Aug. 22, 2005 - Sanibel
This weekend our family took a short drive south to Sanibel Island which is supposed to be the world's best place for shelling. We were not disappointed and came home with lots of shells to add to our collection.
Although my only goal for the weekend was relaxation and family time (something we desperately needed), as a homeschool family, it couldn't help but end up being educational as well. One of our favorite places was The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. The museum itself was interesting with lots of, obviously, shell exhibits. But the best part was the 30 minute video presented on mollusks. The video was filmed by a part-time Sanibel resident for her grandchildren and took over 6 years to make. It was very well-done and had the most amazing shots of, well, mollusks (living). Who knew mollusks could be so interesing! Check out some clips here. It was really exciting to connect all those shells with real live animals. It certainly made shelling all the more exciting.
Another educational highlight of the trip was visiting the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Preserve. It is a 4 mile drive through the most amazing preserve and you can pull over to get a closer look anytime. The kids had a blast spotting Mangrove Tree Crabs at one of the many spots where we pulled over. We even got to see live Mollusks for ourselves. And there were birds galore. It was well worth driving through!
And so Sanibel was well worth visiting- I recommend it highly. We are blessed to live in Florida where there are so many natural wonders just waiting to be observed! It was however, very hot, so it might be best to go late fall or even winter, though winter hotel rates are much more costly. Also, be aware of the "no-see-ums" or sand flys. My daughter and I came home sporting over 100 bites each (yes, I said 100)! Not very fun! My recommendation- bring deet- really. I mean it.
Comments
Aug. 22, 2005 - Sanibel
Posted by BarbaraFrank
Ooh, you are so blessed to live near such a beautiful place. We stopped there five years ago on our family vacation to FL, and just loved it. I didn't think I'd ever get my youngest out of there----free shells! We stayed in Ft. Myers Beach at a really nice place and had a fine time. Thanks for bringing back some good memories for me!
Barb
Aug. 23, 2005 - Untitled Comment
Posted by eclecticchaos
You forgot to warn people about the horrid traffic going in to Sanibel :p We took our first family vacation to Florida in March, and it was fun. One day we drove down to Sanibel, and I think that was probably our best day, actually. We stayed at the beach for 3 hours and got tons and tons of shells. It certainly has earned it's reputation. The only thing that made the day a little frustrating and disappointing was the traffic - we sat for a solid hour getting on the island, and a solid hour getting off the island. They have a 4 way stop and don't use it - instead they have a traffic guard making it way worse. We actually wouldn't ever go back to Florida, just b/c their roads/traffic are very poorly designed and executed.
The Darling refuge was really cool. I wish we hadn't done the driving trip - I wish we would have walked through it instead - might've had a better chance at seeing alligators.
Aug. 23, 2005 - traffic
Posted by jfraire
You know, I didn't think to warn about the traffic- because there really was none! Not too many people are crazy enough to go to Sanibel in August- it was actually pretty desolate! Way too hot! So I guess you trade the traffic in for the heat. But I could see how it would be pretty bad if there were more people there. It's a very small island. But well worth the visit, I think. Thanks for the comments!