dotsy

We would like to visit Sanibel and Captiva early in our Nov-May stay in Florida. While we would like to see the beauty of these places and help their economy, we would not want to be in places that are not ready for tourists after the terrible hurricanes and just be in the way. Any thoughts?

LilMsFoodie

Some of the resorts are not going to be up and running in November. The clean up is much more daunting than first thought. Everything is being done to have the places open and you can already see new growth in vegetation. It does look different though.

I am going out to Captiva to meet with a client so I can make a more current report after tomorrow. If I don't post, remind me by sending the thread up to the top.

LMF

AndreaRH

My family is going to Captiva (house rental) in early November. I'll be sure to report back on the conditions.

Andrea

cee3

Try this website:

www.bestofsanibelcaptiva.com

It has comprehensive information regarding what's open, what's not, on the Hurricane Charly message board.

I think Captiva may be worse off, but according to the rental agent I spoke with yesterday, it's hit or miss on Sanibel. Some homes/condos have little or no damage, while others won't be available until March. It sounds as if the trees and foliage sustained the most damage, but I doubt it looks barren.
South Seas resort on Captiva was especially hard hit though.

We are booked to go in February. Without tourist dollars, it will make their comeback that much harder. Besides, what more do you need in Sanibel, but the beach and the shells!

aimeemorice

i was just there last sunday, the 3rd.. and i have to admit. teh devastation was a lot worse than i thought it would be, esepically on captiva.

sanibel's periwinkle way has a lot of trees down and there was some building damage.. but, captiva, if i can be honest here, looked like a war zone. i had tears in my eyes as we drove thru.

businesses are just starting to reopen and are hanging "open" signs to let people know. i was glad to be there to support them.

south seas plantation is still closed-- they had some bad building/roof damage from what i could see.

some of the roads on captiva we could barely make it thru b/c of all the debris.

the people there are amazing... i know they will make it thru this. they were already starting to plant new trees... which was nice to see.

mamajo

Iwas there 2 weeks ago with a friend from the north who wanted to see Sanibel/Captiva and it was the first time I had been there since Charley. I agree with what amieemorice said about the damage. Periwinkle Way is open..no more beautiful canopy of trees covering it. The trees are either uprooted and gone, or cut way back due to breakage. We stayed on the main road and I was in shock at what I saw, since I knew what it 'used to look like'. My friend kept saying "it looks like a war zone" over and over.
We saw lots of blue tarps (Florida's new color) and damaged roofs and some damage to homes..and I saw homes that I didn't know existed before because of all the vegetation hiding them. Captiva was just a plain mess! There were many work crews still putting up new wires and many workers cleaning up the area of downed trees, brush and other vegetation. Clean up is slow, but some businesses are open and offering specials to get people in. They are struggling and some may have to close. But I think this is true all over Florida after our 4 major hurricanes. We are hoping the tourists DO come back this winter to help our economy and businesses.

stever

Guess we should have gone to Sanibel LAST year to see it in all it's glory. Never been - we were supposed to visit it this February and stay there. Now I'm sure we'll just stay in Bonita Springs instead and possibly take a day trip to see it. I know they need the business, but if it's that bad, we'd truly rather stay at the Hyatt in Bonita Springs from Priceline.

Steve R

Tandoori_Girl

"I think this is true all over Florida after our 4 major hurricanes."

Hurricane Charley was particularly devastating to Sanibel/Captiva's vegetation, and to the buildings which took a direct hit as the eye passed over. Also in Ft. Pierce and W. Palm Beach there was tremendous devastation as both Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne passed over them. And in the Florida panhandle, Hurricane Ivan destroyed expensive infrastructure that will take a long time to fix, including the Pensacola Bay Bridge which opened for the first time only yesterday.

But much of Florida is up and running. The devestation of Captiva is particularly noticeable because of the loss of its glorious vegetation that canopied the road. That will take quite awhile to grow over. But the beaches are all there.

I hate for tourists to have the impression that this is the way it is all over Florida. It isn't. We are still cleaning up debris in Tampa because there were a lot of trees and limbs felled. But from what I've seen at the beaches in the St. Pete area, there is little damage. There was a report in the papers this week about some hotels in Clearwater that had sustained more damage than they'd thought from flooding, and were remaining closed for awhile. Other than that, it is business as usual.

Captiva will regain its regal elegance. And it sounds as if Sanibel did not fare as poorly. After all, the sun is still shining while winter begins to peek into the Northeast

LilMsFoodie

I went out today to see a home on Captiva. The house had no damage but it has lost all its rain forest like landscape. The house just sits above the rubble. It take little to set me into tear but I cried yet again today when I saw Captiva. The road was blocked to Captiva and Andy Rosse Lane. FEMA will no longer remove vegetation waste after Friday so there is a huge push to get the stumps cleared. Some have been burned and are smoldering, heightening the effect.

On a positive note: I had lunch at Doc Fords on Sanibel and it was packed with business people, residents and some tourists. Many of the palmettos are starting to sprout and thousands of new trees are being planted. Being Florida, it does not take long for things to grow here. It is easy to get several feet of growth in a year on banyans, sea grapes and the like so the island should start repairing again. I took out Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea the other night. Nature is the great healer, patience must be used.

The beaches are looking pretty good, they have been cleaned and shelling is great. By November, much will be reopened but I am doubtful about the condos on South Seas. LMF

LilMsFoodie

South Seas resorts update: looks like many of the areas within the resort will miss out on this season. We were told May 2005 opening which might be optimistic. I am very sorry for the hundreds of seasonal workers that spend their winters there as well as all of us who love Captiva. LMF

DeborahB

Sanibel/Captiva are one of my favorite places on this great planet of ours. It really saddens me to hear and see (on TV) what it looks like now. I wish I had some vacation time to get down there and bring some money that way. Best wishes to all of you there.

dotsy

Thanks to you all for updates on Sanibel and Captiva. I'm sure I will shed a tear seeing the damage, but like one of you said, it doesn't take things long to grow in FL. Hopefully the ins monies will come in and people can start to return to a somewhat normal life with homes repaired and rebuilt. We will do our best to help the economy!