In a Flip-Flop State of Mind.

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What to do with all of those beautiful shells you’ve collected at Ocean’s Reach?

On your next visit to the island, do what our friends Mary and Jerry H. from Overland Park, KS did:  Meet up for creative ideas from the Shell Crafters, an imaginative group of artisans who gather every Monday morning at the Sanibel Community House.

As you can see,  » Read more

After more than 40 years of visiting Sanibel, longtime guests Sue and Steve W. from St. Peters, MO ended up with their most shellgantic find yet!

Steve shared this treasure trove of shells they found last week during their first-ever fall visit to the island.  (We told you this was a wonderful time of year to head down here!)

While enjoying shellnanigans up near Blind Pass,  » Read more

Owners Robert and Judith M. from Carmel, IN treated some friends to an enjoyable game of croquet during their recent visit here!

In honor of their friendly competition, we thought we’d share some fun trivia facts about this entertaining game.  Betcha didn’t know:

… Croquet was held as an Olympic event only once, at the Paris games in 1900.  The reason it was cancelled?  Something about croquet not being a spectator sport!  » Read more

Launched in 1996, the Helping Sea Turtles Survive specialty license plate raises money for two important programs that benefit Florida sea turtles – the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Marine Turtle Protection Program and the Sea Turtle Grants Program, which distributes money back to the local level for turtle conservation projects.

The sea turtle plate is currently the number two overall selling specialty tag in Florida,  » Read more

Photo from lifesambrosia.com

It’s that time of year when a Pumpkin Spice Martini makes you feel like you’re enjoying your favorite autumn pie in a glass!

Head over to The Jac Sanibel Island Bar & Grille to grab this creamy and sweet libation made with Smirnoff Whipped Cream Vodka and RumChata.

Happy hour runs every day from noon –  » Read more

Late last month, longtime guest Robert Y. from Cincinnati, OH was lucky enough to find this huge Lightning Whelk on our Ocean’s Reach beach.  His wife said that the treasure was found during high tide on a rough ocean day, and while they have been hunting shells for many years, this was their best one yet!

A lightning whelk can range in length from 2.5 to 16 inches (6 to 40 cm).   » Read more

Rendering of the project planned for the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum.

The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum on Sanibel will soon break ground on an exciting new renovation project, estimated at $6 million.

The expansion program will transform the venue by introducing several new aquariums — what they’re calling “a living collection” — along with increased exhibit space.

The project,  » Read more

With such beautiful beaches and nature preserves, it’s easy to understand why Sanibel Island wins a lot of awards.  But we’ve just added one that’s a little bit different; what some might call a tad goosey-“loo”sey.

The “Learning Lavatory” at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island was rated top restroom in the country on the basis of the large images of wildlife that grace stall doors,  » Read more

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. In or out of ’em, it doesn’t matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that’s the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don’t; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all,  » Read more

Many thanks to longtime guest Rich B. from Pittsburgh, PA for these amazing photos.  He writes:   

“I think of Sanibel and Ocean’s Reach as my home away from home. 

Our last night on the island we were given this great light show and send off!”  » Read more