HUMBLE BEGINNINGS ON SANIBEL ISLAND

A series of journeys.....

THE SIGN AT THE ENTRANCE TO SANIBEL COTTAGES

.....as seen through my eyes!





By: Jacqueline E. Hughes


Thirty-two years and half a lifetime ago......Dan and I discovered Paradise. We ambitiously secured a small slice of it for ourselves and have never looked back with any kind of sadness or compunction.



SEASHELLS WASHING ASHORE

The innumerable seashells that wash up from the aquamarine depths of the Gulf waters stud the golden sand beaches with their delicate varieties and shapes. Variegated shades of deep mauve and yellow blend with powdery white, stone gray, and copper tones making-up the unlimited ribbon of color that highlights the undulating shoreline.  Sanibel is a barrier island which is part of a large plateau that extends out into the Gulf of Mexico for miles. This plateau acts like a shelf for seashells to gather. Sanibel has an east-west orientation. Most islands along Florida's Gulf Coast run north-south. Consequently, this beautiful island is gifted with great sandy beaches and an abundance of shells.

The decision was made and our tenth wedding anniversary was to be celebrated together for one long, glorious week on Sanibel Island. We had heard from friends that the Casa Ybel Beach Resort located at Knapps Point would be perfect accommodations for our visit. Without the Internet to cross-reference our decision at that time, we trusted their advice and booked our September getaway via telephone.

Off we flew to our little island paradise leaving our two young daughters with Grandma to be spoiled and loved for the week.

CASA YBEL RESORT



A STORM ROLLING IN OVER THE GULF

We enjoyed so many adventures that week! Heading out from Casa Ybel, we hiked down the beach nearly three miles to the Sanibel Lighthouse on the most eastern tip of the island. After taking many pictures and resting our sand and shell scuffed feet, we could see the purplish-gray clouds coming in from the north and knew we had better begin our long trek back to shelter. For the first half an hour we watched the Gulf waters transform into a brilliant green glow as the sun and storm clouds vied for control of the sky! We had heard how the raindrops from a heavy storm could pummel your head like small fists and that prospect quickened each step we took until at about a half of a mile to go.....we had to run for dear life! The fists came down on our heads, arms, and legs so fast that by the time we huddled under the gazebo near our resort's pool, we were hysterical with a mixture of laughter and relief. Two souls finding solace within the joy of adventure; two hearts building a solid foundation while celebrating their love for each other.

More than half of the island is made up of wildlife refuges with the largest being J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Preserve. We had read that the refuge was home to over two hundred and twenty species of birds native to the island. Visitors to the refuge could walk, bike, drive, or kayak through the wildlife drive which took you through five miles of mangrove tree forests and tidal flats, just perfect for watching the island's wildlife and discovering the island's native vegetation. We chose to drive, for the most part, getting out to take pictures and stroll along the man made footpaths that meandered the mangrove forests that were so thick....they would totally block-out the midday sun. The brochure I had picked-up told us that "the refuge worked to ensure that these lands are preserved, restored and maintained as a haven for indigenous and migratory wildlife as part of a nation-wide network of Refuges administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The lands also serve to provide a home for many endangered and threatened species." I just liked saying the name over and over in my head. J.N. "Ding" Darling had such a magical ring to it.




CARTOON COURTESY OF THE
J.N. "DING" DARLING
FOUNDATION



JAY NORWOOD DARLING

In later research, I discovered the man behind this interesting title, Jay Norwood Darling. He was an American cartoonist who had won the Pulitzer Prize for his Editorial Cartooning in 1924 and again in 1943. Wikipedia states that "Darling penned some conservation cartoons and was an important figure in the conservation movement who was recognized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and appointed head of the U.S. Biological Survey, forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service." To this day I still enjoy saying his name and thinking about his humble contribution towards helping to preserve this amazing island for all generations to enjoy its natural ecosystem and true splendor. Job well done, J.N. "Ding" Darling!

We were a bit fickle when it came to the feast we would partake in on our actual anniversary night and made reservations for dinner at Chadwick's in the South Seas Island Resort on the tip of Captiva Island. Captiva is just north of Sanibel and connected by a bridge located at Blind Pass.

SUNSET OVER SANIBEL

I remember driving our rental car along Tarpon Bay Road, going past Periwinkle Way, the main road that links the two islands to the Sanibel Causeway and the mainland, and turning left onto Sanibel Captiva Road. The sun was softly setting over the islands and its warm glow wrapped us in a blanket of gold as we listened to the radio. Bonnie Tyler was belting out "Total Eclipse of My Heart" from her album entitled "Faster Than the Speed of Night" released earlier that year, 1983.
"And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever

I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight"

Music has such a wonderful way of capturing precious moments in time and never letting you forget them.....no matter what.

Our greatest adventure on the island was yet to come.

Heading out for a morning beach stroll early in the week, we turned north along the shoreline. Carrying our sandals in hand, we gingerly avoided walking on the sharp shells. It soon became a habit not to crush the delicate shells so that others employing 'The Sanibel Stoop,' the local's lingo for tourists bending down to pick out the best shells, would be able to find them easily and intact.

It became apparent early on that some new construction was taking place not far from Casa Ybel. Especially when my husband's ears, modified by his years of building multi-family structures, had become fine-tuned to these particular sounds.

PERIWINKLE WAY

There they were, right before our eyes, four pod-like structures each in various stages of construction. Where the possibility of three more 'pods' existed stood three pastel houses. Today, we might even call them 'tiny homes' or small cottages. Eventually, we learned that these pink, pale green, and light blue buildings were part of the original set of 'cottages' that had existed at this spot long before the Sanibel Causeway was built to replace the ferry back in May of 1963.

I wished that their walls could talk and relate to me the many stories about the people who had vacationed there in the past. Who had wiggled their toes in the warm sand, chased their siblings into the rolling surf, and collected seashells to bring back home to Ocala, Sebring.....Orlando? What would the people be thinking now watching them being moved from their majestic location along this amazing beach? Where would they be relocated? What sherbet-mix of colors had the first four homes been: pale yellow, lavender, softest orange, periwinkle blue?

So many questions were conjured up from my inquisitive mind only to be nudged aside, at that moment, by the prospect of the future. We saw the signpost anchored in the sand proclaiming "Sanibel Cottages Resort, Sales Office Located Near the Tennis Courts, Please Follow the Path." We followed the stone path like small children mesmerized by the colorful coattails of the Pied Piper.....not to our doom (we hoped) but, rather, to our destiny.

UNCOMPLETED POOL AND GATSBY VS. THE 1980'S

Passing the uncompleted swimming pool, our attention focused in on the basic design, style, and colors of the new buildings and decided that Jay Gatsby himself would happily reside in these condos that were influenced by a potent 1920's charm. In short.....we fell in love! Hook, line and sinker! So much so that, a mere two and a half hours later, we had purchased a time-share unit for one week each year on an upper floor of a building that currently was displaying a skeletal structure comprised of blocks and sticks.

The furnished second floor model unit was bathed in creamy white with shades of blues and burgundy adding splashes of color. Standing within the large screened-in porch, we were offered vistas of sand and sea punctuated by rows of palm trees, their feather-shaped fronds swaying in the mild Gulf breezes. Our heartstrings had been tugged at, pulled on, and sweetly played by the prospect of enjoying with our children, even for one week a year, this solid slice of paradise. Yes, the foundation for so many wonderful memories yet to be made.....!

And....."The rest is history," as they say.

We could hardly wait to return to Michigan, swoop-up our girls and tell them the great news about the 'little' gift that Daddy and Mommy got for all of us while away in Paradise celebrating ten years of marriage. At the tender ages of seven and four, they had no idea just how our yearly family excursions in early June to Sanibel Island would gratefully impact all of our lives......forever!



Copyright © 2015 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved