We’re fortunate that my sister and brother-in-law began an annual sojourn to Sanibel Island over a decade ago. It has become an annual ritual for us as well the last three years, but this year was different for two reasons. On the positive side, we were finally able to obtain a campsite at Periwinkle Park, the only campground on the island, due to a covid-related cancellation. Previous campervan trips to Sanibel have required overnighting in Fort Myers and crossing the causeway to the island each day. On the negative side, due to the pandemic, my sister and brother-in-law did not fly south this year, so we missed their company (and delicious cooking).
Sanibel is known for its shelling opportunities. When walking the beaches there are lots of opportunities to view the “Sanibel Stoop,” the bent-at-the-waist stance people take while scanning the sand for a prized shell. On our first visit to Sanibel in 2012, we collected so many shells that they covered the really large kitchen island in our rental condo (I wish I could share a photo to show this off, but that digital photo is on a hard drive back at our Vermont base camp). That vacation included a pre-dawn excursion lead by my brother-in-law to a prime shelling beach at low tide. The bounty we collected on that excursion is unforgettable; it’s a story we recount to lots of laughs and good memories. This year, the change in our living situation required a more disciplined shell collection strategy. Plus, we slept in and missed low tide. Alas, our approach this year resulted in a modest collection (though still large compared to available storage space in our van) as exhibited in the photos below.
The Modest 2021 Sanibel Collection – it’s a smaller countertop! 
Yes, the two largest items are not shells – a sponge and a starfish. Betsy chimes in here, “But they are invertebrates!”
Sanibel also has some great places to view wildlife. Our two favorite locations are the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and the City of Sanibel Water Reclamation Ponds. That’s quite the dichotomy – a nearly pristine wildlife park and municipal wastewater treatment ponds – but the presence of water is almost all that is needed to form a wildlife sanctuary in Florida. We visited both locations multiple times to view the birds, alligators, iguanas, and turtles. We even saw a racoon swimming while kayaking in Ding Darling. I’ll wrap this up with a series of photos taken exploring these favorites.
Wood Stork having lunch – I guess his eyes were bigger than his stomach… 
Turtle – Not sure which type 
White Pelicans 
Green Heron 
A Monarch Butterfly 
Bald Eagle, spied while kayaking 
Yellow-Crowned Night Heron 
Another Yellow-Crowned Night Heron 
Brown Pelicans 
Wood Stork 
Great Bule Heron 
White Ibis
