I am so excited to finally blog about our trip to Sanibel & Captiva Islands in Florida!! It was such a fun vacation that I have thought of fondly many many times.
We chose this location based on a list I'd seen on Facebook about great places to take kids on vacation. Apparently the beaches have a ton of sea shells and I thought that would be fun for the kids plus it's nice to go somewhere new.
The trip started with an EARLY flight to FL. Thank goodness I could get some breakfast at Urban Taco - my favorite food in all of the DFW airport.
Emmalyn toddling around while we waited for the line to board the airplane to die down.
All ready to go!
The flight went really well. Both kids did great.
We are in Florida! This was my first time being in the Ft. Myers airport.
Note the two stickers on Max's shirt. One was from the TSA (the badge) and then the other was from our baggage. It was a BAD idea to put that one on. When we took it off it left a ton of sticky stuff behind that I've never been able to get off. Goodbye shirt.
Once we got in our rental car we drove towards the island. We stopped just before going over the big bridge to the islands and got some McDonalds for lunch and then while Peter went into Publix to get some snacks and cereal for the kids, I drove around the parking lot so that Emmalyn could fall asleep and take a nap.
We then drove out to Sanibel island and just drove around. We found this lighthouse. First lighthouse I've ever been to. There wasn't anything to "do" but hey, we saw a lighthouse.
Peter with Max at the base of the lighthouse
After the lighthouse we decided to head to our resort. I was following the directions that Peter had pulled up on his GPS which took us back over the bridge to the mainland. That didn't make much sense to me so when I questioned it, we realized Peter had mapped us to the wrong place. Whoops. So we did much more driving than we needed, but hey we are on vacation so no stress! (and it allowed more time for kids to fall asleep in the car).
So we finally made it to the South Seas Resort and got checked in but the room wasn't ready. We were a little before the guaranteed check in time and they said they'd call us when our room was ready. It was really hot and humid so we just hung out in the car and drove around a little bit since it wasn't going to be very long. Maxwell fell asleep, which was good since that meant both kids got a nap. However, it took FOREVER to get our room. It ended up being nearly two hours. I called to complain multiple times especially since our room wasn't ready AFTER the guaranteed time. They said they'd give us a voucher for a meal to use at one of the restaurants, which when we got it was for over 100.00 so not too shabby on that but it was still incredibly frustrating and kind of ruined the fun "vacation" mood we were in.
Hanging out in the car
When Maxwell woke up, we explored a little of the resort.
The scenery and grounds were just stunning
Playing a little mini golf
Family picture! One of my favorite family pictures from 2015.
After this we finally got into our room. It was a nice set up with a totally separate master bedroom, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a pull down bed in the front room. Things were a little more dated than I typically like but at least the linens were new and things worked. (One of the bathroom sinks wouldn't drain and the A/C in the master bedroom never cooled as much as I would have liked but oh well...)
Sanibel and Captiva are really great because they are totally non-corporate. There isn't one McDonalds on the island! There are no chain hotels. There's one main road that runs down the middle of both islands and is flanked on both sides by cute beach front cottages, massive gorgeous mansions, and quirky-style-filled restaurants. There were bike paths lining the main road and parts of the island allowed golf carts on the road.
Video - I gave Emmalyn a lemon to try at dinner. It's pretty funny because she doesn't like it but she can't fight that urge to not take food when it's being offered to her.
Happy girl at breakfast
(Can I just say, the food prices at the resort were stupid high! So frustrating because I didn't want to have to spend so much money on food but I also wasn't going to buy food and cook in the kitchen - I'm on vacation!)
We went outside and I wanted to get pics of the kids but it was so humid, my camera was all fogged up.
Max
Much better - all defogged.
We were headed to the beach so I grabbed some shade and slathered sun screen on the kids.
Maxwell checking out the hammock. He didn't like it.
Yeah! We are back at the beach!!! (And it was a great beach!)
See the sand sifter? It's FULL of seashells. Peter didn't have to dig through a ton of sand for all those shells... they are just all there, tumbling in the surf. He put the sifter down in the water and this is what he came up with. At first you think it's a little bit rocky when you hit that point as you walk out into the ocean but then, if you look closer, you see it isn't rock but instead it's seashells. It's crazy how many seashells there are! Back when we went to the Caribbean in March, Max and Aja were out in the water for a long time trying to find a good shell.
Sunny days at the beach are just so great!!!
After the beach we wanted to check out some of the kids activities but needed to do lunch first so we bought the makings for sandwhiches. This was truly being on vacation to have WHITE BREAD! and not only that but to have sugar filled "regular" peanut butter and jam. Nothing "organic" or "natural" in sight. :)
Making bracelets.
Maxwell also made one for his sister. She loved it.
That afternoon we went swimming in the pool. Maxwell much preferred swimming in the pool. He says he doesn't like the ocean because it's salty water.
A snack of more yummy white bread before we head to dinner.
The resort was HUGE so we did a bunch of walking just to get to where we could hop on the trolley that went around the property.
On the trolley!!! And of course we've got bug spray because the bugs are awful. It's so bad that at some of the trolley stops they have dispensers for hand sanitizer and also for Avon's skin so soft (can be used as a bug repellent).
We used our restaurant voucher for a really nice dinner (it went really far when the majority of the menu was fish and we aren't big fish eaters)
Watching the sunset.
I basically had to drag Maxwell out there. He didn't like walking in the sand and getting sand in his sandles.
I showed Maxwell how you can write in the sand
It was a gorgeous sunset
He wanted to try and write his own name
It's hard to see but he did a good job
Ahhh - - a beach paradise
I noticed something...you see this white gravel path they are walking on?
...if you look closer you realize it's not gravel - - it's SHELLS!!! That's how many shells there are on these islands. They use them as gravel!
Once the kids were in bed, Peter and I played Monopoly Deal.
...more great vacation to come!
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