Sanibel Island, Florida

[Roanoker]

If pictures are missing, see them in the first two sets at http://www.flickr.com/photos/115393943@ ... 031676114/.


My husband, son and I visited Sanibel Island, Florida at the end of October, 2006, prior to subjecting ourselves to Disney World. It is a charming place, known for an abundance of sea shells and uncommon beauty.

We stayed at The Blue Dolphin, just steps away from this awesome beach.



This is what it looked like right outside our cabin window.



Couldn't resist this bee, doing his thing.



Okay, so I cut away the crappy background with Photoshop. Sue me.



One of many really nice flowers around this place.



Here you can get an idea of how many sea shells are on the beach. I felt guilty walking along and hearing the crunch of breaking shells.

[Tosspot]

Nice photos. You got any more of the beach?

And I am of the group that believes using Photoshop is NOT a bad thing to use. So, no worries there.

[Roanoker]

Nice photos. You got any more of the beach?

And I am of the group that believes using Photoshop is NOT a bad thing to use. So, no worries there.

Thanks. Having great subjects certainly helps. I have many pictures of the beach. I'm just in the habit of cropping my original 3:2 pictures to 4:3 so they will fit on typical computer screens and on a digital picture frame I keep on my desk at work. I send five pictures a week to a few family members and friends and then post any appropriate ones (or not) on the forum here. Also, I usually take about 1000 pictures a week when I go on vacation. Then I put them onto DVD with music. But it takes a long time to get it all done.

The way I take pictures, I don't have time to fuss with F stops and light meters. I usually have to point, click, and run to catch up with everyone else and hope they don't get too perturbed. I got lost several times at Disney World. I deal with image problems after the fact. However, with this camera (Nikon D70), I don't have to do much tweaking, if any.

Is there something about the beach you are particularly interested in? If so, I will hunt through the pics for that feature.

[anniewarbucks]

You are lucky to see all of those shells. I know of some beaches that they rake up the shells off of the beaches before the crowds arive in the mornings. The shell dealers then can make money selling the shells that were harvested from these beaches. I wish I knew you were going though I would have loved to have a box of those shells.

[Roanoker]

You are lucky to see all of those shells. I know of some beaches that they rake up the shells off of the beaches before the crowds arive in the mornings. The shell dealers then can make money selling the shells that were harvested from these beaches. I wish I knew you were going though I would have loved to have a box of those shells.

You should go there yourself and select the ones you want! Be prepared to have appropriate packing materials. You'd hate to get home only to find them broken.

Thanks for the info about the beach-raking at other places. I'm glad they don't do that at Sanibel.

[Roanoker]

You got any more of the beach?

Well, since you asked...



























This one was alive, so my son threw it back into the ocean.








This is the other side of the live one.




















You can see the moon in this one.

[Tosspot]

This one is great..



It's unusual to see a pristine beach that void of people. I would guess the place is very crowded in the summertime.

One thing I wanted to do when I visited Hong Kong in March was go to the beaches at Repulse Bay, but the weather was crappy for my entire visit save for the day I flew home. I guess that's why my ticket was so cheap.

[Roanoker]

This one is great..

I think my son took that one with my camera. It's the only one where I accepted Photoshop's rendering after I hit the Auto button in Levels. It didn't look "real," but I liked the effect. (What's "real" anyway?)

It's unusual to see a pristine beach that void of people. I would guess the place is very crowded in the summertime.

I'm not so sure. The lady in the office said they have 95% occupancy year-round. I don't think that many people know about it. The place is very uncommercialized. The few people we encountered were extremely friendly and relaxed. The woman stationed at the Chamber of Commerce (not Visitor Center--interesting) said upon our entrance, "Welcome to Paradise!" She gave us a list of places to lodge, along with directions. Use of bicycles is free! Except if you ride them on the beach. Then the cost is $50. I wonder if that's to protect the beach, the bicycles, or both.

One thing I wanted to do when I visited Hong Kong in March was go to the beaches at Repulse Bay, but the weather was crappy for my entire visit save for the day I flew home. I guess that's why my ticket was so cheap.

Then you should go back! Or go to Sanibel Island.

I doubt if we have any marine biologists on the Forum (where is George Costanza when you need him), and even fewer folks who will view this thread, but does anyone know what this mass of "spaghetti" is? Is it some type of seaweed? Something akin to jellyfish?

[anniewarbucks]

I love the sea shells. is any one going to the beach sometime in the near future? I would love a shoebox full of various sizes of sea shells.

[Slappy the Wang]

Very similar to Marco Island (FL)... a great and quiet escape for not a lot of dinero.

[KansasCityChiefs]

Wow that brings back good memories, A few years ago, I went to Sanibel. I stayed at the Sanibel Harbour Resort and Spa. It was the best vacation I have ever been on. My room had a patio with a sliding glass door looking over the ocean. You could look out and see all the dolphins jumping in the water.




Sorry, just a couple of pictures of it.

[Roanoker]

Wow that brings back good memories, A few years ago, I went to Sanibel. I stayed at the Sanibel Harbour Resort and Spa. It was the best vacation I have ever been on. My room had a patio with a sliding glass door looking over the ocean. You could look out and see all the dolphins jumping in the water.

Sorry, just a couple of pictures of it.

No need to be sorry! Thank you for posting the pictures. I didn't know there was anything like those places on Sanibel. I guess we didn't see much of the place. We pretty much stayed near the cabin. And you saw dolphins jumping! I'm jealous. We heard locals talk about dolphin activity, but we didn't see any. We were there for only two nights.

[Roanoker]

Here are a few more pictures from the next day, 10/27/06.

[Roanoker]

Here are some flowers found on the beach, except for the first one.

[Cyclops]

Thanks for sharing all your Florida pictures Roanoker. So, are you still down there lounging on the beach or what?

[nota]

Beautiful beautiful pictures. THanks for sharing.

[Roanoker]

Thanks for sharing all your Florida pictures Roanoker. So, are you still down there lounging on the beach or what?

You are welcome! No, I'm home. I had to switch computers for a while, and that slowed me down a bit. But mostly I've been buried in work, bringing it home. Not fun. I'd like to be back at that beach!

Beautiful beautiful pictures. THanks for sharing.

Thank you, Nota. If you've got good subjects, it's hard to go wrong.    I appreciate your kind words.

[ShowME]

I look at these pics everyday to remind me that my family(wife and 2 kids) are going to Marco Island, FL on January 5th-14th.  Cannot wait.  Will definitely checkout Sanibel Island as well.  Can anyone tell me will the water just be too cold to get into or is it tolerable when you get in and then freeze your fo-shizzles off?  Keep in mind Marco Island is about 60-70 miles south of Sanibel.  Thanks.

[Roanoker]

I look at these pics everyday to remind me that my family(wife and 2 kids) are going to Marco Island, FL on January 5th-14th.  Cannot wait.  Will definitely checkout Sanibel Island as well.  Can anyone tell me will the water just be too cold to get into or is it tolerable when you get in and then freeze your fo-shizzles off?  Keep in mind Marco Island is about 60-70 miles south of Sanibel.  Thanks.

We were there in late October, and I didn't touch the water. My son wandered in. I'll see if he can answer your question. (He's into all kinds of earth science stuff.) At any rate, have a great time!

[Roanoker]

ShowMe~

Here's what my son said: "When we were there, it was at the point where it was on the cold side, but may be ok once the body adjusted to it. It was warm enough to walk ankle-deep through the surf while looking for shells."

I don't know if the water will be too cold in January or not. The woman in the office said they have 95% occupancy year-round.

Anyway, here are a few more flower and beach pics. The first one was taken in front of the Shell Museum on Sanibel. It's a great place to visit.







Notice all the shells on the beach. Better bring something to carry them in!