My sister, Mandy, and her son, Patrick, were coming to Florida to visit me, but they weren't coming from the typical places - up North, the Midwest or even Europe. No, they live on the Big Island of Hawaii, home of black sand beaches and breathtaking waterfalls, so I knew it was going to take more than sand, water and sun to impress them.

How do you amaze someone who already lives in Dreamland? I had a feeling I could find the answer on Sanibel Island. Just a short drive from my own home, this pristine southwest Florida island seemed like the perfect place for our little reunion.

It had been a whole year since I had last seen Mandy and Patrick, so I wanted to make sure our time together was memorable. I knew they would enjoy relaxing and hunting for shells on Sanibel's 15 miles of white sandy beaches, revered for having some of the best shelling in the world. Plus, with all the delicious island dining spots and fabulous little one-of-a-kind shops, Sanibel had plenty of other terrific things to do.

. . . we spent a relaxing morning at the beach finding conch and cockle shells while egrets, pelicans and herons made their way through the blue skies overhead.

Paradise Found

 We headed straight from the airport to Sanibel Moorings, a condominium resort complex where we'd be spending a few days (they wanted to stay "on the water," and my tiny swimming pool didn't cut it). Of course, the "water" they were talking about was the Gulf of Mexico, the warm body of water that hugs Florida's west coast; where you can spot dolphins playing, turtles nesting and plenty of birds fishing. Tucked at the southern tip of Sanibel at the end of a quiet road, the Moorings was away from everything, yet still close to all the island action.

From the moment we arrived we knew we had found paradise. Colorful and fragrant tropical flowering plants, fruits, palms and citrus trees bloomed all around, marked with name plaques like "Coconut Palm" and "Firebush."

We proceeded to our comfortable, fully furnished room (which included a full kitchen) and were pleased to discover that it had all the modern amenities we could ask for, plus plenty of room to spread out. Best of all, it overlooked the Gulf and was only steps away from the swimming pools and a pathway to the beach.

Of course, there were many other activities that would compete with the beach for attention: playing tennis, fishing off the dock or, with the use of Sanibel Moorings' equipment, taking a sea kayaking excursion or a canoe trip through the placid backwaters of the lagoon.

In the end, we spent a relaxing morning at the beach finding conch and cockle shells while egrets, pelicans and herons made their way through the blue skies overhead. For lunch we headed to the Island Cow, a restaurant famous for its delicious food, child-friendly atmosphere and yummy strawberry muffins.

When the friendly waitress told us that the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum had a fantastic exhibit of shells, along with a kids' Learning Lab, we piled in the car to check it out. While the museum's exhibits were inspiring enough to make us eager to head back to the beach, we suddenly had ice cream on our minds - thanks to my son, Justin, who was quite familiar with the homemade kind they make at Pinocchio's Ice Cream. Since Pinocchio's is just a hop, skip and jump from the historic Sanibel Lighthouse, we headed over with our cameras to snap a few postcard-worthy shots.


Bliss Comes Naturally

 The next morning, Mandy spotted a perfectly intact, beautifully colored horse conch shell right by her beach chair. And when she's feeling lucky, she also feels like shopping, so I promised to take her to Periwinkle Place, where I knew they had a great collection of stores. She lucked out with a silver dolphin necklace and a couple of t-shirts for Patrick, but was still wondering what to bring back to the office. I suggested that she ship fruit from Bailey's General Store, a place even the locals love to shop.

On the way to Bailey's we paid a visit to J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, where we explored the habitat of more than 220 birds, including the pink roseate spoonbill. The kids really enjoyed the Education Center, along with the great hikes we took along the picturesque Wildlife Drive.

The next morning we rented a few bikes from Sanibel Moorings and went as far as the Schoolhouse Theater on Periwinkle Way before it was time to turn around, check out and wrap up our island adventure.

By this time I had no doubt that our relaxing, nature-filled trip to Sanibel impressed Mandy and Patrick enough to say "Aloha!" again next year.