Captiva Island

Instead of our usual jaunt to the Panhandle to visit my parents for Summer break this year, the family and I headed to Captiva, Florida instead. Laura was reminded of a vacation she took in her youth to Captiva and reminisced about the expansive beaches and acres of fascinating shells she collected with her family as a child - and so the decision was made. We went about renting a house at South Seas Island Resort on the north end of Captiva and eventually landed in the Beach Villas. We were excited about the vacation until we started reading reviews on TripAdvisor. I know, a little backward... reviews first, then the reservations - that's the right way. Live and learn.

However, when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised by a very well appointed two-bedroom unit that had updated (albeit not the advertised) furniture and a great view of the ocean and pool. After a few calls to engineering, the family was settled in and we were ready to relax.

South Seas Resort has been updated and fully restored since the hurricane in 2004 (Charlie, I believe) and the north end complex includes a nine-hole executive golf course, a marina, two pools, a restaurant, and an arcade. The north end complex tends to get a little crowded so we rented a private cabana for our use on one of our days, set up Gavin's pack & play in the shade, and enjoyed the pampering. We primarily spent our time on the south end of the resort near our villa. The pool was rarely crowded and the south beach area had complimentary umbrellas and chairs. The beach had a large tidal pool between the main area and the ocean blown out by a previous storm - but it made a nice play space for Cole and his friends.

Restaurants were fine but sometimes crowded. We especially liked the Bubble Room, Cheeburger Cheeburger (if you eat the "pounder" you get your picture taken with a 3 foot diameter stuffed cheeseburger), and the Mucky Duck. We found that if you went at around 5:30 you didn't have to wait too long. Go at 7:00 and you would wait an hour or more. Fireworks in Sanibel rounded out our Fourth of July vacation and we are looking forward to making this a family tradition - hopefully with my parents in tow the next time around.