Sanibel Island

Can you guess what this is? It's a manatee! During the last week in February we visited Sanibel Island, Florida, aka manatee country. Michael's parents took us and his sister's family to a beach-front condo, from which we could literally walk out onto the beach to hunt for shells, play in the water, and watch the sunset. Another highlight of the trip was when we went to a marina to see the manatees swimming and playing in the water. The weather was sunny and in the eighties the whole week -- absolutely wonderful after several months of New England weather.

Besides the beach and weather, the food options on Sanibel also really impressed me. I wasn't sure how much food I would be able to find at the grocery stores to feed us, but I was happily surprised. Bailey's General Store had labels on the shelves for their gluten-free items, and they even had Bob's Red Mill products, coconut milk ice cream, and Applegate Farms bacon. We ate out for lunch at the Island Cow, which had a great gluten-free menu. The girls and I also had delicious dairy-free sorbetto at PocoLoco and Pinocchio's Original Italian Ice Cream, although unfortunately neither place had any corn-free options for Michael. He made up for it with some Breyer's ice cream back at the condo, though.

Some other family-friendly restaurant possibilities to keep in mind for a future visit include Matzaluna Italian Kitchen and the Sanibel Grill. And if Michael and I were ever on Sanibel for a date night, Sweet Melissa's Cafe and the Mad Hatter both look like great places to go for a romantic evening out.