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Published: March 17th 2014
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CAPTIVATING CAPTIVA Gerald Hasser January 2012
Scraping ice off the truck windshield in Napa the morning of our departure sweetened the choice of Florida for an anniversary vacation. After a series of frosty mornings we were ready to thaw.
From SFO via an easy connection in Dallas, American Airlines deposited us at night at the Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. A one hour drive via the causeway over Pine Island Sound, and through the length of Sanibel Island took us to the sprawling South Seas Island Resort on the north end of Captiva Island. The desk clerk, the security guard and the two of us seemed to be the last people up and about.
The next morning we woke to the sound of fluttering palm fronds, shore birds and lapping waves instead of the noise of a forced air furnace. Bright sun poured in from the east, glinting off the warm water of the Gulf inlet below our room. Stepping through the open patio door we looked out on a line of pelicans resting along a cable strung between poles, an osprey in a tree top nest and a great blue heron strolling on the shore
below. Moments later the first bottlenose dolphins appeared, cruising around the inlet in pairs.
Following an excellent buffet breakfast we picked up bicycles provided by the resort and learned our way around. A low speed two lane road covers the length of the narrow level island so bikes are a safe and easy way to navigate; or one could always use a convertible. The resort, rebuilt after being heavily damaged by a hurricane in 2004, shares the island with numerous condos, vacation rentals and private homes, ranging from modest to mansion. Many of the homes have names, like Rapture, Copacetic and personal favorite Bikini Bottom. License plates from many northern states and a couple Canadian provinces testified to the presence of many Snowbirds.
The beaches of Captiva and Sanibel are renowned for shelling. The sea shells travel across the Gulf of Mexico and wash up by the gazillions at the low and high tide lines, patiently offering themselves for inspection as souvenirs. There are stores that sell them; but one wonders why anyone would pay for something so abundantly free and easy to just bend down and pick up. Jean has fond memories of a trip to the
resort during college, and the shells she collected then still decorate our home – now joined by quite a few of their somewhat younger brethren.
A main attraction, located on Sanibel, is the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Reserve, named after the prominent political cartoonist who was the first director of the National Wildlife Service, during the FDR era; and who helped establish the reserve. Thousands of local and migrating birds and waterfowl including several types of herons, egrets, ibis, osprey, spoonbills, cormorants, bald eagle and others populate the reserve and the viewing is easy, mostly from the hardpacked gravel road running its length. A great blue heron demonstrated its hunting ability for an audience, spearing a crab from the mud, and then audibly crunching it into swallowing size pieces. A group of white pelicans cruised back and forth in a lagoon scooping up every little fish in their path, right next to the road. Kayak excursions, a walking path and visitor center are also available. The reserve is also home to alligators, including an eight footer we saw, bobcats, coyote and at least one bear. The reserve takes up about half the land space of Sanibel Island, ensuring
plenty of protection for abundant wildlife.
Temps were warm enough for outdoor dining at least part of the time, and we enjoyed a very nice dinner at the Key Lime Bistro on Captiva, followed by breakfast there the following morning. Dinner was accompanied by a solo male singer of a certain age – ours – crooning favorites from the sixties and seventies, accompanied only by his guitar at just the right volume. The breakfast show next morning consisted of an osprey that swooped to a smooth landing at the top of a hundred foot tree across the street to dine on the flounder it had just pulled out of the Gulf. No extra charge for either show.
A server at another restaurant recommended a side trip to Naples on the mainland, especially its renovated downtown and its historic district. We took his advice and spent most of one day there and at the west side of the Everglades. Naples appears to be the most affluent community in this metro area of over a million people - and a few less gators. The downtown along Fifth Ave. offers numerous pleasant outdoor dining opportunities and shops; and ends at the beach after an easy stroll to walk off lunch. The historic residential district not far away includes many gracious old Florida style homes along streets lined either with towering palms or deciduous trees providing canopy shade. Definitely worth a visit.
Tour boat excursions are readily available on Captiva. Ours, an anniversary present from the kids, went out at mid afternoon, featuring a short escort by a pair of dolphins racing and jumping alongside the boat. A docent provided some local history, including how several hurricanes had influenced and shaped the islands over the last century.
Our anniversary day was spent mostly on the beach, reading and shelling, with temps almost reaching 80. The resort is family friendly and features a pool and water slide, but the beach was more tranquil; with an ongoing show provided by the endangered Snowy Plovers skittering along the sand as the water ebbed and flowed, pecking for their chow.
Arduous work on the tan was followed by a stop at a jewelry store on Sanibel for Jean’s birthday present. A man’s gotta’ do what a man’s gotta’ do.
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