Sanibel Island

When the Clemson football team WON THE PLAYOFF against Oklahoma (woot woot!) Taylor and I had every intention of going back to Charleston. We were all packed up and on the road, but the hot weather and clear skies were tempting us, so we turned the car around and decided to stay in Florida! We were debating on staying in Miami, but decided to drive to the golf side of the state and check out the island of Sanibel. We thought this was very nomadic of us. 🙂

In order to get there, we drove through Alligator Alley. Taylor swears he saw a couple alligators, but I definitely did not see any.

The views from the bridge onto the island were beautiful!

After spending some time driving around the island and exploring, we found a campground where we could stay for the night. It was $40 for our site and was within walking distance to the beach. Taylor did a fantastic job at setting up the tent while I took pictures of him doing it. 🙂

When the tent was all set up, we decided to take a walk to the beach to check it out. We had the best time looking at everyone’s campsites and campers along the way! We’ve decided that we want to get a small one so we can road trip around the United States one day.

Sanibel is known for having a huge variety of shells. If you wake up really early in the morning, you can find some really large and unique shells, especially by the lighthouse. After walking down the beach, we were starving and wanted some dinner! Taylor’s family suggested we try Matzaluna, which is an Italian restaurant that was right across the street from our campsite.

We started with some fresh bread and their famous garlic spread!

Taylor ordered a pepperoni pizza (of course) and I tried their clam chowder and antipasto appetizer. If you are ever in Sanibel and craving Italian food, this is the place to go! This would also be a fun place to go with a large group. The staff was super friendly to us and really made it a memorable experience. We will definitely be back.

The next morning we were up early and headed out to find the best breakfast spot. We needed to check out of the campground at 12, but wanted to eat and enjoy the morning hours on the beach. Taylor’s family gave us an awesome dinner suggestion, so we asked for their opinions on breakfast and they told us about Island Cow!

This place was totally awesome! The atmosphere is so relaxed and beachy and they have great food. They start you off with free blueberry muffins that are surprisingly delicious and they also serve Starbucks, which won me over.

I ordered the three cheese omelet which came with home fries and fruit. Taylor had cheese grits with home fries, fruit, and whole grain toast. The food was yummy, but for the price they didn’t give us very much, which was disappointing.

When we were done, we headed back to the campground and then walked to the beach. It was so warm and calm that we really didn’t want to leave.

After spending several hours in the sun, we needed to check out of the campground and eat some lunch. Taylor really wanted to go to Cheeburger Cheeburger because he had been there before. They have shakes, burgers and salads that you can customize any way you want! I ordered the garden burger salad with cheese, cucumbers, carrots, croutons and a side of Italian dressing. Taylor go a burger with BBQ sauce, cheese and bacon. We split some sweet potato fries as well. YUM!

We didn’t want to leave Sanibel right after lunch so we took the car to the beach and tried to find a parking spot. It took us 30 minutes to find a parking spot! We had to drive around in circles waiting for people to get in their cars and drive away. It was pretty awful, but the beach was great.

The winter months are considered Sanibel’s busy season because the weather is perfect. While we were visiting, there were a lot of people on the beaches, but it wasn’t overcrowded. When exploring the island it didn’t feel like there were a ton of people there at all. Taylor’s aunt and uncle visited the island back in July and said it was almost empty. Although it would be very hot, I’d love to come back during the summer months.

 

 

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