Lighthouse Beach on Sanibel Island

On weekends that we aren't working on our house, the hubby and I like to pack up the Travel Tots and drive over the bridge to Sanibel Island, arguably the best place in the world to find tons of seashells. Our favorite beach so far has been the Lighthouse Beach. The Lighthouse isn't open to the public, but it's so scenic with the seagrape and beach wildflowers.

It's a great family-friendly beach, and the water is shallow for quite a bit. It has great bathrooms, and a nice place to rinse off your feet. Of course, it gets pretty crowded during Season (For those of you NOT from Florida, this is the time of year when those up north, affectionately known as "snowbirds", descend en masse to escape the arctic temperatures) No free parking to be found at Lighthouse Beach, but the lot is really close to the sand. If you are staying on Sanibel, it's best to bike! There are several bike rental shops in the area, and we've heard wonderful things about Billy's Rentals (http://www.billysrentals.com/)

We love to walk the beach, dip our toes in the surf, and peer around for interesting shells. The Tots enjoy sitting in the surf and feeling shells wash up on their legs. If you go early in the morning, you may be lucky enough to see the starfish in the shallow water, or get to play with the dolphins that venture almost close enough to touch.

For lunch, you absolutely must try Island Pizza at 1619 Periwinkle Way. I can't seem to find a good website, so I'll post it as soon as I find it! It's a little piece of pizza heaven. It's a very casual restaurant (so beach-y coverups are okay), and the waitstaff is amazing. They have crayons for the small fry, and video games for the young and young at heart. We highly recommend the Hawaiian pizza, or the Islander special - yum!