Never fear! Sanibel looks great and is up and running! We just returned from a week in Sanibel from Dec. 17th to the 24th and the horror stories are exagerated. Several large resorts are closed (which lessened the crowds significantly) but all the resaurants and shops were open. We stayed in Pointe Santo de Sanibel and it's as beautiful as ever! We biked around Ding Darling and it's still quite lush and beautiful. Yes there's visible damage, but the storms just got rid of the non native pines and they'll be replaced with even more of the gorgeous native breeds. Captiva took the brunt of Chalie, but the island has done a fantastic job of cleaning up...shops and restaurants are open but South Seas Plantation is not...the Bubble Room and Mucky Duck were empty! The shelling was the best I've ever seen and I've been there at least 10 times! Hint: go hunt in front of closed resorts; found dozens in front of Casa y Bel. Bowmans beach is still a great place for shells too. Anyway, if you find a repaired condo, by all means, go to Sanibel

It's nice that you posted this, but you already did about a week ago. If for some reason you wanted to make sure people saw it again, you could have clicked onto your name which would have brought your messages up on the left side of your screen, then just added something to the old message which would bring it to the top again.

Glad to hear that Sanibel is doing well. We were there only once, a number of years ago, and have been wondering how it has recovered from the hurricanes.

Thank you for the information. I've heard about Sanibel for the first time two years ago and have been dreaming about going ever since. We're going to spend a day there prior to an upcoming cruise and I was afraid we were in for a disappointment. It's silly, really. I was the one that "had" to go to Yellowstone after the fire, just to see the damage. Why would I think hurricane damage would be less interesting?

I just made the drive from Miami to Tampa and the devastation along the interstate is humbling to see. Huge interestate signs hanging by threads of steel, 30 foot street lamps toppled at mid-pole, piles/mtns. of debris waiting for the pick-up, this for mile after mile. In many ways, replacing a roof is easier, quicker, and cheaper than replacing infrastructure along the highways.

And then there's "Charleyville", a huge compound along the interstate made up of row after row after row of manufactured houses, now home to many displaced families. I kid you not, there were at least 300 of them. I guess this is what will be taking place overseas -- there will be a Tsunami-Ville. A few of them.

Thanks Patrick. I did post this message a week ago but then I couldn't find it; I realized I didn't put it in the Florida area so I just copied it over here. I never knew I could click my name and get that info....I know, I'm a little thick!