Sanibel Island, FL
For disabled/neurodiverse individuals, there always that one happy place we seek out. For most of my life, it’s been Sanibel Island, Florida. As a New Englander, I have my limits with winter and the cold and I always look forward to coming down here to get away from the hardships that come with it.
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You may wonder why I would include something like Sanibel Island in a blog about neurodiversity. The truth of the matter is that like anyone out there, we all have what is known as a laughing place…where we go to bring nothing but joy into our lives. But this is especially true with disabled/neurodiverse individuals as many of us are forced to endure the hardship of daily life.
The problem is that for some disabled/neurodiverse individuals, sometimes getting to that laughing place is easier said than done. I have been very fortunate to do what I do to get to my laughing place and aside from my work in the disability/neurodiversity community, Sanibel Island is something I think about on a daily basis. In a way, it’s kind of my secondary homebase of operations.
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The history of our family on Sanibel Island, of course, goes back to my paternal grandparents, Shirley and Thomas Snyder. When they were in their 60’s, they would pile up in their car and drive down to Sanibel to spend their winters and when I was growing up, we would spend a week with them, fishing, eating out, going to the beach, you name it.
In recent years, we have picked up where they left off and look to continue the tradition going forward. One of my favorite traditions is collecting seashells on the beaches of which Sanibel is known for. In fact, I have a collection of seashells that are placed in my bedside lamp at my apartment.
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Captiva Island, FL
There is also Sanibel’s sister island, Captiva, which is known for it’s sunsets and there is no better place to experience a sunset than at the Mucky Duck Pub which holds sunset dinners every night depending on the weather.
Mucky Duck Pub in Captiva Island, FL
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Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers
If you want to get down to Sanibel and start a tradition of your own, your best bet is to fly into Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers on any of the major airlines like American, United and Delta or any of the major low-cost airlines like Southwest or JetBlue.
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Sanibel Moorings in Sanibel Island, Florida
As for where to stay, I would strongly recommend Sanibel Moorings which has a strong history with my family as one of my late uncles owned a property here that he would rent out to others. They have two sides for you to choose from: a dockside or a beachside property. For us, we have always stayed on the beachside
Personally, one of these days, however, I would like to get a seasonal winter home down in or near Sanibel so I can spend the winters away from the cold of New England or if I just want to get away for a weekend at any time during the year.
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Furthermore, my creativity thrives in Sanibel, so you might see me pump out fanfictions or other publications when I am down here. As Florida continues to grow as an eastern hub for my advocacy, I look to coming down here more frequently in the years to come and they won’t just be in the winter as I have done recently in the past year.
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Catch you all later!!
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