Sanibel Island
We made it to my Aunt and Uncles place at a reasonable time. It’s a good feeling when you stay with family. There is nothing better for decompressing.
My Dad is a huge fan of currency from around the world so my Sister and I decided we would put him a money book together. I surprised him with it as a fathers day gift. He was ecstatic to flip through the pages at all of the different money. If you know where to get old coins and bills, hit me up!
Driving will take it out of you. After we had our initial greetings, I was ready for a shower and bed. I had no intentions of doing anything the next morning.
Amber woke me up early. She was ready to go to the beach, but not just any beach. We had been looking at Sanibel Island for some time now. National Geographic named it one of the top 10 family vacation spots of 2018. Also, it is the shelling capitol of the world. I did not want to wake up early to drive an hour to the beach, but alas I lost that argument, and thankfully I did cave.
We made it to Sanibel Island and noticed the water coming over the bridge at Ft. Myers was discolored and looked like a swamp. For some time now Florida has had water levels rising in Lake Okeechobee due to the many dams and reroutes of the natural flow. Every so often the Army Corps of Engineers has to relieve the pressure and allow the lake water to run through outlets that let out at Sanibel.
This wouldn’t be a problem, but due to the algae in the water mixing with the warm ocean water, it causes algae blooms that destroy the water, and habitat of marine life. The algae blooms naturally without interference from man, but not on the scales seen when the lake gets drained.
Due to the algae blooms, many of the marine life have died from this. I really don’t want to go on a political rant here, but if you have a say so, write your elected officials and demand they do better. The locals, industries, and many of the animals are suffering over this issue.
Travel Tip: Always check the water conditions before you head to the beach. There could be weather or unexpected circumstances that would prevent you from having a good trip.
Thankfully, on our trip, we made it just in time. The algae had just began to seep into the ocean around Sanibel, but had not spread yet. The island itself is very charming. Driving through was an exciting feeling knowing that we were going to be swimming at the beach soon.
Parking was simple enough. We paid at a kiosk and put our ticket on the dash, and yes, they accepted a card. Amber had to get changed into her swimsuit. While she did that, Billy and I took a look at the fishing pier. Folks were reeling them in left and right. Unknown to us at the time, the marine life was in grave danger from the imminent algae bloom that would be taking place within a few days.
Just off the pier on the sand we spotted some egrets looking for a snack.
Egrets just off the pier
Billy going in for a closer look
The famous lighthouse on Sanibel Island
The beach was beautiful, not too crowded, and there were so many different shells!
Billy and Amber with their first big find of the day
A friend came back to try and get a snack. Mine? Mine?
Off in the distance, we could see dolphins playing. I tried to get some pictures of them, but they were too far off the coast. After we spent a few hours on the beach, we packed up for lunch. On the way out I met a reporter for a local news station who was taking aerial footage of the bay with a drone. He was doing a story on the red tide algae bloom that was slowly starting to seep into the ocean.
I have not heard much good coming from that area since the red tide came over the summer 2018. I really hope that the people of Florida will be able to find a solution. There is so much at stake.
