There’s a positive side to this—being confined indoors is just the impetus I need to fulfill one of my New Year’s intentions, which is to get our blog caught up so that we’re posting from our actual location.
So let’s return to Sanibel Island, where for eight days in mid-December, we walked barefoot on the beach, played in the surf, and biked miles every day.
Eight Days On Sanibel Island
We first visited Sanibel about 12 years ago for a couple of days and promised ourselves that we would return. And so we did, this time with our trailer in tow, staying right smack in the middle of town at Periwinkle Park. It is the only place to camp on Sanibel. Given the demographics of Sanibel (the average home price is $600,000, and that’s for a condominium) it’s amazing that this park exists at all.
About half of Periwinkle Park is an assortment of trailers/park models with permanent residents; the rest of the park is set aside for travelers. There’s also a large contingent of tropical birds (mostly rescues) that reside in the center of the park, with morning bird shows offered several times a week. It’s virtually impossible to get a site at Periwinkle Park from the last week in December until the first of April. But the middle of December is the perfect time to visit—there are few tourists, the beaches and town and bike paths are uncrowded, and the town is decked with thousands of lights and decorations for Christmas. It’s festive and fun.
The morning bird show at Periwinkle Park
Birding And Shelling On Sanibel
The birding on Sanibel is fantastic. More than half of the island has been set aside as wildlife refuges, with Ding Darling the best known and the largest. We had a great time biking to the refuge from Periwinkle Park (about 18 miles round trip) and kayaking in the refuge.
Click on any photo for a larger image
The number of wading birds is astonishing, including Roseate Spoonbills, one of my favorites. Spending so much time observing the birds, we invariably notice something new. This time, we watched the Snowy Egrets dragging their bright golden feet through the water as they flew, and later found out that the egrets use their feet to lure fish to the surface.
American White Pelican
The shelling on Sanibel is legendary, and we found ourselves irresistibly drawn to collecting shells on our daily beach walks. Collecting anything except photos and memories is not a habit to cultivate while living in a small trailer. Nonetheless, we are now traveling with a miniature shell collection. Fortunately, to help limit our collecting, many of the shells we found contained live critters, and those, of course, we promptly returned to the sea. (Although one afternoon after biking back to our trailer and spreading our loot out on the picnic table, one of the shells hiked itself up and started walking across the table. We quickly took it back to the beach.)
Pink Flamingo Nativity Scene
Stay warm. Hope to see you on the trip north!
Looks like it’s cold in Big Bend, too! Brrr. We’d love to catch up with you two.
youse twos – guess I pushed a button I shouldn’ta! Anyway – sorry about the freezing weather catching up to you – it’s been nice thinking of you in the semi-tropics (not drinking hot toddies). We had a great NY Eve and now, of course, are on to our alcohol free period – this too shall pass! It all seems to pass so quickly – I mean, two thousand and fourteen? Really?
love
n
No kidding, two thousand and fourteen—how did that happen so quickly?? Looking forward to sharing good food, good wine, and good music with you sometime this year. Stay cozy! xo
Beautiful, beautiful photos and cute comments on how you are
keeping warm.
Now you know how it felt in Portland in December when I kept
saying “it is freezing and beyond here”. Stay warm and have
fun. I loved the pictures of the shells.
Peggy
“Freezing and beyond,” yes indeed!!! It’s crazy to have this kind of weather in Florida, but as my dad says, “It kills the bugs.” The shelling on Sanibel was fantastic—and addictive. xo
Hey you two, as always, lovely to see you.
Kyle and I took RD (Retro Daze) out for it’s first trip over the holidays to Depoe Bay with our dog and yes our cat! We had a great time – went whale watching and walks on the beach in balmy 55 degree weather (beats the 20’s here). We drove down to Bandon and stayed at Bullards Beach State Park and had my birthday dinner at the Wheelhouse, our favorite eatery.
Thought a lot about you and how it would be to be living out of that space for a year! Hmm.. you are truly role models. Now that we are actually seasoned, can’t wait for the caravans!
Blessings for a great 2014!
Happy Birthday, Cyn!! And congratulations on your first trip out — it sounds wonderful. I love the idea of caravanning with friends — that’s my ideal. I envision us playing music around the campfire…Miss you!
Always love to read your stories and see your photos. Try to enjoy your brief winter period. It seems like you know how to do that just fine. No drinking and biking now. ;)
Hahaha, Eric and I got a good laugh out of “no drinking and biking.” Good advice. ;-)
We just met you both and shared the Arctic Blast with you guys here in sunny Florida! It was a pleasure meeting you and look forward to you joining us for our Low Country Boil later this week. I will be browsing through your site looking at your lovely photos. So nice to meet new friends!
How fun to hear from you when we’re still just around the corner — we’re looking forward to joining you for the Low Country Boil and sharing stories! It’s wonderful for us to meet new friends on the road.
Oh my staying on Sanibel sounds just heavenly. I assume everyone after December returns year after year. Glad you could squeeze in before they got there. Can’t wait to find out where you are now – you poor thing – that it is going to be 19 degrees. In Florida? Really??? And I was whining about 34 degrees over night here.
We’re staying at Ochlockonee State Park — the good thing about the arctic blast is that there are NO BUGS!!! It’s wonderful, even though it’s been really cold the past couple of days.
Love the roseate spoonbill. There’s lots around here in Rockport TX. Now if only this rain would stop I might actually be able to catch a few photos. Great shots and fun story :-)
We’re having the same rain here in north Florida…it’s kind of putting a damper on our adventures, too. But only temporarily! Have fun in Rockport (once the rain stops), we love it there.
Your bird photos and shell collection are fabulous! We are finally seeing the sun today on St. George Island so we are off to do a little exploring! It’s amazing how a little sunshine changes everything. :)
Glad you enjoyed the photos—lots to photograph on Sanibel! Enjoy the glorious sunshine—we’re happy to have sun today at the Ochlockonee, too, and are off to do some kayaking.
[…] top of my “up-close and personal” to see list. For that treat, I urge you to check out Raven and Chickadee’s (better known as Eric and Laurel) post on Sanibel Island, or Ingrid of Live, Laugh, RV, who […]
LuAnn, Thank you for your lovely comment. So happy you made it to Sanibel — we’re definitely planning to return!