All right, all right—we know that no matter how tempting the sports
scene in Florida may be for some Hideaways members, a substantial number
of you just can't get beyond the beaches. And why should you? Those wide swaths
of white sand, the aquamarine waters, the endless sunny days—all make for
beaches that are beyond compare.
But to start, we offer a word of warning: If you've got to have sand between
your toes to make your vacation complete, avoid the Keys. While Key West has
plenty to offer, the grainy stuff is not high on the list.
Some of our favorite Florida beaches are to be found on North Captiva
Island. As on its sister islands to the south, Captiva and Sanibel, the
shelling here is fabulous. But since the island is accessible only by plane or
by boat—albeit a short ride, just 15 minutes from Pine Island—there
are fewer people to compete with, and you have better odds of snaring a really
good memento of your trip. In fact, it is North Capptiva's very isolation that
has left it unspoiled, virtually untouched by T-shirt shacks or developers'
bulldozers. And so the island's five miles of beaches are wide and white and
wonderful. Two-thirds of them border a 700-acre preserve, meaning that chances
are you will have them all to yourself—and the loggerhead turtles,
manatees, and more than a hundred species of birds that reside there.
Fall/Winter 2001
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