Florida's Fort Myers, Sanibel & Captiva

By Chelle Koster Walton

This easy-to-use book is packed with practical information and enticing facts that make it fun to read: A clean, attractive layout makes it easy to find what you're looking for within each of the book's six sections, whether it be suggestions for finding

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hunter Publishing
• Release date: Feb 9, 2010
• ISBN: 9781588439239

Book preview

Florida's Fort Myers, Sanibel & Captiva

Chelle Koster Walton

HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC.

80 Northfield Avenue, Edison, NJ 08837

tel.  [phone] / fax [phone]

www.hunterpublishing.com

IN CANADA:

Ulysses Travel Publications

4176 Saint-Denis, Montréal, Québec, Canada H2W 2M5

tel.  [phone] ext. 2232 / fax [phone]

IN THE UK & EUROPE:

Roundhouse Group

Millstone, Limers Lane, Northam

Devon EX39 2RG, England

tel.  [phone] / fax [phone]

© 2010 Chelle Koster Walton

This and other Hunter travel guides are also available as

e-books through Amazon.com, NetLibrary.com and other

digital partners. For information, e-mail us at

[e-mail].

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, liability for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Chelle Koster Walton began her greatest life adventure when she moved to Sanibel Island sight unseen in 1981. She's never looked back, except to wonder why she didn't move sooner. From her favorite island, the author travels around Florida and the Caribbean researching guidebooks, of which she has published eight, and writing articles for Family Fun, National Geographic Traveler, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, Endless Vacation, The Miami Herald, and other print and electronic media. Walton is co-founder of www.guide bookwriters.com and a member of the Society of American Travel Writers.

How To Use This Book

After the Introduction to the area of Tampa and Florida's West Coast, this book focusses on Lee County, promoted as The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel.

The chapter begins with a brief overall history and information that will make finding your way around easier. Then it is divided by towns or areas within the sub-region, their adventure opportunities, sights, restaurants, hotels, and other attractions. Sprinkled amid the hard facts, you'll find budget tips, author recommendations, family-friendly choices, quirky Florida terms, and weekend adventure itineraries. Throughout, places that come highly recommended by the author are indicated by a star:

Introduction

The History of Adventure

The First Visitors

The 1800s

The 1900s to the Present

The People & Culture

The First Settlers

The Population Boom

Natural Makeup

Marine Life

Mangrove Estuaries

Flora & Fauna

Guidelines for Wildlife Preservation

Everglades National Park

Wildlife & Forest Preserves

Marine Preserves

State Parks & Historic Sites

Practical Information

Transportation

By Air

By Car

On The Water

Weather/What to Pack

Sights & Attractions

Adventures

On Water

Boating

Other Watersports

On Foot

On Wheels

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Cuisine

Nightlife

Fort Myers & Sanibel Island

Transportation

Information

Festivals & Events

Cape Coral & North Fort Myers

Getting Here

Information

Sights & Attractions

Adventures

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Pine Island & Out Islands

Getting Here

Information

Sights & Attractions

Adventures

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Fort Myers

Getting Here

Information

Sights & Attractions

Adventures

Shopping

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Nightlife

Sanibel & Captiva Islands

Getting Here

Information

Sights & Attractions

Adventures 

On Water

Shopping

Where to Stay 

Sanibel Island

Where to Eat

Nightlife

Fort Myers Beach

Transportation

Information

Sights & Attractions 

Beaches, Parks & Natural Areas

Adventures 

On Water

Where to Stay 

Hotels, Motels & Resorts

Where to Eat

Nightlife

San Carlos Park & Estero

Getting Here

Sights & Attractions 

Of Historic or Cultural Interest

Spectator Sports

Adventures 

On Water

Where to Stay 

Hotels

Shopping

Where to Eat

Bonita Springs & Bonita Beach

Getting Here

Information

Sights & Attractions 

Of Historic or Cultural Interest

Beaches, Parks & Natural Areas

Spectator Sports

Adventures 

On Water

On Wheels

Shopping

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Appendix

Recommended Reading

Environment

Watersports

Land Sports

Where to Stay & Eat

History

Fiction/Literature

Introduction

For the purposes of this guide, the West Coast of Florida describes a slice of coastline along the Gulf of Mexico beginning in the quiet rural setting of Citrus County, north of the Tampa Bay area, and ending in the south at Naples and the utter wilderness of the Everglades. It encompasses the coastal portions of Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. This region is cohesive in its types of vegetation and climate, yet it is infinitely diverse in culture and disposition.

The History of Adventure

If you're looking for adventure, you're in the right place. West Coast Florida, as one of the nation's final frontiers, claims a history and heritage of rugged outdoorsmanship.

While the rest of the nation was busily traveling along paved roads and buying their supplies from general stores, in the farthest corners of Florida's Gulf Coast down Naples way and in the Florida Everglades folks were still trading with the natives for victuals and dredging enough land out of the swamps to build the Tamiami Trail. The West Coast of Florida was considered a wild, exotic place then, a place for safaris and catching giant silver fish; a place where prehistoric turtles, alligators, manatees, and horseshoe crabs thrived, where trees danced, birds dive-bombed, dolphins grinned, flowers bloomed at night, and winter never came.

The First Visitors

The first white men traveled to western Florida for adventure. And they found it aplenty: half-naked natives, tricky waterways, impenetrable swamps, and enough fowl and fish to thicken seas, sky, and fire-brewed stews. In search of gold and youth, they chose to grumble, kill the natives, and curse the rest. They brought their own hogs, cows, and citrus to eat, then eventually left, discouraged by the persistent onslaughts from the resident Amerindian tribes the Calusa in the south, the Timucua around today's Tampa and Sarasota. Evidence of important Amerindian centers of culture has been found in Marco Island, Mound Key, Pine Island, Useppa Island, Manasota Key, Terra Ceia, Safety Harbor, and Crystal River.

Juan Ponce de León was the first recorded European to set foot upon these shores, somewhere in Charlotte Harbor. Hernando De Soto landed at today's Fort Myers Beach or Bradenton, depending upon whom you believe. Ensuing parties established forts, missions, and colonies at Mound Key, Fort Myers Beach, Pine Island, and other strategic spots along the coast.

Juan Ponce de León

Legends fill the region's early timelines with dastardly pirates who came to prey upon ships sailing between the Caribbean and established towns in northern Florida. Much has been exaggerated, particularly the legend of Gasparilla, upon which a Tampa festival and a coastline attitude of devil-may-care thrive. The mottled backwaters of the West Coast undoubtedly harbored many a refugee from the law, but few as colorful as publicity agents have painted them.

More prevalent in the 17th through the 19th centuries were Spanish fishermen and gutsy farmers. Later, in the Charlotte Harbor area, commercial fishing developed into a thriving industry. Fishermen lived in stilt houses built on sand shoals from Placida to the Ten Thousand Islands. A handful of the historic shacks remain.

In many ways, fishing settled the West Coast. Farming proved less dependable, what with hurricanes and pests. Sugar plantations around Bradenton and Homosassa came and went with the wind.

Reviews for Florida's Fort Myers, Sanibel & Captiva

[Robert · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Filled with formating errors and nonsense text. Evidently at some point this book, (which could have been a nice resource) went through a botched Calibre conversion.