It feels like yesterday I was flying home from Florida with shells on my mind and sand in my shoes. Now, a year after my first trip to one of the most beautiful beach destinations in the country, National Seashell Day is almost here once more (tomorrow, June 21)! I’m taking a walk down memory lane today, sharing some favorite moments from Fort Myers & Sanibel that made it such a unforgettable summer destination. Here are the top 5 best memories from my trip to southwest Florida!

5. Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Ft. Myers.

I have always been somewhat of a history nerd, so I was pumped that one of our activities on the last day of our trip was visiting Thomas Edison and Henry Ford's winter estates in Fort Myers. Apparently, these two were great friends, which is adorable since Edison was Ford's childhood hero! One of my favorite views on the property was looking out across the historical botanical garden and seeing a brand-new high rise framed perfectly between the trees. It was a really interesting angle blending history and modern construction.

4. Kayaking at the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

Although I was hoping for an alligator, we spotted one dolphin, a ton of jumping fish, and some beautiful white herons. I've also developed a serious love of flamingos in the last year, so these days, I'd flip if I had the opportunity to see one...which is all the more reason I'm itching to go back to Sanibel!

3. Sunrise and sunset at South Seas Island Resort.

Some of my best shelling finds were made before most of the guests at the resort were awake. There's nothing like seeing the first gleams of sunlight in the morning, and the last of the pink and purple evening rays. I felt like I had walked into a Nicholas Sparks movie in Florida's white sands, surrounded by beautiful reeds and beach grass.

2. "Shelling" on Sanibel Island!

As soon as we had finished breakfast, we were off on a boat to Cayo Costa, one of the best places to spot beautiful and unique shells. Jingle shells were my favorite variety, along with lightning whelks, alphabet cones, and Florida prickly cockles. The best part is you can bring them home, and hold on to your treasures for the rest of your life. 

1. Seeing dolphins for the first time in my life. 

Seeing these cuties prance and dance in the wake of the boat behind us wasn't just the highlight of this trip, it was one of the highlights of my entire year and most of my travels! There's something so special about seeing wildlife in their home and natural habitat, and dolphins are about as magical as underwater creatures get. I was squealing more than the dolphins. Even those in the group that had seen dolphins before were completely captivated, since the dolphins were putting on such a spectacular show for us. I'd go back just to relive this moment again, and here's hoping I get to sometime soon. Maybe next year's National Seashell Day! 

Thank you to The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel for sponsoring this post.

6:03 A.M.

Wake up to a light haze of island pink settling into your bedroom at South Seas Island Resort, just before the sun comes up after last night’s big rainstorm that you greatly enjoyed falling asleep to.

6:14 A.M.

Take a sunrise stroll on the beach behind your cottage. It’s breezy, but not cold enough for anything more than your favorite wrap. Although, you wish you would have packed your hat with the chin strap because it’s windy enough that your hat keeps wanting to blow away.

6:39 A.M.

You uncover a few mollusks on the beach once you start pawing through the sand—casually, of course, because you didn’t bring your shelling bag. You have pockets though, so you allow yourself to walk just a little bit farther down the beach. Who knows what might be tucked amongst the sand?

7:47 A.M.

Okay, it’s been over an hour—you should probably head back—but you’ve found so many bi-valves (still in tact!), fighting conchs, scallops, and slipper shells that you just want to keep going and going and going because you didn’t realize how addicting shelling was until this moment…

9:14 A.M.

Finally get out of your perfect fluffy bed a second time, because anyone that gets up for the sunrise deserves an early morning nap.

9:37 A.M.

Enjoy the breakfast buffet at Harbourside Bar & Grill, where the coffee is strong and the potato hash is not messing around. 

10:30 A.M.

Right on time at McCarthy’s Marina for your Captiva Cruises through the islands! You secretly wonder if Andrew McCarthy is the owner of the off-the-grid marina and look around for him, just in case he’s disguised in a bucket hat and flip-flops, but no luck. 

10:38 A.M.

YOU SEE YOUR FIRST DOLPHIN OF YOUR WHOLE LIFE! IT IS AMAZING! THEY’RE ALL JUMPING IN THE WAKE OF THE BOAT YOU’RE IN AND GIVING YOU HAPPY SMILES AND JOYFUL LEAPS! They splash you a couple times but you don’t care, you’re too busy snapping the shutter on both of your cameras.

10:47 A.M.

You accept the cold beer offered to you by the captain. It’s almost 11. It’s practically afternoon. Isn’t Jimmy Buffet a part of Sanibel Island culture? He would approve.

11:00 A.M.

You arrive at your first destination—Cayo Costa! You tell the captain about your shelling finds of the morning, but he tells you to prepare yourself because Cayo Costa is one of the best places in the world for shelling. There’s a science to why it’s so densely packed—the hooked-shape of the island acts like a scoop, pulling the shells from every wave right in to the beach.

12:16 P.M.

You’ve made friends with a marine biologist on the beach who’s teaching you all the things you didn’t know about shells. Everyone on Sanibel seems to be into shelling. 

12:38 P.M.

You arrive at Cabbage Key, and ah, yes—your Jimmy Buffett suspicions are confirmed. You eat lunch at the place he wrote "Cheeseburger in Paradise" about, and the owner, Rob, is bopping around making sure everyone’s happy. He doesn’t quite make it to your table, but you don’t mind admiring him and his golden tan from afar. 

1:46 P.M.

You’re back at South Seas Island Resort just in time for your parasailing trip—you’re not nervous, you’ve been looking forward to it, but you forgot how fast speedboats go. Did anyone bring Dramamine…

1:59 P.M.

The crew at Sunny Island Adventures is full of jokesters trying to make you laugh as they strap you into the parachute harness that’ll take you 500 feet above the ocean. You appreciate it, because this is a tense moment—parasailing is really happening—but you appreciate them trying, so you laugh and laugh and laugh at their jokes. 

2:03 P.M.

The take-off was anticlimactic. Things are calm. It’s quiet in the sky. You’ve got this. The wind in your hair, the dolphins leaping below…you’re kind of living the dream. You hope desperately to see a sea turtle cruising through the waves.

Photo: My Life As A Travel Movie

2:09 P.M.

Okay, you looked down for too long. You shouldn’t have tried to get a good photo by swinging around in your harness. Things are starting to get a little dizzy and you’re pretty much ready for the ride to be over. 

2:13 P.M.

The crew is pulling you in and actually, you’re sad the ride is coming to an end, but also you’re pretty glad to be back at sea level. Until you’re not, because the boat ride is getting pretty choppy and you’ve never been seasick before and you don’t want to start today. 

2:32 P.M.

The whole ride back was a daze. You pancake onto the grass as soon as you’re off the dock. You’re too weak to even pick up your phone to Google quick cures for motion sickness. Parasailing: amazing. Motion sickness: unnnffff…

2:51 P.M.

Your best friend finally figures out putting pressure on the inside of your wrist helps alleviate the symptoms. You stand up for the first time in half an hour after you thought you’d be prostrate for the rest of eternity.

3:00 P.M.

Things are looking up now and you realize you’re hungry again—a good sign. The pizza and ice cream place (best combination ever?) at the resort is open, so you meet up with your buddies there…after a quick run through the waterslide.

4:00 P.M.

You’re pretty stoked about dinner at Gramma Dot's, so you brainstorm ways to bide your time to make sure you’re hungry again. Kayaking sounds fun, but you’re pretty much done with boats for today, so you might save the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge for tomorrow…

5:00 P.M.

You’re awake again. When did you fall asleep? You get the feeling accidental naps in southwest Floridian paradise tend to be pretty common…

6:30 P.M.

You’re in your best island dinner garb (a maxi dress and flat sandals) after a drive out to iconic Sanibel restaurant, Gramma Dot's. You’re definitely down for the surf ‘n’ turf platter after a day on Sanibel Island that’s was shockingly low on seafood…you resolve to change that tomorrow.

7:34 P.M.

You say yes to a another piña colada because you’re in Florida and who’s counting? Jimmy Buffet?

9:36 P.M.

Your driver takes you and your bestie back to Captiva, but you tell him to swing a left when you hear live music and suddenly you’re at the Key Lime Bistro, watching some island retirees cut the rug and you’re not too far off from joining them. 

10:11 P.M.

The rain has returned and everyone dives for cover during a momentary monsoon. The first shelter you see is the straw hut covering the live band’s stage, so suddenly, you’re dancing along with the musicians while everyone else is tucked inside the bar. How exclusive! You’re basically Sanibel & Captiva Island royalty at this point.

Photo: Traveling Newlyweds

11:25 P.M.

You and your group decide to take the party back to campus, but when you arrive back at South Seas you remember it’s Sunday and the bar is probably closed for the night. Something inside you says you’re secretly grateful because you hit a party wall on the drive back, and an image of your fluffy white bed has flashed through your mind…

11: 45 P.M.

You cheers your best friend with a glass of water to another day in paradise, and the fact that you get to wake up and do it again tomorrow…although this time, probably not quite at the crack of dawn.

6:05 A.M.

…you’re awake again. Who can resist a southwest Florida sunrise?

Thank you to The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel for sponsoring this post. 

1.     Shelling

“Shelling” is an extremely popular activity, although many people (including myself, until a couple of weeks ago!) haven’t even heard of it. However, it’s more likely that you’ve heard of it, but just didn’t know it has a name. Shelling is scouring the beach looking for unique, rare, or simply beautiful shells. I learned about countless different varieties while I was in Sanibel & Captiva, and also learned that it’s illegal to take the shells from the beach if they’re still living mollusks. I found plenty of pretty ones from mollusks that have moved to other shells or been eaten by predators (sorry, little dudes!), but if you want to see some really incredible finds, follow Captain Brian from Captiva Cruises on Instagram and Facebook for #WildlifeWednesday!

2.     Cabbage Key

One of the best lifestyle quirks about the islands in southwest Florida is that everyone’s main mode of transportation is by boat. Day one, we visited Cabbage Key and ate at the famous inn & restaurant that is literally the only attraction on this island with no roads. The walls are papered with over $70,000 in dollar bills that have been signed by the people who tape them up. If any of them drops off, it is donated to charity. And their iced coffee is not to be missed.

3.     Dolphins

Although we have porpoises up here in Seattle, I’ve never seen them and had definitely never had the opportunity to see dolphins until my recent trip to Florida, and man, did I see them. We weren’t five minutes off the dock before four or five little cuties started leaping and playing in the wake of our boat. They followed us for quite a ways and put on such a show! The Captiva Cruise crew informed us that dolphins are a pretty common sight around Sanibel and Captiva Island, so I can almost guarantee that you’ll see some when you visit!

4.     Gramma Dot’s

It might be unusual to come away from a seafood-famous region remembering the best Caesar salad of your life, but when it’s garnished with a fresh flower, you know it’s going to be good. Gramma Dot’s is an award-winning restaurant at the Sanibel Marina, and I felt right at home as soon as I sat down. The New England-inspired nautical décor adds an element of sophistication, instead of the usual campy tropical décor found around the island, which is adorable but also omnipresent. Walk the marina to check out some incredible yachts after your meal!

5.   Kayaking

We spent a couple hours at the J.N. “Ding” Darling Wildlife Refuge after a light monsoon passed, and it was my favorite thing our group tackled in Florida. It was quite a time corralling all six of our boats through the wild and spindly mangrove trees, but paddling by a dolphin and dozens of different bird species made it all worth it. There aren’t any alligators in the area, which I was excited to see (I know, adrenaline junkie moment), so you can go in fancy-free. Just remember to bring your waterproof phone case!

6.     Wild Weather

We were surprised by a tropical storm while we were in town, but I get the feeling that southwest Florida can be a little temperamental when it comes to the sky. I absolutely love rain, so it was fun for me to see a variety of weather from shimmering daylight to torrential downpours. Everything is unexpected in Florida, so you better be ready to adventure.

7.     History Made Fun

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were close, close friends, something I didn’t know until I visited the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida. It’s always weird to think of people from history as real individuals who walked and talked exactly like we do now, but it put things into perspective to actually stroll their properties and gardens and see where they spent their free time (which was normally only two weeks out of the year!). From some old Ford models in the garage (the logo hasn’t changed a bit) to the extensive gardens that Edison had planted, it helped put the story into perspective. History is always much more interesting as a tactile experience. My favorite part was the gigantic collection of ficus frees Edison planted as a research project!

8.     R&R

Let’s face it: there’s nothing like sitting in the sand, watching the sun go down in a blaze of purple, pink, red and orange over an endlessly waving horizon of water. Nothing compares. The beaches of Sanibel & Ft. Myers area were made for just that, so bring your shade umbrella and a good book and prepare to post up for a good, long time. Or bring your art supplies after a morning of shelling and create some shell art, inspired by early nineteenth-century Sailor’s Valentines found at the Bailey Matthews National Shell Museum!

Thank you to The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel for sponsoring this post.