30 Day-Beach Bum 2025 version

So, after being a novice Beach Bum for many years I think this year it's time to turn it up a notch and move up to Semi–Pro. Normally we only spend about a week on Captiva or Sanibel. This year we’ve rented a house on Sanibel and the plan is to spend the month of June. This will give me plenty of time to hone my Beach Bum skills. I won't be going it solo my trusty co-pilot is of course here for the fun and during the month we will feature guests appearances from some seasoned Beach Angels and we will also be qualifying some new Beach Angels who will be here on their inaugural tour.  

What do you think is required to be a successful Beach Bum?

Here is my checklist.  Let me know if there is anything I missed.

Love for the Beach
Willingness to relax
Sun protection
Hydration
Comfortable chair
Towel

I read to qualify as a professional Beach Bum it requires a minimalist attitude.  Seeing the back of the Pickup bed was fully packed for the trip down here I may not meet the minimalist requirement.  I guess my style will be more like a Beach Bum Billionaire living on a retired persons income.

We got the first week to ourselves and the plan is to get settled in and scope out all the beach options. There are six beaches on Sanibel you must pay to park. At $5 per hour.  Qualifying as a semi-pro Beach Bum on Sanibel could get expensive! There are also another seven beach access point where you need a permit to park. We purchased a Non-resident Beach parking permit from the City of Sanibel, and we will be able to park at all these Beach accesses and not worry about the parking meter running out while we are on the beach. Parking violations get a hefty $150 fine and could easily break a Beach Bum's budget.  
  
Sanibel is still in recovery mode from Hurricane Ian (2022). Milton(2024), and Helene(2024) didn't make landfall on Sanibel but winds and surge from the outer bands of these storms didn't help the community that was still reeling from Ian. There are many structures that are still in some state of repair. 

Most noticeable is the impact of Ian's storm surge. The saltwater intrusion has taken a toll on the vegetation. 130 MPH winds and surge up to 12 feet hit the island. The impact to the local businesses has been dramatic. Some of our favorites are gone completely and others are just getting back on their feet. Our mission besides honing those Beach Bum skills we will also show some love and support to those businesses that are bold enough to give it another shot.

So far we have checked out the Fulgur Street beach access and the Lighthouse Beach.  Both beaches had a fair amount of people present but there was still plenty of room to practice Beach Bumism.  

Beyond the Beach a bums gotta eat and drink!  We checked out two new to us restaurant options.
First up was Wickies Lighthouse Restaurant.  This is a new partnership between the once owners of the Island Cow and the Mad Hatter.  The island Cow was lost to fire before Hurricane Ian and the Mad Hatter lost its battle with hurricane Ian.  The name Wickies Lighthouse Restaurant  pays homage to the days of old when lighthouses were fueled by kerosene and the keepers were called Wickies.  The food and service were top notch fit for a Beach Bum Billionaire! Some of the largest shrimp I have ever had.  

The next restaurant just reopened a few short weeks ago  Key Lime Bistro in the middle of historic Captiva Island Village.  I don't know why in all the years we have been coming to Sanibel and Captiva we never had been to the Key Lime Bistro another delicious meal and drinks.  I could have had a "Dirty Girl Scout" but elected for an "Orange Colada" instead (taste like an orange dreamsicle).  A "Dirty Girl Scout is a Frozen concoctions that help you hang on!  Not what some of you may have thought when you read that. Key Lime Pie for desert is a must!

Frozen Concoctions that help you hang on!

Speaking of Frozen concoctions we brought down a Ninja Slushie and the house we are at has a Margaritaville margarita Maker.  This Beach Bum Life is gonna be lit!

Till next time I'm going to share some Beach Bum Philosophy with you.  "keep the sand between your toes and out of your crack!"
 

Key Lime Bistro they're open show em some Love

Comments

JimBob said…
Glad you are getting settled in! My mind was racing about the “dirty Girl Scout” drink! 😂
June 4, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In the Blink of an Eye

Image
It's been a rough week this week.  While I generally keep my blog on the lighter side.  My words come from my head, but my desire to write comes from my heart.  My heart this week has felt both pain and Joy some of which I'll share with you today. On Monday Nov. 20th I'm on the mends from a rough couple of days on what looks like could be a precursory strike from a future Kidney Stone.  Spent a couple of days on pain meds, telling myself I'm not going to the ER.  Carol's been battling the crud and been coughing a lot for the past week.  We get a visit from Kristine, our daughter (technically Daughter-in law) but we adopted here years ago when she moved down here from Oregon to carve out a life with our son Ryan.  In her selfless manner, she's here to deliver a spare nebulizer to her Missouri mom, who's been fighting the crud.  Why? Because that's just who she is. She didn't visit for long, and we shared a few passing comments about her not wanting...
Read more

Exploration beyond the beach

Image
So the theme this year is about new experiences and first for us while here on Captiva/Sanibel. Our house this year sits on the water up the channel from Blind Pass.  This is a first for us usually we are trying to get closer to the gulf but the island is narrow down by Blind Pass and it is a pretty short walk to the beach. The house is not much more than 30 foot off the water and has a dock which has led to many new discoveries for the Beach Angels.  I put together a Scavenger Hunt for the Angels this year.  They are getting older and I wanted to open their eyes to the wonderful world of nature that surrounds this island. The Scavenger hunt has about forty items.  They either need to collect or spot the items while here this week.  Lexi  and I spent quality time this evening sitting on the dock and watching nature in all its splendor.  From Rainbows, Osprey eating a fish and a alligator we got a little of everything tonight.  Best part was just s...
Read more

Hey Mike,Mike,Mike Hump Days are not allowed on vacation!

Image
So I have been a little behind in posting to the blog this year.  The time is flying by way too fast.  Wednesday's plan was a day at the beach.  I started off by getting a few shots of the sunrise from the dock.  Nothing like watching the world wake up in paradise.  I was then off to Baileys for some Doughsants.  This was another first for us.  We never heard of a doughsant before but thought what the heck lets give them a try.  I kind of envisioned the light airy texture of a croissant mixed with the glazed goodness of a doughnut. The folks at Baileys are so polite.  The lady at the Bakery counter told me this batch came out smaller than normal so they gave me double the amount for the same price! The outside was like I expected but there was some sort of filling inside a little like a cream cheese but with some sort of flavoring that was not sweet.  Sorry not a big fan of the doughsant...
Read more

Prepping for Paradise

OK! Its time to blow the dust off this blog and get ready to share our next adventures in Paradise.  In my book Paradise is Captiva/Sanibel Florida. A place where we call our home every one-two years for a week away from the daily grind. I'm drawn to Captiva so that is where we set up our home base for the week.  We also seem to zero in on Laika  Lane.  We have stayed at several of the houses on Laika lane over the years and this one will be no different.  This one is a Cutie! Our group this year will be the usual suspects.  My granddaughters, the beach angels.  My daughter, wife and a new rookie to Sanibel/Captiva my daughter's boyfriend. So the truck is washed, waxed and ready to load.  Its become somewhat of a ritual to put a coat of wax on before the trip.  Some say its because I want to have a nice looking vehicle to start off on the trip.  In reality it makes it easier to clean all the love bugs and other unfortunate insects...
Read more

Finding your "Happy Place"

So it's been two years since I've been to my "Happy Place".  Now don't get me wrong it's not that I'm an unhappy guy.  I have a good life and a great family.  There are many things that make me happy.  Anything from a giggle to a hug from any of my five granddaughters makes me happy.  A cruise in my 66 with the top down and the deep rumble coming from the side-pipes makes me happy.  Sitting on the porch and hearing nothing but the call of a mourning dove in the morning or a bull frog breaking the evening quiet these all make me happy. However; when it comes to going to my "Happy Place" there really only one place that does it for me and that place is Captiva/Sanibel.  It's been two years since we've been here so this trip will be like catching up with an old friend. For those of you that know what it's like to find your "Happy Place" congratulations.  For those of you who don't the best way I can describe it is like ...
Read more

Mission: Florida Georgia Line Codename: Zero Dark Thirty

Image
Waking up before alarm goes off at zero dark thirty a.k.a. 2:00 a. m.: check Hot shower and a shave:  check Cooler iced and ready for action: check Last minute items loaded in truck: check iPod loaded with tunes and podcast for the trip:  check Tall Tall cup of coffee which I will regret later:  check Carry the sleeping beach angels to the truck try not to wake them or they'll turn into devils:  check,check Say goodbye to the dogs, cats and other family members not fortunate enough to deploy on this mission: check, check, check Load the wife in the truck:  no need to check she wouldn't miss it for the world even if it meant sleeping overnight in the truck! So we deploy this mission on time  actually 1 hour earlier than we would mormally leave.  Everything  is going great until! We live in a rural area it's about a 40-50 mile drive over back roads to get to the interstate we need to get on. No problem, ac...
Read more

Paradise Lost?

 Is it possible to love a place as much as you love a person? I ask because I’ve been dating paradise for 20+ years now.  I was first introduced to her by some good friends.  From our first encounter I was drawn to her beauty and warmth.  She had a welcoming embrace and was always willing to share herself with us.  Over the years we have collected countless memories for me and my family. A few years ago I began chronicling some of those memories of my time with paradise on this blog.  I was just looking back at some of those previous post about a month ago.  I thought I should convert them to a hard cover book for a keepsake item to those who have shared paradise with me over the years.  Don’t get me wrong this is not the last chapter by any means but maybe just my first edition. Our relationship has always been somewhat of a long distance one.  I check in on her from time to time and try to get down to see her at least once a year.  Whi...
Read more

30 Day Beach Bum (Momma don't take my kodachrome Away!)

Image
The second wave of Special guest is coming towards the end.  We have been blessed with sunny days.  The rain has held off till late evenings all week so Adalynn, Riley, and Lucas have managed to get alot done on their Scavenger hunt.  We've also logged some more Beach time.   We did go back to the deeded beach access once.  Its a great spot very few people on the beach there, but the the path to the beach is a challenge. So we have spent more days down at the Fulgar Street Beach access. The unloading zone is more open and less tempting for the blood sucking welcoming committee. For those of you who know our daughter-in-law (Kristine), she was in a car accident back in 2023.  Today she is still battling issues with walking but true to the trooper she is she didn't let that stop her from experiencing the Gulf for the first time.  All we needed was a trolling motor    Mission Success-Now how we gonna get her outta there? The scavenger Hunte...
Read more

Heading to Paradise Ocean breezes, Frozen refreshments, Time to Exhale

Time is rapidly approaching for our annual adventures to paradise, Captiva and Sanibel Florida.  While nothing beats this place for true relaxation there's also a considerable amount of enjoyment in the days building up to the departure.  You can feel the excitement build daily as everyone starts getting things ready for the 1,200 mile excursion. While the drive is not my favorite part of the vacation the end result is worth the time in the car.
Read more

Don't choke the Chicken in Key West

Image
 After our adventure out to Dry Tortuga National Park, we decided to have dinner in Key West before heading back to Marathon.  A few things we noticed about Key West:  Parking is at a premium You don't need an alarm clock in Key West There's a turf war going on in Key West Don't choke the chicken in Key West Duvall is party central Mahi Tacos at Flying Monkeys Saloon are off the chain We parked in the city garage off Grinnell street when we arrived at the ferry dock for our trip.  It was a little after 6:00 a.m.  In Key West, you don't need to bring an alarm clock.  They provide one free of charge in the form of a two legged feathered dynamo who is sure to let you know when the sun is coming up.  There were roosters and chickens everywhere, and the roosters were announcing the coming of the new day.  No hitting the snooze button here!  Foghorn Leghorn Says “As senior rooster ’round here, it’s my duty, and my pleasure, to instruct junior roost...
Read more