OT: Sanibel Island

I am going this August and I want to know more about it! Where did you stay and how did you like it?? Any other information would be great! [img]graemlins/island.gif[/img]

I've been and I loved it! I also went in August and it was HOT, but the shelling was wonderful! It is so fun to look for really neat shells. We didn't stay there (wish we had) so I don't know the best place to stay, but I do recomend the shell museaum. It is interesting, and it has AC!

Jessica

I went there, but I stayed at a friend's condo on the beach. I went before the last hurricane which downed a lot of the palm trees. It is a very cute place. The beaches are natural - meaning lots of seedweed and shells. This makes the beach interesting, but some people are surprised by this. They don't rake the beach because of wild life habitats. It is fun to ride bikes there.

My BIL and his family live there but are moving in August. I would definitley recommend taking bikes. There is a huge nature preserve that we took the kids to and rode our bikes in. The beach was awesome. We stayed with our relatives and their house backed up to one of the inlets. If you can get some Kayaks I would definitely do that as well. There were some Manatee's that hung out were we stayed and they would go right under our Kayaks. You have to stay still because they are Huge and could easily tip you over but they are very peaceful and friendly. My daughter still likes talking about how she was splashed by a Manatee tail. I was on a Kayak with my son and while we were waiting for everyone to get on theirs (and before we knew the Manatee's were right there) we were running our fingers throught the water and actually touched one.
As far as restaurants go until last week my BIL and his wife owned The Seafood Factory, we weren't able to eat their on our last trip as they were remodeling but they did have a "backroom" that is open late at night were people go to shoot pool, its more of a local hangout type place, not touristy as I imagine the restaurant is. I met quite a few characters there. We also went to eat at a place called Morgan's Forrest (I think it was part of the Holiday Inn). It has the feel of eating in the forrest, the food was okay but the waitress we had was a hoot. Last I heard though my BIL hired her to work at one of his places.
The best resaurant I can reccomend is actually just off the Island on the right. It's called the Biddle's Resaurant and Piano Bar. It's very pricey but seriously has the best food I've ever had. If you can't afford to eat there go by for dessert. They have this chocolate grand piano filled with mouse or something and it not only tastes great but looks really cool. I think it costs $12. I must disclose that my BIL owns that restaurant as well but seriously it is a great place. They actually had a customer who copied it down to the upholstry somewhere in Arizona. There is a huge Giraffe next to the bar and the stir sticks are giraffe's too. Anyways, we can only go there because we have a free place to stay but it's a beautiful area. My SIL took the kids Fort Myers Beach one night and they had a blast. Good Luck with your trip. I'm really hoping to take the kids there this summer but with the cost of gas I don't know. Anyways sorry I made this so long. If you happen to go to Biddle's R and PB you can tell them that you heard about it from McCallie's wife, the owners names are Andy and Brenda.

Kristin

We are actually going to fly down so I can't bring a bike into the plane. Is there a spot you can rent bikes?

I have been to Sanibel at least once a year for the past few years, so if you want to know anything, I might be able to help you, just ask. I will outline a few things here.

~yes, you can rent bikes on the island but Im not sure right now from where, but I will have to look it up.
~if you want a condo on the Golf, I would suggest getting one at Loggerhead Cay which you can request through Royal Shell (http://www.royalshell.com). The room that I always enjoy is condo 114. This is the exact page for it.
~there are many great places to shop and I would suggest visiting them all
~there are two groceries stores, Jerry's and Baily's, which you can shop at. I prefer Baily's but because it seems more local, but at Jerry's you can the groceries delivered to your car
~The "Ding" Darling Natural Wildlife Refuge is an anwesome place to see native animals. The place is teeming with life
~if you want some amazing ice cream, you must stop at Pinochioes, which is located down by the lighthouse. They have the best ice cream! For my mom's birthday, we had some sent up and she was delighted
~On Captiva, there's the Bubble Room which gets a lot of attention, but I didnt like the food that much, but if you want to see a lot of cool collectobilia, then that is the place.
~The Mucky Duck is said to have a very good repuation, so you can always go and eat there

Those are the high points that I can think of right now. If you have any questions, you can always PM me and I would be more than happy to help you. I hope that this was informative.

Ive been there a few times and I love it! You can ride the bikes around the island and there are some great hiking trails. You can also rent a horse and go riding...I got a copper one names Penny (go figure) The fudge there is outstanding! Also there is quite a bit of history at the fort which is a must see place to visit!