Day 13: Sanibel

Last night we stayed in a sleepy little town called Everglade City. There is nothing for miles around, but everglades – known as a sportsman’s paradise.  There were only 2 “cafes” and 1 small grocery store for the entire town. After sleeping in and then enjoying a good breakfast at the Island Cafe, we were on the hunt for a “gator head” for Kyle. We have seen them around; they are real mounted gator heads.  Surprisingly, we found some in this small town! Kyle was so excited. He has been searching for a “good deal” on one since the first day we were in Florida. Be sure and ask him about it.

Then it was on to Sanibel, our next Florida stop. On our way driving through the everglades, “Eagle Eye” Dan spotted a large black bear crossing the highway! Yes, a black bear. We stopped abruptly on the side of the road to check it out. It quickly lumbered off the road and into the bushes, but we were able to watch him for a few minutes.

Shelling

Once we arrived in Sanibel, we quickly went to a beach to start “shelling”. Sanibel is an island on the Gulf Coast, known for the predominance of sea shells. The beach is covered with shells, especially at low tide. The kids also retrieved many shells by walking in the water and feeling for them with their feet.  Many we found had living things in them, so we had to put those back in the sand. We collected at least 50 shells on our first day, most of them within the first 2 hours.

Our hotel here is a cute little beach cottage. In the back of the cottage, is a drying shelf for the shells. The kids have already sorted them by type, and tomorrow they will have to decide which ones to save, and which ones to put back on the beach. Looking forward to another day of shelling tomorrow.

Piles of Shells