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A family frolics on the beach on Captiva Island after one of those infamous summer rains leaving a reddish-pink beach sky and beach at sunset.
STORY, PHOTO BY BOB LINDSEY

Returning to a place you visited and cherished over 20 years ago, you expect to find many changes. Life on pristine Captiva and Sanibel Island on Florida’s southwest gulf coast has pretty much stayed the same—and that’s what makes it so appealing.

The drive through these two tropical island getaways seemed much the same as our last visit in 1986. Lush Florida foliage with bright flowers and several varieties of palm trees. Limited roadside signs and nothing obtrusive or in your face. It didn’t take long to figure out that while it all looked the same, there was a lot more shops, restaurants and new attractions. But they blend so nicely into the tropical setting to give an Old Florida feeling, as some visitors will tell you. Just like 20 or even 30 years ago.

No big chain restaurants with servers (there is a popular Dairy Queen on Sanibel that has been there for years and a newer Subway shop), no high rise housing, just plenty of small hotels, condos, rental houses, shelling beaches and boating options.

Captiva Cruises offer daily excursions to Useppa and Cabbage Keys, two remote islands. We took a 90-minute dolphin cruise just after an afternoon rain that Florida is so noted for and the dolphins came out and followed us along for 15 to 20 minutes. Of course, the passengers had to simulate their best dolphin-like sounds to keep their attention.

Another day we visited one of the newest Sanibel attractions that is fast becoming the most popular. The Bailey-Mathew Shell Museum is an appropriate addition to an island known for some of the best shelling in the world. Here you can learn a lot about shelling from around the world, plus view some exhibits and shell artwork you won’t find anywhere else.

Learn about the lifeline of Mollusks in an informative short film, see the largest shell ever found in North America, and take a guided tour of the “Great Hall of Shells.” This will help you to know what you’re seeing and what to look for when shelling on the beach. Kids will like the children’s learning lab and the ‘live tank” with indigenous mollusks (live shellfish). For more information: www.shellmuseum.org.

During our short stay we split time between a bed-and-breakfast at the colorful Capitva Island Inn and a rental house our good friend (a Dining Diva) had rented to celebrate a significant birthday. She had invited friends and her family down at various times in July and we were lucky to make the guest list.

Between the two accommodations we got different perspectives for staying on the two connecting islands.

Captiva Island Inn is an 18-room restored facility that ranges from rooms to suites to even a house. Located in the quaint Captiva Village, the area offers the ambience of Key West without all the craziness. There are just enough restaurants here in “Olde Captiva” including the famous Bubble Room (much like Blueberry Hill in U. City with a vast collection of childhood and movie memorabilia) , a few shops and an old time general store.

We stayed in the 3-bedroom apartment that we shared with another couple. There was a pool and spa in the back, bikes for riding the island and chairs and umbrellas for the beach for our use. Captiva Island Inn does the breakfast a little different than most B&Bs. You get a voucher good for a full breakfast at either the Key Lime Bistro or R.C. Otter’s. Both are also noted known for their lunch and dinner menus with emphasis on just-caught Florida seafood. Rates start at $99 for rooms at Captiva Island Inn. But you can upgrade to a suite, cottage, loft or a complete house. For information and a virtual tour visit: www.Captivaislandinn.com

Captiva Island Inn is just a long block from the beach and wonderful sunsets. We dined at the quirky or should I say quacky Mucky Duck restaurant overlooking the beach and provided us with shelter during another early evening rainfall. We had an enjoyable late lunch at Doc Ford’s Restaurant (named for the main character in Randy Wayne White novels), so light fare was our choice for dinner. Actually, the kids’ menus chicken dinner was just fine for one in our party. The waitress even brought him a little hat and a toy. Obviously, there was a lot of laughter and banter.

Afterwards we walked on the beach to view one of those famous island sunsets. The colorful sunset photos you can take after a storm can be perfect for displaying on those rotating photo frames.

We got the feel for island house renting when we stayed with our friends at a rental house on Sanibel. Most houses rent for the month, but in summer and early fall the rates are often half of the peak season rates. This house had a large family/kitchen room, a large screened in pool, full beach equipment, and all the comforts of home. Each of the three bedrooms featured large bathrooms.

Another day we spent a few hours discovering the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Refuge and drove back over the bridge to Fort Myers to visit the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford museums and home sites (see accompanying stories on next page). The Sanibel Lighthouse Boardwalk & Beach is the most photographed place on the island and very popular for shell gathering.

But the best part of the trip was lying on the beach, splashing in the water like kids, combing the beach for the most unique shells, and just being with good friends.

For more specific information about the Fort Myers and Sanibel area, visit their web site: www.FortMyers-Sanibel.com. This is one of the best web sites you find on destinations anywhere with details on accommodations, attractions and discounts, special events and links. The site has video clips, current weather conditions and you can view and even download the area’s Visitor’s Guide.

—–Edison & Ford Estates Are In Nearby Ft. Myers

How did two of America’s greatest minds become such good friends and business associates that they built winter homes side-by side on 17-acres in Fort Myers, Florida?

That question and others will be answered with a visit to the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford winter estates near downtown Fort Myers along the Caloosahatchee River. Guided tours of the homes and gardens are offered and you’ll come away with a better understanding of these two American icons.

The road in front of Edison’s 14-acre estate is lined for 15 miles with towering royal palm trees, with the first 200 imported from Cuba by Edison.

You can tour the two-story home, guest house, office, laboratory and experimental gardens. Visiting the museum, you appreciate all of Edison’s many inventions including the numerous phonograph, gramophone and motion picture machine. Many models are displayed here. Outside there are lush gardens and a banyan tree that measures 400 feet around. Reputed to be the largest in the U.S. it was a gift from his friend industrialist Harvey Firestone.

Edison’s neighbor was the man credited with inventing the concept of the assembly line. Auto magnate Henry Ford purchased the three-acre estate next door in 1916 and called it “Mangoes.” The home has been renovated to restore it to the days when Ford and his wife Clara lived there. A garage houses a 1914 Model T and 1929 Model A.

The estates and museum are open to the public daily and weekend, A combined tour ticket for both estates is $16 adults and $8.50 for children 6-12 years of age. For more information call (239) 334-3614 or visit: www.edison-ford-estate .com. -Bob Lindsey

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