After Hurricane Ian: Sanibel vacationer posts uplifting message

Mark H. Bickel, Fort Myers News-Press
·1 min read
Members of the Savage family, from left to right - Isabella, Mary Kate, Reagan and Nicole Savage - watch a sunset during their Sanibel vacation in April.
Members of the Savage family, from left to right - Isabella, Mary Kate, Reagan and Nicole Savage - watch a sunset during their Sanibel vacation in April.

Note to readers: On April 15, Carolyn HIggins Savage made this post in the Sanibel Island Facebook Group. Sanibel was one of the hardest hit locations on Sept. 28, 2022 when Hurricane Ian, an intense Category 4 storm, caused catastrophic damage across the barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico.

Savage, who lives in Toledo, Ohio, felt compelled to share this uplifting message as the Sanibel community continues its long road to recovery. In her Facebook post Savage included a variety of photos of her family having fun on Sanibel − fishing, shelling, kayaking, eating out and watching sunsets.

She gave us permission to share her Facebook message on our platforms.

Our Sanibel vacation mission: Support this recovering community

Just returned from a magical six night stay at Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa. Here’s our take…

First off, please know that we vacation on Sanibel every year for spring break. We’ve been coming to Sanibel regularly for the past 17 years. After Ian we met as a family and decided to continue our vacation tradition in an attempt to support the businesses that are trying to open. Here’s what we managed:

We ate at:

  • Captiva House

  • Mucky Duck

  • Mud Bugs

  • Timbers

  • Rosalitas

  • Doc Fords

  • Blue Giraffe Food Truck

  • Oasis Pool Bar

  • Boops

Reagan Savage holds a shell she found on the beach during her family's vacation on the island in April.
Reagan Savage holds a shell she found on the beach during her family's vacation on the island in April.

We shopped at:

  • Sanibel Surf Shop

  • Beach shop across from Boops

  • Jerry’s

  • Farmers Market

See Sanibel from high in the sky: What is Sanibel Island looking like these days? See the view from our drone video

We went to mass at St. Isabel’s; kayaked, rode bikes; met a shell fairy at the Community House Shell Show and found a Junonia at sunset.

The devastation on the Gulf side of Sanibel is breathtaking, disorienting and hard to see. It’s going to take time but it will never come back if we don’t support the businesses that are working diligently to rebuild.

If you can…go!

You won’t be sorry!

− Carolyn Higgins Savage

A magic moment: The relighting of the Sanibel lighthouse

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Sanibel island vacationer shares uplifting message on Facebook