In a Flip-Flop State of Mind.

Sometimes, Florida’s headlines are filled with (unintentional) comedy.

Southwest Florida veteran journalists Cory and Kirsten O’Donnell have a new podcast where they share their humorous takes on recent headlines.

The Florida Freakshow podcast chronicles all that is bizarre, odd, strange, outlandish, peculiar, kooky, quirky, weird, and downright freaky in Florida news.

As with so many, 2020 has not been an easy year for the pair.   » Read more

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It’s never too early to start holiday shopping!

Especially once you learn about “Journey Bracelets,” specifically designed to help your gift recipient track a real sea turtle!

Perfect fot the nature lovers in your family, Journey Bracelets are available through Wildlife Collections, in partnership with the Sea Turtle Conservancy.  They come in eleven beautiful colors and sell for $14.95 each.  » Read more

As always, we can count on Hortoons for a chuckle!  » Read more

Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are sandy!

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Sanibel Island is certainly rich in history, with a long and diverse past.  But even our sun-drenched shores have dark and mysterious skeletons, which some say are best kept buried.

One of the most mysterious chapters in Sanibel’s history is the bizarre story of Captain Oliver F. Bowen.

Sit back and enjoy the tale …

Oliver Bowen was born in 1828 in the Deep South,  » Read more

At J.N. “Ding” Darling Wildlife Refuge, fortunate visitors may catch a glimpse of manatees, sea otters, indigo snakes, gopher tortoises, dolphins, and horseshoe crabs amid the mangroves and open water.

What most people won’t see is the unassuming pistol shrimp, which lurks in vast numbers just below the surface, but many people may hear their Rice Krispie-like crackling echoing through their canoes or other watercraft.  » Read more

Photo from Paper Fig Kitchen on Sanibel Island

Just how does a restaurant critic eat through Sanibel with a small, COVID-conscious group amid a pandemic?  Carefully, of course.

And as it turns out, quite deliciously as well.

For a closer look at how News-Press critic Jean Le Bouef enjoyed an assortment of island restaurants during a recent staycation on Sanibel,  » Read more

Photo from the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum

From the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum:

The rare coveted junonia is treasured by seashell hunters who visit to seek the ocean’s treasures. They know all too well the thrill of finding a junonia shell because the spotted shells rarely make it to shore intact.

And seeing a live junonia was next to impossible –  » Read more

Florida map circa 1855 from Florida Memory.

For you history buffs out there:

If you were visiting Southwest Florida in the mid-19th century, you’d be visiting Monroe County, not Lee.

Founded in 1823 when Florida became a United States territory and named for President James Monroe, Monroe County stretched more than 300 miles, from Key West north past Charlotte Harbor.  » Read more