Top Interesting Things In

by Kong SG

Top 100 Interesting Things in Southwest Florida

You may have ever heard of Letterman with his "Top 10" every night, Jack Nicholson with his "Bucket List". Actually, everyone has at least one list of anything. Today, I would like to introduce a special list for those who are staying on Sanibel, Captiva, Upper Captiva, Gasparilla or Pine Island.

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Here we go:

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1. Walk the beach, wade in the surf

2. Celebrate & toast the setting sun

3. Fish the Matlacha bridge or pier

4. Parrot Heads - Eat a "Cheeseburger in Paradise" at Cabbage Key

5. Catch a trophy tarpon!

6. Book a fishing charter

7. Go parasailing - take your camera

8. Take a ride on the Sanibel Thriller

9. Propose on the beach at sunset

10. Hire a "water limo" (a water taxi)

11.

Try an Eco Tour or Sightseeing trip

12. Visit the cool shops in Boca Grande

13. Lunch at Barnacle Phils, RB & rice!

14. Lunch at Lazy Flamingo, peel & eat

15. Go shelling on the beach

16. Dinner and Rum at Doc Fords

17. Build a sandcastle, find a crab

18. Fish the surf for snook

19. Drink beer on the beach

20. Visit the Gasparilla Inn & Club in Boca Grande - Croquet anyone?

21. Buy a Tommy Bahama shirt

22. Jog on the beach - swim in the sea

23. Windsurfing at Sanibel Lighthouse

24. Drink a Hurricane, then another

25. The Loose Caboose in Boca Grande

26. Catch some snapper for dinner

27. Visit the art galleries in Matlacha

28. Cruise the flats in the Gulf for rays

29. Eat LOTS of fresh Gulf shrimp

30.

Lunch & boats at Gramma Dots

31. Lunch at the Tarpon Inn in Pineland

32. Play golf at Alden Pines

33. Bikes/Segways at Billy's Rentals

34. Build a world class tan - sunscreen!

35. Eat a dozen oysters on the half shell

36. Dinner at the Bubble Room

37. Cruise the Caloosahatchee River - Stop at Tarpon Point or Rum Runners for lunch or dinner

38. Eat at The Joint or Cafe Pignoli's (ribs on Friday!) at Cape Harbour

39. Meet a manatee - find an alligator

40. Photograph the shore birds

41. Andy's Island Seafood - Fresh!

42. Camp out on Cayo Costa

43. Wear an "IBTWYPD" bikini

44. Water taxi - tour Pine Island Sound

45. See the Sanibel Lighthouse

46. Eat ice cream at Boca Grande

47. Try Boca Grande Cart Rentals!

48. Crossed Palms Gallery - Bokeelia

49. Lunch - Waterfront in St. James City

50. Fishing guide - teach the kids to fish

51. Walk the beach at sunrise

52. Eat smelt/drink beer at Bert's Bar

53. Visit the Edison Ford estate

54. Rent a golf cart and visit the lighthouse/museum on Boca Grande

55. Dinner at Sandy Hook - Matlacha

56. Become a "snow bird"

57. Eat our stone crabs, blue crab and Pine Island clams

58. Hunt for Pirate Jose Gaspar's treasure - SWCharters. com

59. Eat a grouper sandwich; blackened!

60. Lunch at the Mucky Duck

61. Visit Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum on Sanibel

62. Curl up with Randy Wayne White's two novels Sanibel Flats & Captiva

63. Go kayaking at Ding Darling

64. Bowman Beach is one of the best

65. Rent a home at the North Captiva Island Club or Safety Harbor Club

66. Rental boats at Four Winds Marina

67. Stay at South Seas Island Resort

68. Buy fresh fruit at a Fruit Stand

69. Calusa Indian Mounds at Pineland

70. Rent a jet ski on the beach

71. Get married barefoot on the beach

72. Sail the Sound in your sloop

73. Cruise the Intercoastal, the Gulf or Charlotte Harbor in your yacht

74. Pilot a plane over the barrier islands. T & G at Page Field

75. Take a fly fishing lesson

76. Learn how to throw a cast net

77. Go snorkeling - beyond the surf

78. See a movie at Island Cinema

79. Buy your supplies at Bailey's

80. Photographers - take Wildlife Drive - Ding Darling

81. Try the Fishing Pier on Sanibel

82. Follow your bliss - retire!

83. The VERY best weather info available at capeweather. com

84. Take the Dinner Cruise from the Marriott

85. Don't worry, be happy! Drink!

86. Hit the DQ - Sanibel/Pine Island

87. Eat some Key Lime pie!

88. Buy a cool fishing shirt

89. Visit She Sells Sea Shells and say it 3 times as fast as you can

90. Breakfast/Brunch at the Lighthouse Caf�

91. Tommy Bahama clothes at Sporty Seahorse Shop - Sanibel

92. Kingfisher Aerial Tours from Pine Island

93. Change your Latitude. Buy a winter home at a bargain price!

94. Hire a water taxi - see Dolphin

95. Eat a Pine Island mango

96. Take Tropic Star to Cayo Costa

97. Hold a "pretend" business meeting on one of the islands

98. Call your boss and quit your job

99. Read the Calusan by C. Lebuff

100. Make lots of new friends - wear a thong or Speedos on the beach

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I'm the owner of SW Charters. I'd like to invite you, your friends and family to a great day on the water fishing or sightseeing in SW Florida. We offer Captiva fishing charters or adventures to Sanibel, Boca Grande and the Pine Island area. SW Charters is happy to serve as your own personal "water limo" and take you wherever you want on your schedule.

www.rei.com Brad, an REI Outdoor School instructor, demonstrates basic kayak paddle strokes in this video: the forward stroke, turning strokes, and boat-control strokes. For the forward stroke, think about placing your blade in the water and moving past it, rather than pulling the blade through the water. This increases your efficiency. The forward stroke is made up of 3 elements: the windup, the catch, and the unwind. Rotate your torso (the windup), place the blade in the water by your foot (the catch), rotate your torso (the unwind) to move your boat forward, and then take the blade out of the water when your hand reaches your hip. Now your already wound up for the next catch. It's a push with the upper hand and a pull with the lower hand while rotating the torso. In kayaking, technique is much more important than upper body strength. Now for turning strokes. The sweep stroke is a forward stroke that allows you to keep your momentum. It begins far forward in the front of the boat, sweeps way wide, and continues all the way back till the paddle touches the stern. Draw strokes help you move your kayak sideways, like to pull up next to a dock. The first draw stroke is a simple reach out and pull toward you. The other draw stroke is the sculling draw stroke: It's a sustained back and forth motion, kind of like spreading peanut butter. The final stroke we'll learn is how to stop a moving kayak—it's back paddling, the reverse of the forward stroke.

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