Sanibel Days Aren't Always Perfect

Today was in the lower 90's and partly cloudy.  I don't have much to share today.  We went for a drive around the island and then out to Captiva.  There were big fluffy clouds around, and a few darker clouds that went right on past us.  There were some people fishing at Blind Pass as we crossed the bridge going onto Captiva Island.

On the Gulf side, I saw some sun worshipers and shellers as we crossed the bridge on the way back to Sanibel.

We drove out to the Sanibel Causeway to see how crowded it was, since it is Labor Day weekend.

My photos don't really show how many cars and people were there.  Remember all those new picnic tables?  They were all full and a lot more tables that people brought with them, along with tents for shade.

I saw some cute little sailboats with bright colored sails.  I had never seen these kind before.  There were 4 or 5 of them.

Now for the upsetting part of the day.....


A man drowned off Lighthouse Beach, today in the early afternoon.  He was pulled from the water by Sanibel Fire and Rescue with the help of several bystanders.   It was believed that he had been floating in the water for at least 20 minutes.  There had been reports of rip currents in the area, but it isn't known if that could have been the cause.  The man was possibly in his 60's


Just a couple of weeks ago a 14 year old boy, had been swimming with his family and friends, before strong currents pulled him under. He was rescued from the water near the B span of the Sanibel Causeway, but later died at the hospital.

Remember how quickly accidents can happen, no matter how well you swim.  It's best to wear a life jacket when you are out in open water.  Don't depend on inflatable toys to keep your children safe, they can still go under water and possibly drown.  Never swim alone.  Keep an eye on everyone in your group, make sure you know where they are at all times.  Don't loose sight of your children; it only takes 20 seconds for a child to drown and 60 seconds for an adult.  We all think these things could ever happen to us, but they do.  There have been over 200 reports of near drownings in Florida, just Saturday alone.  I know we all probably think we know the rules of safety that apply to swimming.  But I really didn't know that much about rip currents.  We should all take time to read ocean safety tips from NOAA, if only to refresh our memory.  Be safe.

Sanibel Sunset in Pastel

Our high temperature today was 91 and the low last night was 75.  I'm lovin' that low temp. :)

This evening, we started on our way to the beach, but just after we started, we saw a little man that we see all the time as he's riding his bicycle.  I've often thought, that man is a lot older than I am and he rides all over the island on a regular basis.  What's wrong with me?

But, this time he wasn't riding.  He was walking and trying to push his bicycle.  At first glance, we thought he had a flat tire and was just pushing it on home, which wasn't too much further.  We waved to him as we passed, and he just kept his head down.  I looked back and he appeared to be wobbling back and forth, then he almost fell.  As I watched, it looked like the bicycle was so heavy that he couldn't hold it up and couldn't push it straight.  We turned around and started back.  Another car came toward him in the opposite lane, he swerved in their direction and then waved them on.  We drove up beside him and I put my window down and asked if he was ok.  He said he was, but it was then that I noticed he had blood on his shirt, arm, elbow and a little on his face.  I got out and asked again if he was sure he was ok.  Again he said he was.  I kept asking him questions to find out what happened, like was he hurt and his reply was no.  When I asked if he had fallen and he said, he had.  I told him we lived just down the street from his house and saw him all the time and how about letting us take you home.  At first he didn't want to and I told him that we couldn't let him push that bike all the way and we would just put it in the back of our suv.  Finally he said, that would be ok, if we didn't mind and it woudn't be too much trouble.  We got him in the back seat, put the bike in the back and off we went.  We kept talking to him and at first he had said he had an accident, then said the gears went out, but there were no gears on the bike.  He kept saying he wasn't hurt, but I don't think that was true, since he had blood on him.  I told him I knew which house he lived in because I had seen him out working in his yard.  He said he sure hadn't been working in it enough lately.  (So, that led me to believe he was coherent.)  When we got to his house, we helped him out, unloaded the bike and I pushed it over to park it by another one. (The bike pushed easily, nothing wrong with it.)  He thanked us over and over for the trouble. I told him that I knew he would do the same for us if we needed it, he said he sure would.  I wanted to help him to the door but he said, no he was fine.  I asked if he was going to be by himself, or was his wife home.  He told me she was home and he wouldn't be by himself.  I tried to tell him I would go to the front door and ask her to come around and help him, but he didn't want me to.  As he started to walk away, he kept swaying and I thought he was going to fall over, but he put his hand against a post to steady himself, stood there for a bit.  I went over to him again and asked to help him and the answer was still no.  He had a difficult time, but made it to the door.  We made sure he got in, waited there in the driveway for a couple of minutes, then left.  Now I'm still worried.  I'm afraid he had a stroke, heart attack or something and feel bad that I didn't go to the front door to talk to his wife.  Oh my, what should a person do in that kind of a situation.  He was so positive he didn't need help and I didn't want to insult him or hurt his feelings because he seemed embarrassed that he had to have help.  There was no way he would have been able to push his bike all the way home, he was ready to collapse.  I know what I am going to do tomorrow.  I am going to his house, walk up to the front door and ask if he is feeling better.  At least I will feel better.

After that, our enthusiasm for going to the beach had sort of disappeared.  So, we just drove out to a causeway island to watch the sunset.

There was so much cloud cover near the horizon, that we couldn't actually see the sunset.  But, there was a cool wind blowing, it was quiet and peaceful, and the sky was beautiful!

If you enlarge this photo, you'll understand why I said, "It's a bird, it's a bird, it's a plane!"

I mentioned last week, that I had noticed more picnic tables were on the Sanibel Causeway islands.

Now on your next visit, if you'd like a table with a view, there may be one. :)  The two causeway islands have roadsides totaling around 10 acres that are used by thousands of people for recreational areas.  Lee County Parks and Recreation maintain the islands.  After placing a counter on only one section on the gulf side of island B, it was determined that during the month of July there were 8,000 vehicles, just in that area alone.  During the month of March the total was 20,000 vehicles.  Those numbers prompted the county to add 20 new picnic tables and 30 garbage and recycling cans.  There are a few more dead trees to replace, then the landscaping project on the causeway islands will be complete.