A personal rant about my vacation and the fear of oil approaching…
I just returned from a family vacation to Captiva Island. Captiva is a small island just north of Sanibel on the Gulf of Mexico. Although I have been here before, this is my first time staying on the Island. Having planned this trip a year ago, I was continually asked if we were still going due to the oil spill. Honestly, I had not given it a second thought. Although the oil spill was miles away, the concern was present in the area.
The island was as beautiful as I remembered. Traveling across the causeway from Ft. Myers, you can see many recreational boaters and fishermen. We arrived in Captiva Village and our rental house on Andy Rosse Lane. As we picked up the key to our rental, we were told of many tourists already cancelling their vacation to Captiva. This surprised me.
One thing I love the most about Captiva is all the local dining within walking distance especially The Mucky Duck and R.C. Otters (where I tried oysters for the first time and they also serve an excellent breakfast), ice cream at Latte Da. People are drawn to this area for the great food, beaches and spectacular sunset views. 
The fresh seafood was outstanding, but we were told they are not sure how long that will continue.
The next day on the beach we had several dolphin sitings – amazing. We met locals visiting the beach to take pictures “for the last time”. I did not understand this. Was everyone over reacting or was there really a potential threat to this area? I then looked around to see everything that would be affected by the oil. The marine life, the beach water sport rental company (YOLO – You Only Live Once), the vendor who sells ice cream and hot dogs from his pontoon boat, restaurants and the vacation rental companies.
Probably the moment that impacted me the most was the dolphin cruise at Pine Island Sound. The cruise departed from the South Seas Island Resort Marina. Being a boater, I was enamored by the site. The water was beautiful and full of boats of all sizes. It was low tide, so the barnacles were visible on the docks and sea walls – very cool. We also saw three manatee’s in the marina. Amazing. Leaving the marina, we had a beautiful view of Captiva and all the wildlife. Five minutes later we had our first dolphin siting which took my breath away. It really hit me how this area and the wildlife would be affected by an oil spill.
By the end of the trip, we booked the house in Captiva for next year.
I am not an environmentalist, but was very touched by my experiences this week. My heart goes out to the wildlife, fishermen and gulf communities already damaged by the oil spill. Please continue to support tourism in the states surrounding the gulf and pray for a quick fix.
I hope we see all this beauty again next year. 
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We are set to go to Rosemary Beach florida week after next… Wish u luck!
Glad you are going Kris – Rosemary Beach is near Panama City correct? Have a good trip and good luck.
Thanks for the continues concern and confidence in Captiva. Though we wish no one the results of the oil disaster, Captiva and Sanibel are well protected by the Gulf loop current. Any escaping oil to the south of the well area will be herded 150-200 miles to the west of our Islands. More on this gulf loop on our website, captivavacation.com.