Wow! This is really cool!

TripAdvisor.com is one of the most active travel sites on the web with the basis of its service being real customer reviews based on real experiences of travelers to a particular location.

This year, 2011, is the first time that they have put out a list of the “Best U.S. Beaches” and “Best World Beaches” based on the thousands and thousands of customer reviews on their site.

And guess what? We did pretty darn well!

Sanibel Island Beaches ranked #5 and Captiva Island Beaches ranked #8 on the Top U.S. Beaches List… Now, THAT is impressive considering the hundreds of beaches to choose from in the entire U.S.!

Be proud of your beaches, they literally ARE some of the best beaches in the world…

I copied the list for you below, but if you want to read the entire article, you can simply check it out here: Travelers’ Choice Beaches Award

Woo Hoo!  I’m feeling pretty proud right now!

Have a great weekend,

Sandy and Rob

p.s. Come on over to the office and let us show you the great new Sanibel and Captiva listings that we have… it will be well worth it!

Wow!  Did this year go by fast, or what?

Well, so much has happened on Sanibel and Captiva this past year that I thought I would do a little recap below to remind us of just how blessed we truly are!

In January, we had the First Annual “Dancing with the Island Stars” and in February, we lost a true Sanibel Island inspiration, photographer Ted Cross.  In March, Captiva and Sanibel Islands were voted #8 in Barron’s Magazine for the “Best Place to Build a Second Home” and in April, we put the spotlight on our amazing Historical Village!

May began the nightmare Deepwater Horizon debacle, which we reported on extensively throughout May, June, July and August.  Also in July, we focused on the BIG ARTS Summer Camp and in August, the ordinance for ridding the islands of Brazilian Pepper Trees was approved and the work began.

In September, Sanibel lost an island icon, Sam Bailey.

In October, all of Southwest Florida shined bright, as money was raised from all over the area for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in November, among all of the festive events going on, the “Taste of the Islands” restaurant competition had another phenomenal year!

Last, but certainly not least, in December, our very own “Island Home Adventures” Tour Van arrived, which takes all of our clients around the islands in style searching for the home of their dreams!  Have you seen it yet?  It’s so beautiful…

So, there you have it!

2010 in a nutshell…

We can’t wait to see you all in 2011… It’s going to be a GREAT year!

Happy New Year!

Be safe and have fun… we raise a glass to you, our dear readers, because without you, life would get pretty boring around here!  LOL

See you next year…

Sandy and Rob

What a great feel-good story!

Finally.

This 12-year-old girl from Cape Coral who always vacations off the coast of the Keys with her family was fascinated by a sunken ship as she snorkeled with her brother and decided to create something really interesting out of her curiosity.

The article, “12-year-old snorkeler develops documentary of sunken ship” explains that Delanie Kirwan got all the permits necessary to film the wreckage and has discovered that it was the personal yacht of Henry Ford, which at one point, was docked a good portion on Sanibel Island.  Fancy that!

It’s a nice article that was a breath of fresh air in the midst of the typical bleak news these days!

Hope you all have a great long weekend and Happy 4th!!

Sandy and Rob

p.s.  You can check out our listings directly here at Sanibel Island Beach Homes

Just in time for Halloween…

Do you remember the movie from 1985 called “Day of the Dead?”  It was the third installment of George Romero’s Horror trilogy that followed “Night of the Living Dead” and “Dawn of the Dead”… You can read more about it here at Day of the Dead.

Anyway, did you know that it was filmed in downtown Ft. Myers and right here on Sanibel Island?

It’s true.

We even have living proof in the fact that our very own Rob Coscia was an “extra” in the film!  He was a zombie and you can see him in the photo to the right immediately after they applied the makeup and were getting ready to shoot for the day… isn’t that funny?

So, you have to ask Rob next time you see him what it was like to be in a real Hollywood movie!

I just thought this was fun island trivia as we celebrate Halloween tomorrow…

So, have a fun Halloween weekend and don’t eat too much candy (oh, and watch out for any stray zombies out there, lol),

Sandy and Rob

p.s.  See you at the ‘Tween Waters Hallo’Tween Party tomorrow night… see last week’s post:  Hallo’Tween Party

p.s.s. SanCap One Source Realty rocks!!

Woo hoo!   We’re gonna be famous… We’re gonna be famous!

The reason that I’m so excited is because one our friends, Rusty Farst, over at Video Biography, LLC has created a fun little short film for the big screen about Sanibel Island called “Sandbars To Sanibel”.

Filmed entirely on the island, Rusty and his crew set out to show a historical perspective of the modern Sanibel Island that we all know and love today.

The official unveiling of this “straight-from-the-heart” project will be at Big Arts on November 12th, 2009 during the Celebrate Sanibel Festivities with a big red carpet event and everything!  I can’t wait!!

However, Rusty and his team will be having a screening at the Island Cinema in October to raise the funds necessary to bring this homegrown “gem” to the public. So, we sure hope that you can come along and help out…

And guess what?  You can see the actual trailer below……..  So, enjoy and be sure to leave your comments below to tell what you reeeally think!!

Have a great weekend,

Sandy and Rob

p.s.  SanCap One Source loves a good movie flick, especially when it hits so close to home… Thanks Rusty for all of your efforts!