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Sanibel Trip Report 7/14/2012 - 7/21

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  • Sanibel Trip Report 7/14/2012 - 7/21

    I had looked forward to this trip for years and years and finally got an exchange this year using my VRI preferance. It was Kelli's bd on 7/14 and we looked forward to relaxing, getting seashells and making more memories.

    We arrived at RSW and were picked up by Sensible Car Rental . Nice touch, no waiting in long car rental lines. I picked up a older car with 64K miles & headed to meet JoAnn at the Bahama Breeze. After a nice lunch we said our goodbyes and headed to Walmart to get groceries for breakfast & lunch. We had met JoAnn many years ago; right after Hurricane Charley. She drove us over to Sanibel to see the damange. Luckily you could not tell there had been any damage. We would eat out each night after a long day of laying by the pool & swimming in the ocean.

    After unloading the car, putting up the food & unpacking we headed to the beach & then deceided to go to Captiva & eat at R C Otters for Kelli's bd. She had ribs that were very good & I had a fried grouper sandwich. Afterwards we stopped at a beach to watch the sunset. We were eaten alive by mosquitoes & no seeums.

    Everyday I would head for the beach & Kelli would head for the pool. We were lucky because our 2 bedroom condo had only one step and to get to the pool we just walked out the back porch , walked a few steps and dove into the pool. We met lots of nice people around the pool.
    The condo was older but kept up well and was spotless. We had 2 brs, 2 baths, kitchen, dining area living room. All of this was like an open area so made it look spacious. I liked the screened in porch , which had a nice table & chairs. There were 2 beach chairs hanging on the wall which we took to the beach every day. I thought that was a nice touch.

    Acouple of days I drove to Lighthouse Beach to look for shells. I would dig under the trees and that's where I found my lace murex, & my alphabet & branded tulip cones.

    We took 3 excursions, one to Ding Darling which was a bust. It was too hot and there weren't any animals out and we were stuck on a tram with a former school teacher telling us about the ecosystem. There was a biology teacher in the back who would challenge some of her statements but she always won. Can u say boring? If it had been winter it probably be better but there was really nothing to see.

    One night we drove into Ft Myers to take a sunset cruise. I had a groupon so it was really cheap. $35 for the 2 of us!! We listened to Jimmy Buffett on the way out to see the sunset . They stopped at the Sanibel Lighthouse.( I'm the only one who would go to FT Myers to do a boat trip to Sanibel. I could have swam to the beach but then my car would be in Ft Myers!! On the way back they played dance music and we had a great time.

    3rd trip was to Caya Costa which is a deserted island which is known for the abundance of shells. I wasn't impressed. I got better shells at the lighthouse and that was free!! I did love being on the boat & the water. It was awfully hot and it was a little way to walk to the area where the shells were.

    More to come tomorrow.

  • #2
    Glad you enjoyed it. We love Sanibel in the autumn.

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    • #3
      Where we ate/ impressionions/etc.

      Restaurants:
      R C Ottors: Ribs: very good Grouper Sandwich: excellent
      Doc Fords: Fish Fingers , Grouper Sandwich -Highly recommend
      Cheesburger, Cheesburger: OMG !! Best burger I've ever eaten
      Island Pizza: Good pizza and they deliver
      Hungry Cow: ate there twice, cheesburgers the 1st time, good but not a OMG. 2nd time I ordered the delmonico. Cooked perfectly, but no seasoning on it.
      Lighthouse Cafe- ate breakfast, had the "famous" French toast, it was an OMG moment
      SOB's in Ft Myers: shrimp & oysters & Kelli had fish sandwich. It was ok to good. We went at happy hour so I had a couple of beers along with 1/2 doz raw oysters.
      Jerry's grocery & restaurant: Incredible bakery. There cinnamon bread loaf is awesome. Bought a few things to bring back to condo

      There were other places I'd like to have eaten at but guess we'll have to go back.

      Shelling: Bought a shell sifter and it was ok, but not really needed.
      Tons of shells on the beach but had to really search for the conchs, olives, cones
      Lighthouse beach: Great finds near the trees down from the lighthouse

      Picked up stuff at Walmart in Ft Myers for breakfast & lunch. Much cheaper than Jerry's. Didn't go to the other grocery store

      Sensible car rental: Mixed feelings: Loved the pick up & return to the airport. Didn't like the car, not because it was older & had 64K miles on it but beause it shimmied & shaked when you got up to 55. Check engine light stayed on & smelled hot. Told Tom about it & he said it was fine for Sanibel because we were just putting around . If we were going to Tampa or somewhere he would have changed it. He said the check engine light was on because of the moisture sensor. I've never had that problem before in Florida. I called into the office twice & I know Tom answered the phone but he said it wasn't him. The guy who took me to the airport told me it was Tom who gave me directions. That gave me an uneasy sleazy feeling. He said he had to get the car ready for the next guy at 12"30 which was only 2 hrs. There is no way that car could be fixed properly in 2 hrs and that made me feel uneasy because that car was not safe. Oh yeah, I stopped & vacuumed the car out of sand because he had made a remark about the sand the first time I stopped in about the car & had read on trip advisor that he charged someone $75 to clean it out. Now, that would have pissed me off. Make your own judgement about renting here. I rented from them because he saved me some money and was recommended by a member here who uses them every year with no problems.

      Sanibel Beach Club: Not the Marriott but very nice and well maintained. My room looked just like the pics on their web site. People were very friendly and most of the people were owners who had been coming here for years & years. Had no trouble meeting people and it was like old home week. Everyone liked Kelli and she had a great time by the pool, even with me at the beach.

      Sanibel was beautiful but a little laid back for my taste. If you wanted to have nightlife , shopping, you had to go to Ft Myers.

      Hope you enjoyed my report & invite everyone to put a blurb about your trips here.

      My motto is in tact: Tan fat looks better than white fat!! Happy travels, Shaggy


      Caya Costa: Not worth the money to get there

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      • #4
        Originally posted by BWolf View Post
        Glad you enjoyed it. We love Sanibel in the autumn.
        I bet it would be nice then. Thank you fo all your help and suggestions. Shaggy

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        • #5
          thanks for the post shaggy, that biology teacher on the tram sounds like my husband, but he wasn't there! Is Cayo Costa the island where the author had her summer home, Mare Rinehart Roberts?

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          • #6
            Walmart in Fort Myers sounds like a good idea. I understand the food options have expanded quite a bit. We tend to do Jerry's just because of the time our flight arrives. By the time we are done getting the car, we are hungry. So, we go to Jerry's, have a very nice, inexpensive breakfast (for lunch) and then shop. That's just us. We don't expect anyone else to do the same. Then, we go to SBC and check-in. Our unit is ready early because we follow the maintenance week.

            Also, we like Sanibel just because it is so laid back.


            Oh, I'll be sure to ask Tom not to give me the car you had.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by rapmarks View Post
              thanks for the post shaggy, that biology teacher on the tram sounds like my husband, but he wasn't there! Is Cayo Costa the island where the author had her summer home, Mare Rinehart Roberts?
              Pat, that was the shelling beach. I had it under shelling at first but when I edited something it ended up at the bottom and I couldn't get it back where it was suppose to be. lol Joann asked about you. She's a lovely lady.

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              • #8
                Thanks for sharing, Shaggy. I'm glad you and Kelli had a good time. I would guess that for someone who does meet and greets with pro wrestlers, Sanibel would be pretty tame! Did you get to see any dolphins or manatees?

                Dori

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                • #9
                  Sounds like a really great trip, and that you really enjoyed yourselves. I love hearing about your adventures ~~ thanks for sharing!!
                  Perpetual Motion ~ Going Nowhere Fast!!

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                  • #10
                    Dori, on the way over to Caya Costa we saw a couple of dolphins and while looking for shells there a manatee said hello and kept on going. When we did the sunset cruise we had a couple of pods playing near the boat.
                    I also saw dolphins right in front of the condo as I was sitting reading a book and working on my tan. My fav thing was taking my beach chair and putting it at the edge where the waves would keep me cool and casually looking at the shells coming in and occasionally seeing a pretty shell that said take me home with you. shaggy

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                    • #11
                      It's always fun to 'hang-out' with Shaggy & Kelli. Shaggy is always full of funny stories....and she brings pictures!!! Wish I had been able to go to Sanibel to see them again, but it wasn't possible. Next time!!

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                      • #12
                        Nice report. Thanks for sharing.

                        Lisa

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                        • #13
                          I always enjoy your travel tales, Leslie.

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