Art and Poetry Find Perfect Blend on Sanibel

Sanibel is tropical barrier Island that is a world class vacation destination because of its shells and wild life. But those who know the Island at all, realize that art is big component of what makes Sanibel tick. And the out of box artistic expressions are the heart of the art on the Island.



ARTPoems began five years ago when Lorraine Vail and another island poet, Joe Pacheco, decided to go to the Sanibel Public Library and seek inspiration — via ekphrasis a Greek word that is somewhat undefinable — by viewing the Sanibel-Captiva Art League’s annual display.



What followed was a flurry of creative collaboration between a handful of island poets and artists and the result was the first ever ARTPoems.



“We had the opportunity to present at Phillips Gallery and we had no idea how it was going to go. We didn’t rehearse, and we ended up having such an amazing collaboration. Both the artists and the poets were thrilled that their art was interpreted in a new way. I call it shaking the muse loose — getting to write in a different way. It’s a challenge because you’re writing based on something visual and interpreting that piece.”



In the ARTPoems selection process, artists and poets are paired up randomly through a raffle, and then each one presents five poems or five pieces of artwork. The poet selects one piece and then writes a poem inspired by it, the artist selects a poem and makes a piece inspired by it.



Then, both artist and poet — or musician, as music is now a large part of ARTPoems — share their new works at a special presentation at BIG ARTS and the Alliance for the Arts, thanks to Pam Brodersen, who puts all the images and poems together to be projected on a screen for the actual show.



But the key word when it comes to ARTPoems is “inspiration.”



ArtPoems will present multimedia on Stage on February 24 at Schein Hall in Big Arts. Tickets for the 7:30 performance are $10. There is a reception at 6:45 preceding the performance.

Much to Celebrate with Sanibel Shell Fare

One of the most exciting and most iconic of Sanibel festivities will be taking place beginning on February 17 and ending on March 4. The Sanibel Shellabration!

The Shell Fair and Show is located at The Community House, 2173 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel Island, Florida 33957(239) 472-2155.

The line up of events is diversified, and sure to please every member of the family.

Heard of flash mobs? Well, there will be one of a sort at the Shellabration. Come and do the Sanibel Stoop on Friday, February 17 at 10 am. Meet at Bowman's Beach and help Shellabration make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. The meet up includes a free t- shirt while supplies last. Call 239-472-2155 to register.

Though the beach is the most logical spot to celebrate the sea shells that are so abundant on Sanibel, there are many other locations where Shellabration will have a presence.

At Ding Darling Nature Preserve, there will be a shell-related reading to include shell crafts (Fri & Sat) 11:00 am.

There will also be a free touch tank demo at tarpon Bay Recreation Area with Ranger led walks.

The Sanibel Public Library has "Shell Book Reading Displays" offering more than 350 shell-related books. In addition, your favorite titles and rare books from the reference collection will be on display on the main level of the Library throughout February and March. There will be a Fossil Shell Display - Library Ground Floor with 120 different species, ages from thousands to as much as 5 million years old. Some of the shells are extinct and some are found at the beach today. The fossils are from the Burnt Store area in North Fort Myers.

The Sanibel Historical Museum will have several shell collections on display throughout Shellabration week inside the Rutland Home, Burnap Cottage, Morning Glories and the Schoolhouse. In addition, there will also be a shell collection from Thomas Edison with a letter to authenticate it from Mina Edison.

At Billy's Bike and Rentals all customers (on-line and in-store) will receive a free raffle ticket for a chance to own a signed Shellabration poster designed by Sanibel Artist, Pam Brodersen.

Even our restaurants are in on the shell act. At Cheeburger Cheeburger those who stop can enter a Shellabration kids coloring contest. At The Great White Grill stop by for their specially created Shellabration Micro Brew, and at Sweet Melissa's, enjoy a specially created Shellabration dessert.

As one of the top 3 shelling destinations in the world, Sanibel has bragging rights to show off its most popular reason for being a top tourist attraction for people from all over.

It's so sweet on Sanibel: Sweet Melissa's shows the Way

We don't usually single out a restaurant when we advise our vacation rental guests on where they might want to dine. There are a wide variety of places to eat on the island that cater to a wide variety of tastes and budgets. So generally we will suggest several places when pushed for an answer.



And we most often tell our visitors that they should do a little research on their own. Looking at menus to assure that there is a nice selection is always helpful, as is evaluating reviews on such sites as TripAdvisor, Yelp and other review sites.



But, in our view, when we see and hear so many positive remarks about our Island dining alternatives, we have to take a moment to reflect.



Sweet Melissa's is one of those rare finds anywhere. The restaurant is rated number 3 of all restaurants reviewed on TripAdvisor and given many accolades on Yelp as well. But the most adulation can be read at Gulf Shore Magazine where in an article entitled "The Best Food in Lee County", leads with this statement: "One step inside Sweet Melissa’s elegant but unpretentious ambiance and we realized the connection (to the Allman brother's song) begins and ends with the name. Think burnt orange and other earthy tones, white tablecloths, professional servers and cozy, quiet dining rooms. Our first bites of food made us wish we could travel back to February of 2009, when Sweet Melissa’s first opened."



Then, in equally positive tones, the writers go on to rave about the flavors and choices: "Unable to choose just two, Tom and I tried half portions of three different entrées, fish stew ($29 whole/$17 half) with shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, fish and chorizo sausage in a tomato saffron broth with Pernod aioli; grilled smoked beef tenderloin ($34 whole/$19 half) with hickory, truffle whipped potato, sautéed spinach and bone marrow bordelaise; and the pan-seared mahi mahi ($26 whole/$15 half) with sweet potato, corn and crawfish hash and smoked tomato butter. A few bites into the experience, we just gaped at each other."



Now, keeping in mind that it's lunch hour as I write this post and my hunger quotient is up pretty high, even if it were not, those descriptions would certainly whet your appetite. And to seal the deal, this conclusion would have me running to Sweet Melissa's: "We practically wept over the desserts, which had to do with berries and homemade gelato on the one hand, and bananas and pecans on the other ($7 each)—not to mention fairy dust and angel’s wings."



So, if you are reading this post on Island, get thee to Sweet Melissa's. And if you are not here, then this delightful eatery could be a compelling reason to visit.



How sweet it is!

Winter Birding on Sanibel

As most visitors know, winter season, aka, high season, is prime time on Sanibel.It is when we have the most guests on Island, when condo and house rentals hold their highest value and when restaurants need reservations to serve you best.



And like the human snow birds who flee the colder climes north and west, our island winged birds gather in numbers and species over these months of February and March. They, like our winter two legged visitors, are migratory souls searching for warmer weather where life will be easier.



Those humans who visit in winter to watch birds should plan their bird watching walks and drives on days when low tide is fairly early in the morning. When the tide is low, fish concentrate in shallow pools, making it easy for wading birds to capture prey and create perfect conditions for bird watching.

Birding tip: During the fall, winter and spring, serious Sanibel birders know to visit Lighthouse point in the early morning, when large numbers of migrating birds can be found resting in the trees.

Sanibel is a birder’s paradise at any time of year. Our beaches attract snowbirds of the avian species, pausing on their seasonal migrations; mangrove islands on the island’s bay side serve as rookeries. The wetlands found at the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) Nature Center and Center Tract Preserve, in the Sanibel Gardens Preserve, and in the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge provide abundant opportunities for bird-watching.

Most of the species of “long-legged waders” are found in Southwest Florida, where they are numerous, year-round residents. There is no better place to observe and study these birds than Sanibel and surrounding waters, where most of them feed regularly in such areas as the “Ding” Darling Refuge and nest in big mixed colonies on mangrove islands in adjacent Pine Island Sound. Principally because of a sub-tropical climate, one can expect to find birds nesting in our area in every month of the year with the possible exception of October.

Wherever you encounter birds on the islands, please remember that these islands are their home. Give them some space and disturb them as little as possible. Remember that Sanibel prohibits hand-feeding of any wild birds, including gulls.

Finding Quiet Corners on Sanibel in High Season

If you could hear our phones ringing, you would know for certain high season has arrived!


Most of our vacation rental houses are booked solid for that February/March/April period.


And many of our vacation rental condos are booked as well.


There are some last minute specials to be found, but all things point to a fully booked high season.


While the ringing phones and cash registers (metaphorically speaking) are music to our ears, we totally understand how our guests on the Island may see things differently. After all, restaurants, cafes, grocery stores and shops in general are popping during high season. And though our beaches are never crowded, there will be people sunning themselves all through winter. (and why not when it's a beautiful 78 degrees here right now?) The pools will have even more activity, and the bike ways and walkways will have their share of cyclists and pedestrians. Never crowded or crammed, the Island's popularity can be measured most easily in winter months.


So what's a person to do to escape, if not the crowds, then the gatherings on Sanibel Island during this expanse of perfect weather and southern retreat from winter climes?


You might want to consider a walk or bike ride off the main paths. These residential neighborhoods are beautifully kept and there is little car or even bike traffic to contend with. You can pause in your ride to watch the boats going up and down the canals. In fact, before you even reach the Island, there are numerous places you can stop your car to take in the vistas. Ding Darling Nature Preserve is never crowded and that opens up even more opportunities to walk or bike with little intrusion.


You can charter your own boat, and set sail to enjoy the open waters, you can hire a canoe or kayak to explore the little known bayous, or you can stop at the Sanibel library and browse the shelves. In all these instances, you will be enjoying the best of the Island in wonderful ways where human interaction, while possible, is not absolutely necessary.

TripAdvisor Rates Sanibel Among Best Beaches

In its 2011 Traveler's Choice awards, TripAdvisor named Sanibel among the best beaches not only in the country, but in its world wide choices as well.



Taking the number 5 place (out of 25) in the USA, Sanibel got its high positioning for the shelling to be found on its beaches: "Saunter on the shell-speckled sands of tropical barrier island, Sanibel, on Florida's Gulf coast. Quiet, secluded White Beach, with its scurrying sandpipers, offers a respite from the holidaymaking hordes elsewhere, while Turner Beach lures those with their sights on shells or the day’s catch."



Placing a little lower on a world wide basis (number 16 out of 25), the Island still received accolades when competing with such dazzling beaches as those on Bora Bora and actually placed above the world class beaches in Thailand and Hawaii.



So how does a sleepy, 12 mile tropical barrier Island get such big notoriety?



Well, the shelling is clearly a factor in its popularity, but there are several others as well when considering personal preferences for a beach vacation.



We have to acknowledge that the affordability of Sanibel helps it gain advantage. It is not by far the least expensive destination in Florida, but for what it offers, it is clearly a value package. It is still driveable from many locations within the USA, and even those holiday makers coming from further away can often find a good air fare.



Accommodations are diverse and provide lots of options to the family traveling together or for couples or singles seeking a great place to stay. Houses, cottages, condos, Inns all offer a different experience and a good quality. The Island is small enough that there is no such thing as being very far from the beach or very far from the many restaurants and shops for that matter.



And, nature abounds despite the comforts, conveniences and accommodation options available. Look around and in one sweeping glance one can take in the emerald green of the Gulf, the incredible variety of birds, the lush topicality and, of course, the awesome shelling.



We speak your language, use your currency and appreciate your preferences.....no matter who you are or where you are from. The language is nature, the currency is comfort and the preference is our objective in giving you the best vacation you will find anywhere!

End of Year Thoughts on Sanibel Real Estate

As we discover year after year, the Sanibel Island experience is so profound that many of our rental guests become Sanibel Island property owners. Some buy condos, some buy houses, some use their places exclusively and some rent them out. The compelling reason is simply the wonderful quality of life on Sanibel. There are few places in the world that offer the topicality, comfort, nature and beauty of Sanibel Island and these attributes make our guests ask why or why not when it comes to buying a second (or sometimes first) home on Sanibel.



And now there a few more compelling reasons to consider the leap to home ownership on this unique barrier island which apply to all of Florida, as well as Sanibel.



1. Mortgage rates hit a record low of 3.94% this year (2011), homes sold for a fraction of their value five years ago, and excess inventory provided every buyer with a range of options. 2011 saw a real estate market with great deals, yet fewer buyers than needed. In 10 years, however, many Americans may look back on 2011 as the best time in a generation to invest in real estate.



2. The Florida economy remained sluggish as unemployment rates stayed uncomfortably high and home sales stayed uncomfortably low; but, across the board, the state showed signs of recovery, with almost every economic indicator suggesting brighter days ahead. Home sales edged higher most months; selling prices held their own and, in a few cases, median selling prices rose. Floridians’ consumer confidence also rose toward the end of the year after bobbing around for most of the summer. Employment followed, and while the state has a long way to go to hit “normal,” it reached a 2011 level of “better than last year.”



3. Florida Realtors had a number of victories in the 2011 Florida Legislature, but none as important as a constitutional amendment voters will consider in November 2012, and none so hard-fought as a law to “scrap the cap” on Florida’s affordable housing trust funds. Amendment 4, if approved by Florida voters, will create a property tax increase cap of 5% each year on non-homestead real estate, down from the current 10% cap. It will also give some first-time home buyers a property tax break that decreases over time. In 2012, Florida Realtors will roll out its “Yes on 4” campaign.



But the time to buy is always now, and the following spells out the reason why:
“Our state is in a mini-recovery,” said Florida Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo at the state association’s 2012 Real Estate and Economic Forecast Conference in Orlando. “Sales are trending up, listing inventories are falling, the supply of lender-related properties has stabilized, and we are seeing multiple offers on homes in some local markets.” “In fact, Florida homes today may be undervalued,” Tuccillo added. “That may seem like a drastic statement,” he said. “But a buyer who plans to own the home for five to seven years can get some great bargains today.”



So let the buyer not beware, but be aware, very aware that Sanibel at any price is a great deal and at current prices a fabulous bargain!