Island Special Events

A calendar of special events, activities and current information for Sanibel Island and Captiva Island, Florida

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Turtle Walk Thursday

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Plein Air Paintout in NW Florida

Art enthusiasts are invited to travel to NW Florida for the 2011 Plein Air Paintout, May 13-22. Plein Air painting first captured the hearts of artists in 19th century Europe. John Constable was one great artist to leave the studio behind. He painted the natural world as he saw it, when he saw it. Simple [...]

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Return to Lisbon, 2011

I was in Lisbon alone for four or five days in 1994, I was in a surrealist movie, Manual of Evasion: LX94, directed by Edgar P�ra and featuring some great Portuguese actors plus me, Terence McKenna, and Robert Anton Wilson. I wrote up my 1994 impressions of the trip in a piece ?The Manual of [...]

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Punta Gorda Celebrates Wine and Food at Annual Festival

The second annual Wine and Food Festival in Punta Gorda, Florida is Saturday, January 20, 2007. ResortQuest Southwest Florida offers Port Charlotte vacation rentals for visitors.

(PRWeb January 13, 2007)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/charlotte-harbor/vacation/prweb496847.htm

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Waterstone Association Management Announces that Connie Lang Director of Association Management has Earned PCAM Designation

The Professional Community Association Manager PCAM designation is the highest level of professional recognition in the community association field.

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Tripping to Sanibel: Some "Insider" Tips On the Most Visited Advisor

Like many vacation rental owners on Sanibel Island (and world wide), we market our properties on our own. We are professionally managed which certainly helps the long distance oversight, but we do put in a lot of effort to bring visibility to both our condo and house on the Island.

We do this in part because we know we will invest more time marketing per property than any agency can possibly do, and we do it in part because we like to. We like keeping some level of communication open with rental guests, feeling that it gives the guest as well as ourselves a greater level of confidence.

We use traditional vacation rental portals to market our places as well as social media. We like to think of the difference as the short tail versus the long tail of an internet search. Yes, we do get many bookings from people who find us on large (and small) vacation rental websites. But we also get good conversation going with people who bump into us on various social media. We don't care which direction an inquiry comes from. All are welcome.

A recent boost in inquiries has been through FlipKey/TripAdvisor. And I just wanted to point out some things a rental guest might want to keep in mind when searching these venues, though most inquiries come from TripAdvisor rather than the newer lesser known affiliate Flipkey.

TripAdvisor, which has featured both our properties in mass emails recently, offers a feature that I think may be a bit obscure but certainly important to rental guests. Not only can you search TA by number of rooms, availability and price, but you can drill down even further. Options to search by number of reviews and ratings by travelers are also available.

Of course it is self serving (we have 24 reviews for our condo and 15 for our house) to suggest that this function be utilized.

But let's face it. Once you know what condo or house is available for your dates, don't you want to know how many people have given your choice a good rating?

I know that information would be important to me!

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Best beach fireworks for your 4th of July travel

Happy 4th of July!
I love professional fireworks shows, and of course the 4th of July brings out the best of the best. Although I agree that fireworks are awesome against the backdrop of skyscrapers, the skies above...

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ResortQuest Southwest Florida Offers Canada at Par on Condo Style Properties

ResortQuest Southwest Florida offers Canada at Par on Condo Style Properties.

(PRWeb December 07, 2005)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/12/prweb319454.htm

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For a beach vacation on the cheap, try camping!

One of the most important things to me when planning and taking a beach vacation is having a room with a view at a resort right on the beach. I know there are differing opinions on this matter, and...

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Islands? Night at the Ballpark Set To Remember Sam Bailey

Anyone in the mood for baseball? Well, on Wednesday, May 18th, we carry forth the lovely memory of island legend, Sam Bailey, and one of his two legacy events, “Islands’ Night”. Started in 1993 as “a way to celebrate the two islands, Sanibel and Captiva, together”, he suggested an evening out at the baseball stadium [...]

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Top ten California beach camping sites - part two

Continuing my list of favorite beach camping spots in California we head south towards San Francisco and the central coast area. Like most of the campgrounds to the north these top ten spots are State Park Campgrounds...

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Amelia Island Birds

Sunset with Amelia's Birds Join the naturalists at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation and enjoy the spectacular view of the sun setting over the marsh. Guests will travel around the natural surroundings, spotting egrets, herons, waterfowl, and maybe even a bald eagle feeding and roosting. The cost is $10 per person and binoculars are provided for the event. Additional information is available at www.omniameliaislandplantation.com or by calling (904) 321-5082.

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Great Food on Amelia Island

Eating out is one of the best parts of traveling. When we leave home we turn off our stoves, unplug our toasters, and hang up our dish towels. We feel content knowing we won’t be cooking or doing dishes again until we return. On vacation, others cook for us. Amelia Island Florida Bed and Breakfasts [...]

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Turtle Walk Thursday

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Summer Family Vacation in Smugglers? Notch Vermont

Last summer, my family went on a three-night vacation to Smugglers’ Notch, Vermont, and my kids are still talking about how much they loved it.� We’re planning to visit again this year, in July or August. One of the best things about Smuggs is that it’s a full resort – with kids’ camps, summer programs, [...]

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Sanibel: THE Place for a Baby Moon

Are you expecting?

Are you needing a break with your spouse before the new baby arrives?

Are you looking for a romantic getaway?
A tropical retreat?

A break from the cold and icy weather where you are?

Sanibel could be the magic bullet for all that ails you, offering near perfect destination for mom and dad to be.

This quiet, lush Island will provide the expecting couple an opportunity to connect and enjoy each other before the bouncing baby boy or baby girl enters their world. With 12 miles of walking and biking trails, 2/3 of the Island a nature preserve and beaches that are only gently used by other humans, Sanibel is a rare find in the continental USA.

Want to enjoy a candle lit dinner where you can whisper sweet nothings to one another? Several Sanibel restaurants will give you the white table cloth and beautifully presented meal you need to feel pampered. You might dine at The Thistle Lodge or The Mad Hatter, both Gulf view restaurants renowned for the creativity in their kitchens.

How about a massage geared for the pregnant mom? The Sanibel Day Spa has just the right therapy for you. Enjoy this therapeutic relaxing massage on the comfort of our specifically designed body cushioning system. (Mommy to be must be past the first trimester for this massage)

Want to bring home something that baby can keep for ever and be told stories of how mommy and daddy enjoyed themselves while expecting? The beaches of the Island never disappoint. There are miles and miles of beaches with beautiful shells for collecting. What more lovely and symbolic a souvenir of your trip than a sea shell from the Island that offers the best shelling in the continental USA.

And if your preferences for a baby moon include some gentle exercise, there are many ways to stretch your legs and limber up. Walk the beach, bike the trails, explore Ding Darling Nature Preserve by foot.

Best of all, Sanibel Island has many vacation rentals so that you can spend your baby moon in a condo, house or cottage where just the two of you can really find the quietude and privacy to enjoy talking and thinking about your joyful event.

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SunPass Addresses and Phone Numbers

Florida 's Turnpike Enterprise
SunPass Program

(General Mailing Address and Enrollments)
PO Box 880029
Boca Raton, FL 33488-0029
or
7941 Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL 33434-3115

(TOLL-BY-PLATE Invoice)
PO Box 880089
Boca Raton, FL 33488-0089

(Replenishments)
PO Box 880049
Boca Raton, FL 33488-0049

(Violations)
PO Box 880069
Boca Raton, FL 33488-0069

Toll-Free Phone*	1-888-865-5352
Local Phone*	561-470-6650 ext. 7501
Fax (Toll free in FL only)*	1-888-265-1725
Fax (Out of state)*	1-561-470-6699
*Hours of Operation: 7:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M. Monday to Friday.

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No shoes, no pants, no problem at these clothing-optional beaches

One of my favorite travel planning websites, Tripadvisor came out this week with their top five clothing optional beach picks. Based on my personal experience and research, I have to say I concur wholeheartedly with their selections...

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Lovin' Sanibel Today!

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No shoes, no pants, no problem at these clothing-optional beaches

One of my favorite travel planning websites, Tripadvisor came out this week with their top five clothing optional beach picks. Based on my personal experience and research, I have to say I concur wholeheartedly with their selections...

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Daytona Beach is Biker Festivals, Beach Driving and a Great Fall Vacation

When I think of Daytona Beach several things come to mind. I remember hanging out on the beach during the day getting ?the perfect tan? then going back to the room to freshen up, out to dinner and then clubbing all night. I really enjoyed meeting all the people from all over the country there [...]

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Sanibel's Warmth and Humidity

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Sanibel Manatee Easy to See....so say some

At our little farewell wine and cheese with our French neighbors here in Naples, we were entertained with a variety of stories.

The funniest one was of the French family's recent trip to Sanibel Island. Like us, they love Sanibel, and, like us, do find some distinct differences between the main land and the Island.

Apparently, the mom and dad are accustomed to getting up early and going to the beach while the two daughters sleep in. And this one morning, they jumped into the Gulf for a refreshing swim, but it did not last long. No sooner were they in the water than the dad felt a heavy hit to his torso. He yelled, mom began a desperate swim away and both were amazed as a huge, bewhiskered face lifted from the water and sprouted water from its huge mouth. They, and all those watching from shore alerted by the father's yell, just thought this was hilarious.

To be honest, I would have been frightened to death were it me. And to be perfectly honest, we have never seen a Manatee on Sanibel Island. Dolphins yes, birds of all kinds, yes, alligators, yes, even a couple of glimpses of bobcats, but not yet a Manatee. Yet our French friends claimed that they saw Manatees every day during their stay on Sanibel.

I have to believe them. A Manatee is a pretty hard thing to miss. Manatees have a mean mass of 400 to 550 kilograms (880 to 1,200 lb), and mean length of 2.8 to 3 metres (9.2 to 9.8 ft), with maximums of 3.6 metres (12 ft) and 1,775 kilograms (3,910 lb) seen (the females tend to be larger and heavier). When born, baby manatees have an average mass of 30 kilograms (66 lb).

In addition to their pure bulk, they have a face one would not forget. They have a large flexible prehensile upper lip that acts in many ways like a shortened trunk, somewhat similar to an elephant's. They use the lip to gather food and eat, as well as using it for social interactions and communications.

And, they are "up in the air" a great deal of the time, again making them an easy target. Half a manatee's day is spent sleeping in the water, surfacing for air regularly at intervals no greater than 20 minutes. Manatees spend most of the rest of the time grazing in shallow waters at depths of 1?2 metres (3.3?6.6 ft). The Florida subspecies (T. m. latirostris) has been known to live up to 60 years.

Though sometimes attacked by sharks and alligators, their main threat is man. Hurricanes, cold stress, red tide poisoning and a variety of other maladies threaten manatees, but by far their greatest danger is from watercraft strikes, which account for about a quarter of Florida manatee deaths.

They are mutilated by propellers on a regular basis, and the descriptions posted are pretty horrifying.

As on land, operators of moving vehicles are told to "slow down"....a good piece of advice for their own well being as well as those of the creatures threatened by life in the fast lane!

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Amelia Island Birds

Sunset with Amelia's Birds Join the naturalists at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation and enjoy the spectacular view of the sun setting over the marsh. Guests will travel around the natural surroundings, spotting egrets, herons, waterfowl, and maybe even a bald eagle feeding and roosting. The cost is $10 per person and binoculars are provided for the event. Additional information is available at www.omniameliaislandplantation.com or by calling (904) 321-5082.

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