Around The Islands With Anne

Fall On The Islands Means Business As Usual Following Summer Hiatus

by Anne Mitchell

Sanibel and Captiva islands are cranking back up for the new season with some restaurants and businesses reopening or adding new services and others resuming events and entertainment that has been on hold during the slower summer months.

For example, after a summer hiatus, NASCRAB races are back at The Crow’s Nest at ‘Tween Waters Inn, Captiva, starting Monday, October 1. These crazy races – held Mondays and Thursdays – involve hermit crabs in “borrowed” seashell homes ambling towards the finish line amid cheering from the crowd. There’s an early show for children and one later for adults. Call 472-5161 for more information.

Next Wednesday, October 3, Traders Store & Café reopens after its summer break. Traders serves

lunch and dinner and happy hour is from 3 to 6 p.m. daily. The adjoining store offers an eclectic mix of gift items, jewelry, accessories and home décor. It’s located at 1551 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, phone 472-7242.

Shirley Vale, a stalwart of Tower Gallery, is resigning after 29 years of service.

Tower Gallery has been located on Sanibel for many years, but its origins were in the Bell Tower Shops, Fort Myers.

It opened in October 1982 and Vale joined the gallery on September 1, 1983. She served as president and vice president for many terms. During Tower’s infancy she united Tower as a business and brought a foundation and sophistication to the gallery. According to other members, her committed efforts sustained Tower through financial crises, hurricanes, locations, and other critical times.

Tower as grown to 23 artists and all are thankful to Shirley for her relentless efforts to preserve and grow Tower into an extraordinary gallery.

Tower is celebrating 30 years in business this October and the public is invited to the celebration, scheduled for November 17 at Tower Gallery, 751 Tarpon Bay Road, Sanibel.

Leigh Klein, owner of All Ways Travel on Sanibel, will celebrate 15 years in business on Monday, October

1.

Klein, who believes she is the only travel agent on Sanibel, has just joined forces with Preferred Travel of

Naples, a member of the Signature Travel Network. They will be putting on a travel trade show at The Community House on Sanibel on Thursday, October 25.

Klein works by appointment and can be reached at 472-3171.

LIVE ON THE ISLANDS

The Crow’s Nest at ’Tween Waters Inn will feature The Bad Banditos on Friday and Saturday, September 28 and 29, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Crab races resume Mondays and Thursdays starting October 1. The Crow’s Nest is at 15951 Captiva Drive, phone 472-5161.

Traditions on the Beach at the Island Inn has live entertainment most nights. This week’s lineup includes: Friday, dancing to Joe McCormick and singer Barbara Smith; Saturday, Joe McCormick and

singer Marvilla Marzan; Sunday, closed; Wednesday and Thursday, dancing to Joe McCormick with popular favorites and smooth vocal stylings, R&B, jazz and pop. Traditions is at 3111 West Gulf Drive,

phone 472-4559.

Sweet Melissa’s Café features Michael David playing light acoustic background music Wednesday through Saturday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sweet Melissa’s is at 1625 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, phone 472-1956.

George & Wendy’s Sanibel Seafood Grille has moved the weekly Karaoke sessions to Wednesday, starting October 3. Other live entertainment is as follows: Friday, September 28, Anthony

Wayne, guitar and vocals; Friday, October 5, Chris Workman, keyboard and vocals. George &

Wendy’s also features NFL and college football games with food and drink specials. The restaurant is at 2499 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, phone 395-1263.

The Jacaranda has entertainment nightly from 7 to 11 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, various artists are

featured. On Sunday, it’s Jamaica “Dave” & Co., reggae and dance; Monday, Renata, jazz, contemporary music and dance; Tuesday, Steve“Scooter” Reynolds, accoustic guitar, contemporary music and dance; Wednesday, Buckeye Ken, contemporary, Top 40 and blues; Thursday, 2 Hot, contemporary, reggae and dance. The Jacaranda is at 1223 Periwinkle Way, phone 472-1771.

Traders Store & Cafe features music by Chris Workman Wednesdays from 7 to 10 p.m. and Danny

Morgan and Friends on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 10 p.m. Traders is at 1551 Periwinkle Way, phone 472-7242.

The Mucky Duck on Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva,features music by Mark Dupuy on Mondays; Rich

Lancaster, Wednesdays; Gene Federico, Thursdays and Saturdays; and Buckeye Ken, Fridays.

The Island Cow on Periwinkle Way has live entertainment on Friday with Dan Confrey; Saturday, Diana

Lynn; and Sunday, Buckeye Ken. Phone 472-0606.

RC Otter’s, 11506 Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva, has live music daily with dining inside and out, phone 395-

1142.

Keylime Bistro features live music days and nights seven days a week. New to the line-up is Ken Limeri

playing jazz sax from 6 to 10 p.m. every Tuesday. The bistro is at 11509 Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva, phone

395-4000.

Island Sun (September 28, 2012)

Top Ten Books On The Island

1.  Sanibel & Captiva: Our Islands In The Sun by Jim George and Jim Anderson

2.  There’s A Secret On Sanibel by Karen Richards

3.  Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

4.  Wisdom From Gift From The Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

5.  Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer Holland

6.  Deep Shadow by Randy Wayne White

7. Brief History of Sanibel Island by Marya Repko

8.  Gone by Randy Wayne White

9.  Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park

10. Three Sunrises by Kristen Hartman

Courtesy of Sanibel Island Bookshop.

Island Sun (September 28, 2012)

Lessons From The Storm Season So Far

submitted by Ken and Kate Gooderham, ASBPA executive directors

Coastal weather events come in all shapes and sizes, as does the impact they have on the coast.

Naturally, the two are correlated – though not always in the way you might think.

Size Matters

A tightly wrapped, intense storm can do a lot of damage in a small area. But a broader, less windy storm that is slower moving can be even more destructive, by impacting a broader area with still punishing winds and a more significant storm surge and spiraling off storms bands that can include very heavy rainfall and even tornadoes. Then when it heads inland, the threat of flooding from a disintegrating  storm puts the final touches on its power.

So Does Duration

A fast-moving storm hits and moves on. A slow-moving one just grinds away, piling on rainfall and erosive waves for hours and even days. A great example of the power of persistence was Tropical

Storms Debby and Isaac earlier this year. Tropical Storm Debby never made it to hurricane strength but, by spinning away out in the Gulf of Mexico for more thantwo days, it scoured west Florida beaches

in a way not seen in decades… while its rainfall-driven flooding ended up causing just one less fatality than a far more intense storm (with twice the wind speed at peak) that sped through the same general area. 

Hurricane Isaac was a slow moving storm that sent torrential rains all through southern Louisiana. The impact of Isaac is still being tallied even at the time of this article.

“Category” Is Just A Number, Not Necessarily An Indication Of Impact

Hurricane Isaac barely crossed the 74 mph threshold before making landfall south of New Orleans, but it carried with it the storm surge of a much stronger storm. Why? It was large (if not well organized) and it had a couple of days to push water out ahead of it – resulting in a surge that rivaled Hurricane Katrina

in many places even if the wind was nowhere near as strong. It reminded the weather pros that focusing on a storm’s category can lead some to underestimate its true strength.

What The Wind Can’t Do, The Water Does

Again, looking at Hurricane Isaac, nominal hurricane-force winds weren’t the issue here. Rather, it was the significant storm surge, the inundating rainfall and the very slow forward motion of the

storm that made this system significant in terms of damage and destruction. Folks along the coast got sloshed with surge, while those inland had to cope with swollen rivers and overwhelmed dams. On

wind alone, Isaac wasn’t much… add in the compounding catastrophe of deluge and duration, and it became a major storm event.

The Storm Is Past, But The Damage Is Just Beginning

We’ve seen this phenomena a couple of times recently: Middling tropical storms bring maximum destruction when they drive far inland. Either their weakened winds are still potent enough to wreak

havoc on a landscape unused to any such strength or abundant rainfall pushes rivers and streams into disastrous torrents. Irene devastated towns in the northeast that hadn’t seen storm rainfalls of this

magnitude for decades. Debby combined flash floods with tornadoes to cut a swath through the Southeast. Isaac ripped into the Gulf Coast with a watery combination of surge and downpours, put thousands underwater or in the dark… and, ultimately, brought much needed rainfall to the parched midwest.

One Final Thought

As surprising as these storms’ strength may have been, one thing that was no surprise was that pre-storm preparations and plans worked and made the storms more survivable. Coastal areas with wide

beaches could withstand hours and days of battering waves – because the beaches took the hit, not the upland properties and infrastructure.

The billions of dollars spent to protect New Orleans post-Katrina withstood its first real test, and passed with flying colors. And in coastal areas threatened with serious inundation, the people who heeded the calls to evacuate were safe, while those who did not often put themselves – and the first responders who had to go out in the midst of the storm to rescue them – at real risk.

For more information, go to www.asbpa.org, Facebook or www.twitter.com/asbpa.

Island Sun (September 28, 2012)

Award Winning Website!

Have you heard the news? John R. Wood Island Real Estate's website has received a top award! Read all about it!

http://sanibelrealestatemarket.com/news/1101/Sanibel_Island_Real_Estates_Award_Winning_Website.cfm

For the BEST buying and selling experience choose John Petel with John R. Wood Realtors!

Limited Spaces Available For ‘Ding’ Days Bunche Beach Tours

A limited number of spots remain for two free “Ding” Darling Days Bunche

Beach Birding Tram tours. Reservations and a refundable deposit are

required. Call 472-8900 as soon as possible, because space fills up quickly.

Times and dates for the two trips coordinate with low tides. Both tours will be by

tram departing from the JN “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. The first leaves

from the refuge flagpole at the Education Center on Monday, October 15 at 8 a.m.

and returns around 11 a.m. Another on Friday, October 19 departs at 11:30 a.m.

and returns at 2:30 p.m.

Transportation is compliments of Tarpon Bay Explorers. Knowledgeable birding

experts lead the tour and provide spotting scopes to use.

For more information on other birding tours and eco-events during the 23rd

Annual “Ding” Darling Days, held October 14 to 20, visit www.dingdarlingdays.com.

“Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge sponsors “Ding” Darling Days

along with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Tarpon Bay Explorers and support

from local businesses and individuals.

“Ding” Darling Days 2012 sponsors include:

Roseate Spoonbill – Doc Ford’s Sanibel Rum Bar & Grill

Great Egret – Ocean’s Reach Condominiums, The Timbers Restaurant & Fish Market

Great Blue Heron – Bailey’s General Store, Caloosa Tent & Rental, Casa Ybel

Resort, Island Sun, Jerry’s Foods, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, Sanibel Captiva

Trust Company, Jim and Patty Sprankle, West Wind Inn

Reddish Egret – Mike and Terry Baldwin, Big Red Q Quickprint, Art and Susan

Cassell, Cedar Chest Fine Jewelry, Florida Weekly, LCEC, RLR Investments,

Rochester Resorts, Sandalfoot Condos, Sanibel-Captiva Kiwanis Club

Snowy Egret – Barefoot Charley’s Painting, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary

Program (CHNEP), Congress Jewelers, Dan Hahn Custom Builders, Denny’s, George &

Wendy’s Seafood Grille, Good Wheels, Grounds By Greenways, Gulf Breeze Cottages,

Heidrick & Co. Insurance, Mast Family Culligan, Nave Plumbing, Over Easy Café,

Panther Printing, Royal Shell Vacations, Sanibel Art & Frame, Anne and Jim Scott, She

Sells Seashells, Winston and Barbara Spurgeon, Suncatchers’ Dream, Thistle Lodge

As a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, DDWS works to support J.N. “Ding” Darling

National Wildlife Refuge’s mission of conservation, wildlife and habitat protection, research,

and public education through charitable donations and Refuge Nature Shop proceeds.

To support DDWS and the refuge with a tax-deductible gift, visit www.dingdarlingsociety.org or contact Birgie Vertesch at 292-0566, 472-1100 ext. 4 or dingdarlingsociety@gmail.com.

Around the Island with Anne

Local Restaurants To Showcase Menus During Culinary Celebration

by Anne Mitchell

Traditions on the Beach is one of 20 local restaurants – of which four are on Sanibel - taking part in the

Lee County-wide Restaurant Week from October 5 to 14.

Restaurant Week is a local and sustainable culinary celebration where favorite local hot spots offer a great deal on their menus. Special three-course prix fixe lunch and dinner menus have been designed to showcase local chefs.

Other Sanibel restaurants participating are Thistle Lodge, The Blue Giraffe and Sweet Melissa’s.

Traditions on the Beach, which is located on the beachfront at the historic Island Inn on Sanibel, has developed a specially selected menu which includes a wild gulf black grouper and a veal escalope for this event.

“Restaurant Week is a great time to not only be a local, but also to be a restaurant – we get to spoil our guests with a special menu and a special price, just for them,” said Andrea Mucciga, owner of Traditions on the Beach.

Traditions, Thistle Lodge and Sweet Melissa’s have been designated “green” restaurants, which means they have made a commitment to implement sustainable business practices that might include purchasing locally grown produce or locally harvested seafood when available, conserving energy and recycling.

Thistle Lodge blends American, French and Asian cooking traditions with fresh Florida seafood. It is located at 2255 West Gulf Drive, phone 472-9200.

The Blue Giraffe offers casual island dining and serves fresh local seafood, chowder, salads and steaks. Dine outside on the boardwalk or inside at hand-painted tables, inspired by a local artist.

The Blue Giraffe is in Periwinkle Place, 2075 Periwinkle Way, phone 472-2525.

Restaurant Week also features one-ofa-kind culinary experiences by some of the restaurants, including wine tastings paired with live music, cooking demonstrations, tours and classes.

All you need to do is show up at one of the 20 participating restaurants during the 10 days of the event and ask for their special prix fixe menu. Reservations are strongly recommended.

For more information, log on to www.TasteDeliciousLee.com.

Chip’s Sanibel Steakhouse is celebrating Martini Monday with two-for-one martinis from the entire martini list from 5 to 7 p.m. on Mondays. The steakhouse is at 1473 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel,

phone 472-5700.

LIVE ON THE ISLANDS

Traditions on the Beach at the Island Inn has live entertainment most nights. This week’s lineup ncludes:

Friday, dancing to Joe McCormick and singer Barbara Smith; Saturday, Joe McCormick and singer Marvilla Marzan; Wednesday and Thursday, dancing to Joe McCormick with popular favorites and smooth vocal stylings, R&B, jazz and pop. Traditions is at 3111 West Gulf

Drive, phone 472-4559.

The Crow’s Nest at ‘Tween Waters Inn will feature The New Vinyls on Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m.

to 1 a.m. Crab races are Mondays and Thursdays. Twice weekly crab races will resume October 1. The Crow’s Nest is at 15951 Captiva Drive, phone 472-5161.

Sweet Melissa’s Café features Michael David playing light acoustic background music Wednesday through Saturday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sweet Melissa’s is at 1625 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, phone 472-1956.

George & Wendy’s Sanibel Seafood Grille has live entertainment as follows: Friday, August 24, Anthony

Wayne; Thursday, Karaoke. The restaurant is at 2499 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, phone 395-1263.

The Jacaranda has entertainment from 7 to 11 p.m. as follows: Friday and Saturday, various artists are featured; Sunday, Jamaica “Dave” & Co., reggae and dance; Monday, Renata, jazz, contemporary music and dance; and Wednesday, Buckeye Ken, contemporary, Top 40 and blues. The Jacaranda is at

1223 Periwinkle Way, phone 472-1771.

The Mucky Duck on Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva, features music by Mark Dupuy on Mondays; Rich Lancaster, Wednesdays; Gene Federico, Thursdays and Saturdays; and Buckeye Ken, Fridays.

The Island Cow on Periwinkle Way has live entertainment on Friday with Dan Confrey; Saturday, Diana Lynn; and Sunday, Buckeye Ken. Phone 472-0606.

RC Otter’s, 11506 Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva, has live music daily with dining inside and out, phone 395-1142.

Keylime Bistro features live music days and nights seven days a week. New to the line-up is Ken Limeri playing jazz sax from 6 to 10 p.m. every Tuesday. The bistro is located at 11509 Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva, phone 395-4000.

Island Sun (September 21, 2012)

Another Cayo Costa Trip!

Team Petel member, Ann, took a Cayo Costa trip with friends and family over the weekend. It's one of her favorite trips on Captiva Cruises and on this outing they were treated to a dolphin chase!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9jFCO6RM2U&feature=youtu.be

There's always fun in Southwest Florida!