Travel Pages: 6-12-08  7-10-08  7-17-08  7-24-08  8-7-08  8-14-08  8-28-08 
                                      9-11-08  10-9-08  11-13-08  12-4-08

Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa faces the Sanibel causeway with great fishing in San Carlos Bay.   Ft. Myers and Captiva captivate Lee County visitors By Charles Greenfield  cdgpm@bellsouth.net   Florida’s southwest coast facing the Gulf of Mexico has always attracted visitors for their subtle conflation of oak hammocks, pine flatwoods and cypress swamps merging into brackish rivers, mangrove bays and unblemished barrier islands. As I drive the roughly 150 miles from Miami west across Alligator Alley to I-75 the Everglades teems with flocks of snowy egrets, sun-loving anhingas drying their wings, and large treetop osprey nests. Despite the rapid population growth represented by the burgeoning spread of golf and bedroom communities, the region’s wealth of natural attributes remains astonishingly untouched.             What is most surprising as you enter Lee County and The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel is its size: 652,000 acres, 590 miles of shoreline, 50 miles of white sand beaches, and 100-plus barrier and coastal islands bordering the Gulf of Mexico. White sandy beaches and abundant shelling are paramount to their draw. According to readers of Family Fun Magazine the Fort Myers/Sanibel area won praise as the  “#1 beach in the southeast U.S.” and both Sanibel and Captiva are ranked #4 and #6 on the Top-10 North America Islands list. The tourism office even claims you can make a living as a shelling charter captain, especially after heavy winds, for rarities like the sculpted lion’s paw, the brown speckled junonia, the golden olive and Scotch bonnet.             To best explore the area I stayed at the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa literally on the eastern doorstep of the three-mile long Sanibel Causeway ($6 toll one-way) that spreads across San Carlos Bay to Sanibel & Captiva Islands. Since 1992 the 240-room main hotel resort has been awarded AAA’s prestigious Four Diamond award with its Elite suites on the top floors, 107 concierge-style rooms in the adjacent Grande Bay tower, and 38 two-bedroom 1,400 sq. ft. condominiums. From my suite I enjoyed spectacular views of San Carlos Bay and the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River that passes the historic waterfront of Fort Myers as well as the resort’s 85 acres of intact mangroves, spa, tennis courts, swimming pools, marina and two docks, and the 100-foot Sanibel Harbour Princess sunset dinner yacht. In-room and resort amenities include: private balconies, high-speed internet access, coffeemaker, in-room safe, valet parking, full-service business center, and kids klub and game room.             From their Palm Court Lobby I walked outside and across their mangrove boardwalk past a school of redfish scrounging for baitfish and a solitary wading heron to The Spa at Sanibel Harbour. Considered one of the “Top Ten Spa Resorts in the U.S.” by Conde Nast Traveller, the former Jimmy Connors Tennis Center dedicates its healing concepts to the “holistic” Calusa Indians who probably built shell mounds or “middens” on the site itself. With more than 60 treatments the 40,000 sq. ft. facility with 28 treatment rooms stresses body scrubs, massages, thalassotherapy or sea-derived products like the sea shell body mask, facials, and the unusual BETAR sensation or the bio energetic transduction aided resonance bed in a geodesic dome structure with a sophisticated sound system. The Spa also provides sauna, a steam room, whirlpools, full service hair and nail salon, a fitness center with weight training, spa lunches and a boutique.             Adjacent lie five Har-Tru clay courts for tennis buffs with USPTA-certified instructors, clinics, video analysis, and ball machine rentals. Upstairs the Courtside Steakhouse prepares “classics” like escargot, oysters Rockefeller, a seafood sampler with chilled lobster and king crab claws, onion soup and she crab bisque. With a 1,200-bottle wine cellar their courteous waiters bring certified Angus beef aged over 21 days like a 22 oz. bone-in “cowboy” ribeye, steak Diane with a cabernet demi glace, and a Tuscan veal chop in panko with lemon caper sauce and shaved parmesan. Back in the hotel off the Palm Court Lobby try their ample breakfast buffet in the Tarpon House or a custom-made pizza with a martini at sunset in Charley’s Cabana Bar overlooking the marina.             The next morning I met Captain Rob Modys of Soulmate Charters at the Punta Rassa boat ramp next to the Sanibel Bridge for a half-day of fishing. While the wily snook or centropomus undecimalis  prowls the docks at the hotel, Captain Rob chose the creeks, islands and winding coves off the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River to stalk the delectable but highly protected game fish. With a limited Gulf season (closed May-August), slot size of 28"-33", and one fish harvested daily, catching and keeping a snook is very problematic. After tossing live green pilchards in the mangroves for telltale signs of action, we were resigned to watching our floats simply bob and live baits swimming carefree. Modys claims the spring snook spawn upriver in the Caloosahatchee is voracious. Besides teaching fishing seminars at the local Bass Pro Shop, the IGFA certified guide encourages family charters, fly-fishing, and even shelling trips on Sanibel and Captiva.             After motoring out off the Sanibel Lighthouse I did catch several Spanish mackerel and back at the ramp he filleted the omega-rich fish. Since I was scheduled to lunch with Lisa Sbuttoni of the Edison & Ford Winter Estates she suggested we eat at the newly established The Edison Restaurant festooned with old photos and overlooking the venerable Fort Myers Country Club on McGregor Blvd. After a delicious meal of tomato-basil soup, crab-cake, and fried and blackened mackerel it was off to visit Thomas Edison’s 1886, 14-acre riverfront estate, laboratory, museum and gardens in the historic downtown. Inventor and innovator of the phonograph, light bulb and electrification, and the kinetoscope, he holds a world record with 1093 patents.             The Thomas Edison and Henry Ford homes and guest houses facing the river are beautifully restored circa-1929. With materials shipped from Maine, Edison’s gray, red-roofed Seminole Lodge retains its cool broad verandah with Bar Harbor-style wicker furniture, “Electrolier” chandelier lighting, his “doghouse” spare bedroom, dining room with sideboard, and pergola connecting with the guest house. Other sites include: a 500-foot pier, the 1910 swimming pool, lily pond, green bamboo strand, small laboratory, moonlight garden, and caretaker’s house. Past the mango trees and orchids lining McGregor Blvd. on the east side it’s impossible to miss the acre-long banyan tree next to the gift shop. Certainly worth a visit are the botanic research lab (used to research the domestic source of natural rubber) and the seven-gallery museum.              As a kid I spent several days camping with my family next to the Sanibel Lighthouse. I even remember casting my line into the surf and catching a large redfish. Today the 1884-era lighthouse on #1 Periwinkle Way provides a fishing pier and picnic beach for families to shell the more than 400 varieties that are scattered during low or high tides. On the way north towards Captiva the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge contains 6,400 acres of footpaths, kayak trails, a four-mile car path, salt myrtles and cabbage palms, white ibis and roseate spoonbills, and frequent alligator sightings. Across the road from the refuge try visiting the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum with 30 exhibits of mollusks, the largest collection of shells in North America. Besides a fascinating video on “Mollusks in Action” exhibits display information on the Calusa Indians and their wide use of shell “tools,” scallops (food and art), cameos and shell buttons, deepwater volutes, and cephalopods or squids, octopuses and nautiluses, the most advanced mollusks.             Captiva Island is really a misnomer since sand has filled its small gap with Sanibel. While the latter has been an established and popular tourist attraction for decades, the former is much smaller in size and more private in tone. An exception is Andy Rosse Lane that has a laidback Key West or even Bahamian atmosphere of small inns, casual restaurants, art galleries, an old-fashioned general store, and access to both Gulf beaches and the bay. I stayed at the very comfortable Captiva Island Inn, a surprisingly homey complex of 10 cottages, two villas, one five-bedroom house, a pool, and five restaurants. My single, Brynna’s Room, on the second floor of the Celebration House had an attractive wrought iron bed with tiled bathroom and a shared kitchen next to an open library and giant screen TV. Owner Sandra Stilwell has assembled the properties over the years and is convinced the intimate family ambiance will be protected. “Land values have risen dramatically in the last decade and small businesses have been torn down and replaced by mansions,” she said. “As I bought more businesses I had them historically preserved in our Old Captiva Village.” Dinner with live entertainment at her Keylime Bistro next door has reasonably priced entrées like grilled mahi mahi or salmon for $19 and pasta Alfredo for $26. Across the road try the blueberry granola pancakes or farmer’s omelet at her RC Otter’s Island Eats.             On the bayside of Andy Rosse Lane at McCarthy’s Marina I found Captiva Cruises, a boat tour company with four island destinations: Cabbage Key at Milemarker 60 on the Intracoastal Waterway with its six-room guesthouse and bar (Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise” origin); Cayo Costa State Park, a barrier island famous for shelling; Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island with lighthouse, historic churches, and world famous tarpon fishing; and Useppa Island, a private island community, historic inn and excellent Calusa Indian museum. I chose the Dolphin & Wildlife Adventure, an hour and one half tour starting daily at 4pm on the 65-foot M/V Lady Chadwick. Our 85-year-old guide Renée from the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation gave us interesting factoids on Captiva such as its pirate origins, the names and history of the ocean cuts between the islands, and the names of sea birds like brown pelicans plunging for baitfish off the boat.  She also pointed out the house-on-stilts of “Ding” Darling and behind it, the metal-clad home of the late American post-modern artist Robert Rauschenberg. We even ended the trip with a pod of three dolphins following our wake in the stern.             On my final morning I drove to the north end of Captiva, once a key lime plantation, and played on the private Captiva Island Golf Club located in the 330-acre, 465-room South Seas Island Resort, part of LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels that include the Boca Raton Resort & Club Marina, Ft. Lauderdale’s Hyatt Regency Pier 66, and El Conquistador in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Recently re-designed at $4 million by Chip Powell and considered one of the Top Five Short Courses in the world, the nine holes snake around Captiva’s very northern tip with splendid views of the Gulf and Redfish Pass that separates it from North Captiva. Hundreds of birds squawked on the brilliant white sand and motorboats and sailboats navigated the narrow pass to the Gulf waters. Afterwards, it was a lovely lunch of lobster cobb salad and fresh cut French fries at The Pointe, overlooking the pool and cabana complex with Pine Island Sound as backdrop. The high-end resort offers a full-service marina (boats up to 120 feet), fishing guides, gourmet store and deli, the Zen Spa and Salon, tennis club, an offshore sailing school, kayak & nature tours, Kids’ Club, and a two-mile beach of superb shelling.             As I drove back past the Sanibel Lighthouse I thought of a 12-year-old boy decades ago camping and fishing on the beach with his family. His smile at the sight of catching a redfish in the early magic of the morning surf and releasing it gave me pause on the road back to Miami.    Charles Greenfield is a Miami-based travel writer who has contributed to Travel & Leisure and regional magazines. As Travel Editor of the Coral Gables Gazette, he specializes in luxury travel on Europe, Asia/Africa, the Caribbean and the U.S. He won the prestigious Cacique Award 2000 for International Consumer Travel Writing from the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. He also is Cultural Arts Contributor to WLRN 91.3 FM, South Florida’s NPR affiliate.     If you go   ACCOMMODATIONS: Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa, Harbour Pointe Drive, Fort Myers, 1-800-767-7777 (www.sanibel-resort.com), standard rooms, $109 (through Nov. 30th), 14-day advance purchase, $159, third night free, $189; Captiva Island Inn, 11508 Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva Island, 239-395-0882 (www.captivaislandinn.com), rooms start at $99, Brynna’s Room, $160, weekday, $180, weekend (through Dec. 23rd), breakfast included at Key Lime or RC Otter’s   RESTAURANTS: Courtside Steakhouse (Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa), expensive; The Edison Restaurant, 3583 McGregor Blvd., Ft. Myers, 239-936-9348 (www.edisonfl.com), moderate; Keylime Bistro, 11509 Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva Island, 239-395-4000 (www.captivaislandinn.com), moderate; RC Otter’s Island Eats, 11506 Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva Island, 239-395-1142, inexpensive; The Pointe (South Seas Island Resort), 5400 Plantation Road, Captiva Island, 1-800-227-8482 (www.southseas.com);   FISHING: Soulmate Charters (Captain Rob Modys), USCG Masters License, Orvis-IGFA-CCA Endorsed Guide, Back Country, Light Tackle, Spin & Fly Fishing, Fishing License & Equipment provided, 239-851-1242 (www.soulmatecharters.com), ½ day = $350, ¾ = $425, full day = $550, 1-3 Anglers, 4th angler add $50;   MUSEUMS: Edison & Ford Winter Estates, 2350 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers, 239-334-7419 (www.efwefla.org), adults, $20, child (6-12), $11 (homes, garden, lab, museum), guided tours are 1 mile in length, “Holiday Lights” Dec. 12-Jan. 3 (5:30pm-9pm); Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, 3075 Sanibel Captiva Road, Sanibel, 239-395-2233, 1-888-679-6450 (www.shellmuseum.org), adults, $7, youth (5-16), $4;   TOURS: Captiva Cruises, 11401 Andy Rosse Lane, 239-472-5300 (www.captivacruises.com), Cabbage Key or Useppa, adults, $30, children, $15, 10am-3pm, Cayo Costa State Park – Beach & Shelling, Adults, $45, Child, $25, 10am-4pm, half-day (9am-12pm, 1pm-4pm), $35, $20, Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, $45, $25, 10am-4pm, Dolphin & Wildlife Adventure, $20, $12.50, 4pm-5:30pm;   GOLFING: Captiva Island Golf Club (South Seas Island Resort), 239-472-5111 (www.southseas.com), guests of hotel only, $55 (9), $85 (18);   TOURISM: Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau, 12800 University Dr., Suite 550, Fort Myers, 1-800-237-6444 (www.fortmyers-sanibel.com), check website for offers, discounts, free guide book and electronic travel newsletter.