March 14, 2009: Cabbage Key to Sanibel Island

Today’s plan was to investigate the lovely Cabbage Key, a small island in the waterway between Cayo Costa and the mainland. Supposedly, the island is an Indian Shell Mound, a ceremonial area from Native Americans who built up the area with oyster shells centuries ago. The island is 38 feet above sea level and one of the highest points in this area of Florida. The only way to reach the island is by boat, and we found the docking area very congested as diners came and went. They serve an average of 700 people for lunch every day and boast that they are always open, no matter what the weather, 365 days a year. When approaching, the dock master suggested we wait for the Lady Chadwick tour boat to depart making room for us.

The island was purchased by Alan Reinhart (son of the famous mystery novelist Mary Roberts Reinhart) in 1929 for $2,500 where he and his wife built their winter estate. Their construction included solar powered systems and a 25,000 gallon rainwater system. Later the estate became open as a resort and restaurant. The story goes that to guarantee service on their return, fisherman would post a dollar bill on the bar on their way out fishing. Now the Cabbage Key restaurant has 125,000 dollar bills tacked up on its walls and ceilings, each signed by the person putting it on deposit. You can now add one more, since we left one too. The waitress said if any ever fell to the floor, they were donated to a local charity for abused children.

Supposedly this was the place that Jimmy Buffet visited before he wrote the song “Cheeseburger in Paradise”. It truly is a paradise, with the blue green clear water and lush greenery. Tom and I enjoyed cheeseburgers and shared a delicious slice of frozen key lime pie there for lunch. We were seated at a table on the screened deck overlooking two massive banyon trees. A banyan tree is really distinctive in that as the tree grows up with massive branches, it sprouts roots that grow down from the branch to support it.

We took the walk in the soft white sand on the nature trail around the island and saw interesting vegetation including the red mangrove trees – sometimes called a walking tree because of its complex root structure, frequently standing in water. The coolest find on the trail were the two Gopher turtles. They were land tortoises about two feet long and seemed a natural part of the habitat crawling along carrying their shiny brown houses with them.

We also climbed to the top of the 60 foot tall water tower that was built in the 1930's where you could view the adjacent islands and the boats dotting the waterway.

Casting off after our visit to Cabbage Key, we moved south to anchor out behind Sanibel Island for the night. We saw the Sanibel Princess on its sunset cruise and watched sun set over the Sanibel causeway.