The Collum Family

Sights of Sanibel

There's not a lot to do on Sanibel which is nice. More time to relax!

We thought the restaurant called The Bubble Room sounded fun. While we waited we had some fun taking pictures of the outside. Raleigh became a gorilla!

Made some silly faces

and some pretty smiles

They even had a gift shop

The outside of the restaurant was covered with collectables

The inside had lots of collectables too

Raleigh was taking a look at the Christmas room

We decided however that it was neat to see some of the things, but the food was not very good and was way overpriced!

Another outing was to see the Sanibel Lighthouse

We look like ants compared to it!

To get to the lighthouse there's a boardwalk to walk on. Raleigh stopped to make another silly face!

And she danced across it!

Finally, what would a vacation be without enjoying some desserts?! We found a little place that served gelato...yummy!

She Sells Seashells by the Seashore

Sanibel is known for the amazing shells all along the beach. We didn't spend much time searching for shells, but we were still able to find a few.

We stopped at the beach where Sanibel and Captiva Island meet. It was loaded with shells!

Jason and Raleigh doing the Sanibel Stoop

Amazed at how many shells were right on the waters edge and in the water!

A few of the shells we found

Raleigh enjoyed picking them up and throwing them back into the ocean

When you're in the ocean you can dig with your feet and find some pretty shells sometimes. This one isn't the most gorgeous...

but it was still together!

Jason called this shell a cat's claw. Raleigh became really good at finding them!

Jason also went out and found us some sand dollars to bring home!

Wildlife Galore!

While at Sanibel we saw so many different forms of wildlife! I had no idea we would see so many things!

The first night we were there, after dinner we saw an alligator in a small pool of water behind the restaurant. Jason was intrigued and the gator turned around and looked at us...I said it was time to get in the car. :)

At one of the shopping centers there are four or five different birds. They were loud the night we were there!

When we checked in we were given a brochure on the sea turtles. It informed us to not leave any beach furniture out...this meant we had to take our tent down every day! There was two sea turtle nests marked off near us! We wish we could have actually seen one!

There were birds...pelicans, seagulls, and this little guy! One day we saw an osprey with a fish in its claws. It landed on a tree outside our deck and then ate its fish. Neat to watch!

The sea life was very active! We saw dolphins, fish (one jumped very close to me while in the ocean...not a fan), sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and this hermit crab (too bad he was inside because it was a beautiful shell!). The family we met actually found a sea horse after we had left!

I think Jason wanted to catch an alligator. He even had Raleigh looking for one!

Sun and Sand

Sanibel Island, Florida...gulf coast, lots of shells, and some sun and sand! Well, it was more overcast for most of our stay, but the sun did peek through during the days and our last day there was the most beautiful. Jason and I had been before when I was pregnant with Raleigh and thought it would be fun to go back because it was a quiet beach. Well, it was either because we were next to a public beach access or more people have found out about it, but it was far from quiet. The mornings were more peaceful than the afternoons, but it didn't keep us from having a great time!

Raleigh getting her first look at the beach!

Loving it! We can thank Papa for her having gum right after breakfast (or any other time of the day) and always having it show in pictures...at least it's sugar free!

Working on her first sand castle!

The finished product

The ocean was great! The worst part was walking over all the shells to get in and the waves were just big enough to jump at times!

We even found a feather floating in the ocean one day!

With Grandma and Papa

The wind on the beach was perfect for flying a kite. Raleigh was so excited to fly her kites, but after about a minute of it she was done!

I love this little girl...

and then she turns around and tells me to STOP taking pictures! :)

Trying to see her footprint

After you play in the sand you have to wash off the sand...this is how it's done Raleigh style!

Building our last sand castle of the week!

And if we weren't at the beach then you could always find us at the pool. Raleigh preferred the pool over the ocean...especially if our new friends were there! We met the sweetest family that lives in Orlando and they had three kids. Not that Raleigh would play with their daughter, but she sure did love to talk like she did. They also helped her some with her swimming when she watched them (their 2 year old could swim better than her!) I however was very jealous of the mom's job she had before kids...she was a dolphin trainer! She worked at Discovery Cove and filled us in on the Sea World info...jealous!!! The pool time was filled with...

jumping in