Today we took our annual day trip to Sanibel and Captiva Island. If you have never been here, you are truly missing out on a jewel located in Southwest Florida. Some things you will want to know before visiting Sanibel. First, you will have to cross the Sanibel Causeway which spans across the San Carlos Bay. Currently there is a $6.00 toll for this crossing. Drivers keep your hands on the wheel and passengers, get your cameras ready. I think the causeway offers some of the most beautiful picture opportunities. Here is a picture I snapped from our van while crossing.
View from Sanibel Causeway
The second thing you will want to keep in mind is that no parking is permitted on any street or road on Sanibel. Free beach parking is available on the Sanibel Causeway. Other municipal lots are reserved for local residents or have a $2 hourly fee. Accordingly, many residents and visitors get around by bicycle or segway. If you are interested in renting a bike or segway, check out Billy’s Bike Shop Sanibel Island.
The final thing you will want to remember is to not be in a hurry. Most roads are two lane with a speed limit of 35mph. We often find ourselves going even slower to take in the scenery.
Ok, more about our day trip. We crossed the causeway and headed straight for the Captiva to one of our favorite lunch spots, RC Otter’s Island Eats. This little gem is located in right in the center of the Old Captiva Village. The menu has great offerings (Love the Conch Fritters) and the live music is always great. They also have a fun little ring toss game called BiminiRing outside that we always enjoy playing. We enjoyed it so much this year that we bought one for our new house! For lunch we enjoyed Crunchy Grouper (Scott’s Favorite), Blackened Grouper, Lobster Bisque, Conch Fritters. Here are a few pictures we captured while enjoying our lunch.
RC Otter’s Island Eats
RC Otter’s Inside Dining
RC Otter’s Inside Dining
Live Music
Sangria…enough said!
Crunch Grouper Sandwich at RC Otter’s
RC Otter’s Specials
How far are you from RC Otter’s?
BiminiRing Challenge at RC Otter’s
BiminiRing Challenge – So Close!
After lunch, we decided to hit the beach. We relaxed while lying on our towel in the sand, we splashed around in the blue waters and we practiced our “Sanibel Stoop”. Sanibel Stoop is code for the bent-at-the-waist posture used to collect seashells on Sanibel Island, which bills itself as one of the best shelling locations in the world.
Captiva Beach
Fun in the Sun at Captiva Beach
Ice Cream Boat, yes Boat!
Lane enjoying the water!
Captiva Beach
Beaches at Sanibel
After spending an hour or so, it was time for dessert! And by dessert, I mean a 1/4 of cake from The Bubble Room. Many of you may have visited The Bubble Room that was once in Orlando. Unfortunately it closed in 1998. The Bubble Room on Captiva got it’s beginning in 1979. It started very simply with just a few tables and was decorated with toys from the 1930’s and 1940’s. The collection of toys has grown and so has the restaurant. Today, every day is Christmas at The Bubble Room with toys in every nook and cranny of every room in the restaurant. The Bubble Room has also kept to tradition, still serving several of the original menu items from when it first opened in 1979. Items include Flaming Socra Cheese, Bubble Bread, Carolina Moons, Tarzan, Eddie Fisherman, and of course their many delicious and over sized desserts. Today, we chose to only have dessert for the 6 of us and 2 orders of Carolina Moons to go. Since you can’t smell the greatness of these desserts, let me tell you about your choices.
Gigantic Slices of Cake
VERY MOIST CHOCOLATE – Moist chocolate cake layered with chocolate fudge toffee pecan crunch icing. KEY LIME PIE – An authentic key lime pie with graham cracker crust topped with strawberries, kiwi’s and homemade whipped cream FRENCH CHOCOLATE TORTE – Three layers of moist dark chocolate, two layers of homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings, polka-dotted with strawberries, topped with more whipped cream and finished with a chocolate dipped strawberry. RED VELVET – A rich buttermilk cake with just a hint of cocoa layered with a delicious pecan cream cheese icing. JAMAICAN RUM CAKE – Buttery pound cake soaked in dark Jamaican rum with chocolate mousse center and a pecan rum glaze. TROPICAL BREEZE – A mandarin orange cake iced with a rich pineapple cream cheese icing and topped with an assortment of fresh tropical fruit. ORANGE CRUNCH – A moist yellow cake layered with almond brown sugar crunch and covered with Orange Cream Cheese Icing. (This is a favorite of the Parker family!) WHITE CHRISTMAS – Light and fluffy white cake with toasted slivered almonds, layered and covered homemade whipped cream, hand packed with coconut and topped with chocolate shavings. (Scott’s favorite)
Now that you have an idea of what are choices for dessert were, here are some pictures from our visit to The Bubble Room. Oh, and did we mention there are A LOT of Mickeys and the gang throughout The Bubble Room. The kids had a field day looking for all the hidden mickey “toys”!
The Bubble Room
The Bubble Room Captiva Entrance
The Love Tunnel
Upstairs Dining Room at The Bubble Room
Another Mickey at amongst the toys at The Bubble Room
Old School Mickey
Another Mickey and Santa
Large Goofy Puppet
Hidden Mickey Stencil
The Seven Dwarfs!
Every Day is Christmas at The Bubble Room!
Cliff, our Bubble Scout and Scott with the Dessert Tray
Slice of White Christmas
Once dessert was finished, we had one last stop to make. In the parking lot of The Bubble Room is their gift store, The Bubble Room Emporium. It’s a small shop but is packed with a lot of great finds. We even walked out with this guy.
Disney by Romero Britto – Mickey Mouse Cookie Jar
I hope you enjoyed our day on Sanibal and Captiva Island. These two islands offer so much to do. Here is a list of more attractions that we have visited in the past and we think you might enjoy.
Florida Plunge Recommended Attractions: Bowman’s Beach J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge Sanibel Historical Museum & Village Turner Beach and Blind Pass The Mucky Duck Sanibel Island Lighthouse and Beach