Sanibel Island

A few summers ago, I went to Sanibel Island for vacaiton. It was my first time venturing somewhere so far from home just to go to a beach. Where I live in central Florida, it is easy to go to Clearwater Beach or Vero Beach; I never drove such a distance just to go to the beach, so that was a first for me. I do love the beach and I was looking forward to going somewhere new and different for me.

Our visit on Sanibel Island was nice; the hotel we stayed at felt like we were in the middle of nowhere with palm trees and white sandy beaches. Even in middle of July, I remember, you could feel a cool breeze blowing off the ocean, so that was very pleasant and refreshing.

I did not know this fact before our trip, but Sanibel is actually known as the seashell capital of the world. Up and down the beach, you will find all sorts of shells, from coquinas to conchs. While walking on the beach you could see people, young and old walking the beach, stooped over looking at and picking up shells. During our visit, we even spent time at museum on the beach that was solely devoted to just seashells. Honestly, I was bored with it, but my family enjoyed it.

The vacation was nice but there were some negative parts though. We were not there during the red tide season, so I am not sure the reason, but while we were there, there was strong fish odor. Depending on where you were on the island, it was either a mild tolerable smell, or an overpowering, make you feel sick to your stomach smell. I never did see fish dead or alive to figure out where the smell was coming from.

Another negative part that really affected me was the "no seeums." Before my trip to sanibel, I never heard of this bug, but now I know they do exist! While lying out on the beach and by the pool, I felt myself getting bit, almost similar to a mosquito bite. What was strange was I never saw what was actually biting me. After suffering through this for awhile, I got fed up