The Cricket on Sanibel Island

Known for its beaches covered with shells, Sanibel is a large barrier island west of Ft Myers in the Gulf of Mexico. Sanibel was a big trip for us: the longest stay in the Cricket at seven nights in the south Florida summer heat.  During the trip we had a good assortment of outdoor adventures, found new favorite restaurants, and explored south Florida.

We loaded the Cricket and 4Runner down with gear: two stand up paddle boards, four bikes, helmets, paddles and life jackets, boogie board, sand toys, camera and tripod, and much more. This is a pro of camping that we didn’t consider in the past; we can really bring everything -- and a kitchen sink -- with us that we might want for the week. In the past, we would have had to leave most of this at home because we just didn't have the room.

Loaded to near-capacity, we were on the road after work on Friday night. Since we travel overnight in order to maximize our limited vacation time, we plan longer stops along the way. This trip included Chuy’s Tex Mex south of Nashville and a Cracker Barrel the next morning somewhere in Florida. We think this is a great tip: if you are doing a long, non-stop drive, schedule in a real meal to get a break from the road. We knocked out 1050 miles in about 19 hours. We arrived by mid-day on Saturday and checked into the campground just after noon.

The one and only campground on Sanibel Island is Periwinkle Park. The majority of residents at Periwinkle Park aren't campers as they live in park models and mobile homes seasonally or year long. The remaining area of the park is divided into two sections including a “U” around the duck pond and the west area for larger units. Both sections have a relatively new or remodeled bath house.  They are not air conditioned, which might be a common thing that we are just not accustomed to. The west area is wide open with few trees but nice concrete pads and larger sites. We felt like the concrete pads would have been nice, but this newer section has less charm than the section around the duck pond, which is where we stayed. Our section was occupied by tent campers, pop ups, class c campers, and our Cricket. These sites have sandy gravel pads, lots of plants and trees, and full hook ups.

The duck pond was a constant source of entertainment for the kids. They could feed the ducks, talk to exotic birds like parrots and macaws, and watch the lemurs and squirrel monkeys play. The campground is a half mile to beach access which has a bike rack but no public parking. Periwinkle Park is also on Sanibel's bike path and near great dining and shopping options.
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On a scale of 10, the location for Periwinkle Park is a 10 as you are a short walk or ride away from anything and everything you need for a beach vacation. Amenities for Periwinkle Park is a 9 as the aviary and primate areas are a pretty cool source of entertainment that is quite unusual.  PP does have a screened recreation room, two pavilions, a fish cleaning station, and a laundry room.  Of these, we only used the rec room one night when it looked like a storm was approaching.  The bath house was newly remodeled, clean, and had great water pressure.  On the weekends when the campground was fuller, a larger bathroom would have been nice.  We give it an 8 and would give it a 9  if they were air conditioned. 

We don’t go camping to hang around the campground, we go camping to experience a location. We went to several beaches, which was our favorite thing to do on a hot summer day. We enjoyed Lighthouse Beach, Gulfside Beach, Blindman’s Pass Beach, the Causeway Beach, and the public beach access near the campground on Nertia. Each beach can be dramatically different each day based on weather conditions and tide level. The Causeway and Blindman’s Pass are ideal for catching a sunset, but all beaches on Sanibel are perfect for shelling. All four of us enjoyed studying the life within the water, which included small fish, snails and/or hermit crabs living in Augers, King's Crown, Lettered Olives, and Tulips, as well as Millipede Starfish (pictured to the left)  and Sand Dollars. While we were there, the water wasn't as clear and blue as it has been when we've visited in the past due apparently to drainage water being sent from Lake Okeechobee, but the cloudy water didn't stop us from going back to the beach each day.

Each day we used the Sanibel bike paths.  There are over 25 miles of pancake flat trails on the island and we rode our bikes to beaches, shops, the park, and restaurants. With the flat terrain, biking is easy and the trails have many shady spots. We loved that we didn't have to worry about finding a place to park our car and we rode our bikes to many location that are only accessible to Sanibel residents due to parking restrictions. 

Another thing we enjoy to do is stand up paddle boarding. There are a lot of options for paddle sports here and we didn’t get to all of the locations we wanted. We did paddle JN Ding Darling, a shallow mangrove island system. There are two launches within the Wildlife Refuge where you can launch your own gear for only a $5 entry fee or for free if you have a National Parks pass. If you need to rent gear, Tarpon Bay Outfitters is nearby and has a marked trail you can paddle, they also allow you to put in with your own gear for a small fee. We also paddled the bay side of the Causeway islands where you can park for free and we found the waters to be quite calm.

We took a day away from the island to explore Everglades National Park. It is wet season there, meaning the only wildlife visible seemed to be the vicious mosquitos. We knew the summer wasn’t the ideal time to visit, but seeing the vastness of this slow moving river ecosystem was impressive and we did see a couple alligators, turtles, and birds. We biked four miles of the Shark Valley trail and we would like to bike the full 15 miles when we make it back to the Everglades.         
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We ate out a lot this trip. We declared it too hot to cook, so we took advantage of great island dining locations.

Sanibel Grill was our first meal on the island. This is a Sanibel classic bar and grill that doesn’t disappoint. We had grilled grouper, which seemed to become a go-to option throughout the week.

We loved Lazy Flamingo, of which there are two locations on the island. The original is about 1000 feet from Blindman’s Pass just before you cross to Captiva Island. This location is run efficiently by two workers; a cook and a bartender. The grilled grouper and buffalo shrimp were both outstanding. As an added perk, this location is ideal to catch a sunset if you time your meal right. We did and took the picture above. The second location is across from Periwinkle Park. This one is fully staffed and has the same menu. The kids meals were served on a Frisbee you can use later on the beach.

We really enjoy the atmosphere of Island Cow, it’s a big, busy party with great indoor and outdoor seating and an outstanding wait staff. This kids loved the alligator tail which isn’t on the kids menu but will be served if you ask. The menu here is massive, too big in fact. If you try Island Cow, we recommend you stick to ordering from the daily specials menu, just to limit your choices to a reasonable amount.

Grandma Dots is our hands down favorite place to eat on Sanibel. We ate here three times in a week and were never disappointed in any way. They have the best fried oysters on the planet. All of the fish and shrimp dishes we tried were awesome. Everything is served with an herb mayo instead of tartar sauce and it was a great addition. Grandma Dot’s is in the middle of Sanibel Marina, so you can look at the boats and yachts surrounding the restaurant.

​Doc Ford's Rum Bar, based on the character from Pine Island resident Randy Wayne White’s novels, is a great choice as well. Doc Ford's has three locations, with a fourth being considered, and we will admit that we ate at the Ft Myers Beach location off Sanibel. The food was good and the location was again beautiful set at a marina. Being a rum bar, we sampled and enjoyed a couple premium rum options.

Lighthouse Café boosts the world’s best breakfast, and there were no complaints from us. We typically don't eat breakfast out, but this is a worthy exception. We stopped by after a morning at Lighthouse Beach and enjoyed a late breakfast.

Seven nights in the Cricket… we survived! The Cricket slept great as the portable a/c effectively cooled us down at night. However the a/c could not keep up during the day as the Cricket temperature would exceed 90 with the a/c running when in the full sun. This may have been a downside as we didn’t have an indoor location to escape a hot afternoon. This forced us to be out the entire day. We need to address the venting of the a/c and this will be our first modification to the Cricket. We plan to cut a five inch hole in the floor to better vent the a/c. 
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We were close to the beach and sand coated everything inside of the Cricket.  It still coats nearly everything even after cleaning.  Just a reminder of a lovely Sanibel beach vacation. 

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Next up for us is the Dakotas toward the end of the summer and maybe a weekend trip before that in Nashville. Stay tuned for more of our adventures of Cricket Camping!   ​