Explorcation is hands down the best travel channel for all things Florida! 🌴🌞 Every video feels like an adventure waiting to happen. The way they capture the beauty, culture, and hidden gems of the Sunshine State is truly remarkable. Explorcation has become my go-to source for Florida travel inspiration. Keep exploring and sharing those incredible journeys! 🌎🚗✨
Thank you so much for this incredibly kind and thoughtful comment, Scully! We love Florida and helping our viewers make the most of their time here! We hope you are able to make it down here for a visit someday!
I lived on Sanibel Island in the mid-80's and loved living there. I want to move back and am waiting for the perfect time. Most of the beautiful foliage has disappeared with Charlie and Ian which breaks my heart because the Australian Pines were the true beauty of the Islands. Thank you for giving us an update.
We couldn't even imagine how peaceful it must have been living on Sanibel back then! It's still a beautiful place, but no doubt that it has a ways to go to get back to where it once was. Thank you so much for watching our channel and taking the time to comment!
@@BlueLantern96 I'm originally from NJ and over my lifetime, I've lived in and explored 11 states in different regions. I currently live in Tempe, AZ. In 1984, I moved to Fort Myers where my mother lived. Then I moved over to the barrier islands and lived on Sanibel from 85-87. Then I moved to Nashville, TN for 6 years, then I moved to Denver, CO for several years, then I moved to Santa Fe, NM for 1 year, then I moved to Santa Barbara, CA, then I moved to the Phoenix Area, I've also lived in North CArolina, Texas, PA. I worked as an executive secretary and project coordinator for 47 years all over the country. I wanted to live in different states, I didn't just want to vacation somewhere. You really can't understand the culture of the state or region of the country and the mindsets of the people. Right now, I've been Arizona for 10 years and am 69 years old and want to move back to FL. My family have all passed now and it's just me and the cats. I was a hippy in high school and cherished my freedom, so I definitely lived a non traditional life and just lived, worked and explored for most of it.
@@louisedole7179 Thank you for sharing! sounds great. I hope you get to come back to FL and journey out to the Captiva/Sanibel islands again if you get the chance. Periwinkle Place is a cool area on Sanibel, and The Bubble Room is a very cool restaurant on Captiva. 🏝️ God bless you ✝️♥️
Been going to Sanibel Island since prenatal times in 1950s..All throughout childhood 1950s 1960s into 70's 80s 90s adulthood. #1 Favorite shelling beaches on my list!
I enjoyed this video SO MUCH this chilly morning in middle Tennessee! The beauty of Sanibel and Captiva certainly shines through and oh! my! the food and drink are, as usual, amazing to see. Thanks for your hard work to show us non-Floridians how gorgeous Florida beach communities are! 🙂
Glad we could bring the beach to you this morning, Rhonda. We were a bit surprised by how great the food is on Sanibel. We would go back just to eat at Mudbugs alone.
I’ve been to Sanibel and Captiva. My husband and I travel to Florida often. We where actually stayed on Sanibel Island and had to evacuate because of Ian. I’m so happy to see that the island is still looking green🌴
Thank you for sharing. That's so crazy that you were actually on Sanibel right before Ian. We actually talked to a lady while in Sanibel who stayed in her home on the island during Ian. I couldn't imagine how scary of an experience that must have been!
Normally I don't like these videos because my great-grandmother was the third settler on Sanibel Island Florida. My grandfather still lives there and owns half the island. I remember before the dunes were there which is a big neighborhood right beside Dixie Beach road. Please support the Bait Box... Bailey's...that's who's been there since the beginning. I enjoyed your video because growing up on a shrimp boat and Woodring point... I'm now in Los Angeles and of course miss my home 😎 I'll be back one day and ty for the respect and love for the island
We certainly understand why you don't appreciate most of these types of videos, and it's really nice to know that you found ours to be different. We really did set out with a goal of promoting the businesses and encouraging people to come back to the island and support the local economy when they need it the most! Thank you so much for watching and sharing your story. We hope you are able to return to the islands soon!
I find myself always smiling while watching your informative videos. I absolutely love seeing all of the various Florida beach towns that I have already visited and look forward to trying out new beaches and restaurants you share about 🙂🌴
We do our best to be, Judith. There's already more than enough negativity out there, so we make videos for people like us who look for the positives in things. And you are absolutely right about any day on a ship being better than a work day!
Hi, I wish I would see your video before I traveled to Sanibel and Captiva. I was so lost without bowing where to park and where to eat. Next time I am going to watch your video before my next vacation. Thank you
Really happy to see that you’re giving a lot of different businesses your business and not just one or two. After going down there for over 35 years one or twice a year, we are heading back this Thursday and it will be interesting but we’re anxious to help people out and get back to the beach!
We always try to (and enjoy) supporting as many local businesses as possible. We will continue to come back to those that we had a good experience at, which on these islands, was nearly all of them! We're happy to hear you will be visiting soon and we hope you get some great beach weather!
Thank you for such a uplifting and happy video. And most importantly we didn’t know what’s really happened to our favorite restaurant Mudbug. We heard it was gone. What a good news! 😁
It's our pleasure. Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment. Mudbugs is definitely open and their food and service were AMAZING. We hope you are able to get back to Sanibel to enjoy it again sometime soon.
Another great video from you two...Now have another area to add to our Places To Go In Florida. Prayers continue for those affected by the hurricane and for even better days ahead for them!
@@genehinders9639 we can't say for sure just because our time on Sanibel and Captiva has been limited, but judging by the number of people looking for shells around the Lighthouse beach, I'd guess that is one of the better areas for shelling.
I looked at 3-4 recently filmed Sanibel videos in the last week. They were pretty much depressing but concentrated on the hotel opening. As always your video was super uplifting and you find all the spots that I would find if I went. Maybe not as easy. Ok. I always use your videos to find the best spots to visit. I’m heading to Greenville SC next.
Sorry to hear that the other videos are still mostly negative. Honestly we might get more views if we focused on more of the negatives in our videos, but we don't see ourselves ever going that route. It's hard enough getting an upbeat video out every week... if we were putting out a depressing video every week, I'm pretty sure that we too would be depressed! We hope you have a great time in Greenville! We flew in and out of there once. We only had like 4 hours to kill there before our flight, but from the little time we had there we loved it!
I thought you did a Greenville specific video but I was mistaken. I am interested in your hiking videos from the area. Now to pick one! Not the rock climbing though. I’m a bit past that adventure.
Mucky Ducks!!! Their Oysters Rockefeller are the BEST I've ever had. I was there in November of 2021. We actually hung out on the beach and had lobster rolls my chef brother had made. It was my last day in Florida and I had to catch a plane, but not before Mucky Ducks. (I would love to have had the roast duck!!). He is gone now :-( but what a great memory. Thanks for sharing.
This is the most perfect vlog for me ! I live in Jacksonville ( hate it ) and have been trying for years to move to Fort Myers area right before the hurricane. Nothing would come thru for me so I gave up- what a blessing huh ? Anyways I wanna check out Sanibel for a mini vac soon before the holiday rush since I work at the post office and this vlog is perfect so a big thank you !!! ❤️💯🌺
Yes, definitely a blessing that nothing came through. We really hope you do get a chance to visit Sanibel before the holidays, and we really hope this video helps you to make the most of your time there!
The Sanibel Causeway toll is $6 for vehicles with a transponder and $9 for toll-by-plate. There is also a $3 administration fee. Then at least $5.00 an hour to park. That seems quite stiff considering the need to get people back over to the few open shops. That's money people could spend that shops and restaurants in my opinion.
I really wanted to see what the swamp pasta looked like....LOL ......It looks like you guys picked a good option afterall. I loved all the food I had in New Orleans, so glad it lived up to your expectations. Funny that I remember firing a pellet gun at ones of those old shooting gallery's back in my early days. I think it was at one of travelling carnivals we had here in Australia. It's interesting to see the differences from before and after the Hurricane, but glad businesses and slowly getting back to normal :)
Skylar was really trying to talk me into getting it lol. He definitely would have tried it if they didn't have etoufee on the menu. New Orleans is Skylar's #1 food city. Are you able to find Cajun food at all in Australia? That's a really cool memory about the shooting galleries... letting kids shoot a pellet gun in a public setting, one of many things that would not fly in today world 😂
@@Explorcation your right... we have strict gun laws in Australia and don't think they have pellet guns at the carnivals anymore I'm not a big foodie so never really gone around looking for cajan food. We have plenty of the common food ethnicities choices , so might have one in the CBD
do you ever use drones to shoot aeriel video for any of your videos?....it looks like in some of your videos you do - but I can't really tell....just curious...
We do have a drone, but would have to actually get a drone pilots license in order to use it in monetized videos. For that reason, we generally just use stock footage for our drone shots. Perhaps when we both go full time on the channel, we'll take the time to get drone pilot license and can incorporate some more drone shots into our videos.
I’ll tell you what you guys are really killing me here I’m originally from Florida but it’s been years since I was down in the Sanibel area and then you go to Mudbugs I believe they have a restaurant in Louisiana I can’t remember though but that name is awfully familiar, but I do miss me my Cajun foodwell fortunately for me I’ve got money saved up and I am going to be moving back to Florida somewhere. I don’t care where I’m gonna get there and I’m gonna eat good live good and do whatever else good thank you for your videos.
We both walked barefoot and went in the water at several beaches, and we did not encounter any debris. That said, we've heard that there is still some out there, and it never hurts to pack a pair of water shoes!
Hey guys, My wife and I dissagree about which rare shell "shellers" look for....she says either the paper fig, or the babies ear...I say it is the ghost welk... ( she is the avid sheller).....please help settle this argument!........great vid!
I had to look up those shell you mentioned to see what they look like and if we've seen any of them here in Florida. I don't think we have, but we're gonna keep an eye out for them. But the rare shell that many shellers are looking for in Sanibel (at least according to the lady at the chamber of commerce) is the Junonia Shell, a type of snail shell.
Everyone has their favorite shells to collect. We have so many now that we are pickier and leave many for others. Alas, no junonia yet after 35 years. Hubby is determined though!
@@deannazampa5286 my wife is the same way...when she focuses on a particular shell, she gets very determined to find it!...I think that is one thing makes "shelling" so much fun !
Look lovely places to visit, but $5 per hr parking is definitely off putting. We're surprised that they don't reduce the rates while trying to encourage visitors back...or maybe it's an Florida thing, because in the UK it would certainly affect numbers. 😮
Yeah, $5 parking is always a tough pill to swallow. One of the parks on Fort Myers Beach (just to the south) did completely eliminate parking cost for a while, and still have it reduced. I'm not sure why more don't follow suit. That's why we love to travel with our scooters or e-bikes. It allows us to park several blocks away in free/cheaper parking without having to walk a long ways to get to the beach.
We have a home in Sarasota County Florida (Venice) and the beach parking on all the beaches near us are 100% free. If you come the SW Florida come visit!
@@Dptl people live on and own private property on both Sanibel and Captiva Islands, so no we do not believe that it would not be possible to rent either island in their entirety.
