and sunset, we had a pool, a shell washing station. The condo was well prepped with beach towels and chairs, and they provided a grill. You didn’t really need to leave.

It’s a slow pace of life on the island, especially while all of the public places are feeling the effects from the COVID regulations. I would recommend Sanibel for families looking for a time to decompress and reconnect. It’s easy to feel relaxed here in no time.