Sanibel Island

We’re back from four relaxing, unplugged days on a family trip to Sanibel Island, Florida. My mom, sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew all arrived in Sanibel last Saturday and spent their first few days getting acquainted with Tropical Storm Debby; luckily our Wednesday arrival on the island brought heat, sunshine, and blue skies.

My husband and I could not wait to get out of Boston. His work schedule has been bananas, even more than usual, and mine, well, mine has been the opposite which causes me even more stress. Summer was looking busy for me, but two projects ended abruptly for reasons that I had no control over. Me + no control? No bueno. I decided to let it all go for a few days to focus on fun and family. After all, forty years from now, it won’t be the work projects I will be looking back on. Work is important, but I have a really hard time stepping away to fully enjoy other things. This weekend I was successful at pushing everything else to the back burner. Success!

Once we arrived at Logan, we went in to island mode. The flight on JetBlue to Fort Myers was quick and smooth, and it being off-season in Sanibel, the airport was empty. Within 20 minutes of landing we were in our rental car and headed across the Sanibel Causeway, just in time for sunset.

We spent our days on Sanibel playing with the kids while encountering all sorts of wildlife like this little gecko. And frogs, crabs, snails, dolphins, sting rays, fish, and even an alligator!

Our first morning in Sanibel, we took the Sanibel Thriller, a high-speed boat that makes a lap of Sanibel and Captiva while entertaining us with the dolphins surfing in our wake. Somehow we find ourselves on a boat wherever we go! I would definitely recommend it for people of all ages; even my 1.5 year old nephew enjoyed it until he fell asleep mid-boat ride!

The main reason to visit Sanibel is for its natural, tranquil beauty. From the hot and sunny beach days to the flowers are palm trees that are literally everywhere, it’s a place to let the outside world stop for a few days, and we we soaked up every second.

Lounging on the beach, swimming in the warm, shallows of the Gulf of Mexico, collecting the shells that Sanibel is famous for, and sipping on rum drinks are your only cares for most of the day.

That is, until sunset rolls around. My brother-in-law has visited Sanibel and Captiva many times, and he knew exactly where on Captiva to take us for the sunset. We didn’t see the “green flash” that is said to happen when the sun dips behind the sea for the day, but we did enjoy a beautiful display of pinks and oranges while dolphins swam close by and my favorite little ones (to the right in the below picture) ran in the sand.

Sun, sand, surf, and family; if you are looking for a great getaway, Sanibel is it. We also ate some great food and drank some tasty island cocktails; those will be coming up later this week.

Do you have a favorite place to just getaway and unplug?