Jim Abbott – Page 18 –

Shells may be hard to find on other beaches, but they wash ashore in piles on Sanibel and Captiva, two slender barrier islands connected by a bridge off the west coast of Florida. The beaches of these islets catch treasures from the Gulf of Mexico like a colander cradles spaghetti.

Sanibel is 12 miles long and up to three miles wide; to its northwest, Captiva is five miles long and never more than half a mile wide. Together they boast 16 miles of beach lapped by Gulf waters and bayside coasts fringed in mangrove trees, with their exposed roots and bushy foliage.

If finding shells is what you like, morning low tide, before the crowds arrive, is the time for a constitutional. The beaches are beauties -- easy waves, soft sand and warm water. I found lots of clams and scallops, but nothing unusual. I picked up a heap, learning only later how to be selective.

-- Susan Spano, Los Angeles Times

Time still moves slowly on Sanibel, Captiva islands

August 23, 2019 at 10:10 a.m.

If you're in a hurry, you don't belong on Sanibel. That friendly admonition has been a pearl of wisdom on this leisurely Gulf Coast island for decades. In the 1970s,...

Among the 600 streams, springs, rivers and creeks in Ocala National Forest in north-central Florida is an unusual natural attraction. Salt Springs bubbles up from vertical fissures deep underground that produce water laced with potassium, magnesium and sodium. <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/os-exfl-central-outdoors-ocala-20150517-story.html" target="_blank">Read more</a>.

Moonlight, cabanas? That just means that it’s fall in South Beach

May 12, 2019 at 3:10 a.m.

For you people who might wonder how these columns come together, today is your lucky day. Let's pull back the veil and look at the inspiration behind this week's Postcards...

True, traveling confessions of a self-guided guy

May 12, 2019 at 3:10 a.m.

I know how this conversation is going to go, but it's always nice to keep your options open. I'm standing at the information booth at the visitor center of the...

Plenty to do this fall in Fort Myers, Sanibel

August 23, 2019 at 10:09 a.m.

This past week, I was on the road to Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and Captiva for a travel piece to run in the Orlando Sentinel in coming weeks. Summer...

Sand becomes art at this fall festival in Brevard

August 23, 2019 at 10:08 a.m.

My experiences with sand castles are inauspicious. On the beach, I'm more likely to have sand kicked in my face than to employ it in the creation of some miniature...

Built in 1995 overlooking the Gulf of Mexico on Florida's Panhandle, Rosemary Beach was based on the principles of neo-traditional design and new urbanism.

Coastal towns picture perfect on the Florida Panhandle

May 12, 2019 at 3:10 a.m.

It has been 15 years since Seaside, a meticulously manicured town on Florida's Panhandle, staked its claim to fame as the setting for "The Truman Show." In that 1998 film,...

You can see revelers such as this woman dressed as a giant margarita at the annual key West Fantasy Fest.

Tropical fun continues in the fall in Florida Keys

August 23, 2019 at 10:07 a.m.

It's summer now, but that season is pretty much endless in the Florida Keys, where the weather — and the mindset — is tropical year-round. From pirates to powerboats, here...

It’s time for summer fun at Bok Tower Gardens

August 23, 2019 at 10:06 a.m.

If you'd like to introduce the kids to a bit of Old Florida charm, Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales is one of the state's enduring gems. And the attraction...

Busker Will Soto juggles on a tightrope at the sunset celebration in Key West, Fla. The sunset celebration at Mallory Square is a daily ritual for visitors to this subtropical island at the bottom of the Florida Keys island chain.

In Mallory Square, they work hard for the money

August 23, 2019 at 10:05 a.m.

I think I just had a glimpse of my new backup plan. There it was, right next to the shimmering Gulf of Mexico, in front of a gorgeous sunset at...

Fort Jefferson, a six-sided fort situated in the Dry Tortugas National Park, Fla., 68 miles west of Key West, seen in this picture shot Thursday, July 1, 2004. Nicknamed "Gibraltor of the Gulf of Mexico," the 150-year-old fort was never fully completed and never fired upon. During the Civil War, Fort Jefferson served as a Union military prison whose most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel Mudd, convicted of complicity in Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

By air, getting to the Dry Tortugas is half the fun

May 12, 2019 at 3:08 a.m.

You can't get there from here. While that's an exaggeration, there aren't many options for reaching Dry Tortugas National Park, which encompasses seven tiny islands about 70 miles west of...

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