Coastal Breeze News

For months, Coastal Breeze News has been teasing its readers with the chance to get involved in the ongoing archaeological dig in the Estates area of Marco Island. Well, the wait is finally over. A call to Marco Island Historical Society Members was first sent out and now the Society is reaching out to the general public for a chance to get their hands dirty and find ancient artifacts left by the Calusa Indians. Twenty mounds of dirt were dug up in an “archaeologically sensitive area” during the sewer installation process and dropped at a location on the corner of ... Read More »

By Randall Kenneth Jones For those Marco residents who happened to look skyward on the afternoon of Saturday, February 23rd, the highly unique image of ten Elvis impersonators descending upon Marco may now be permanently etched in their memory. After all, Marco is no stranger to magnificent events but Physicians Regional Healthcare System has likely raised the bar on “grand” with their spectacular celebration to mark the Grand Opening of the new Physicians Regional-Marco Island. For Marco residents, this occasion may have also slightly redefined an oft-quoted pop-culture axiom. Where Elvis may have once “left the building;” on Marco Island ... Read More »

One of the highlights of the Fakahatchee Coastal Cruise is watching birds settle down for the night in the rookery, as seen in this photo by Francine Stevens. Winding throught the Ten Thousand Islands, you will soon arrive at Fakahatchee Island, where a naturalist will point out unusual plants on the path up the ancient shell mound to the old cemetery. This is a unique opportunity to learn about our outer islands and the communities that existed in olden times. It is also a chance to see the Ten Thousand Islands ecology that has not changed for over fifty years! ... Read More »

On Sunday, March 10th, MarGood Harbor Park in Goodland will be transformed for the Inaugural Harbor Arts & Music Festival. The host of the festival, which features 25 fine artist, six fabulous music acts and three delicious food vendors, is the Goodland Arts Alliance. What began as a bubble over the heads of 12 artists and lovers of art in Goodland only six months ago has become a reality in the form of the Harbor Arts & Music Festival. Proceeds from the festival will go towards preserving the arts in Goodland along with preserving the four historic cottages in the ... Read More »

“Scientists from around the world have come to Rookery Bay to study the batfish. They are a relatively little known species worldwide,” explains Renee Wilson of Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. A bottom feeding fish with fins that help it “walk” across the sea floor, it uses an “esca” or fake lure attached to its forehead (think “Finding Nemo”) to lure fish for food. Chosen for its rather rare worldwide status, but found frequently in the waters of the Reserve, the batfish is the mascot of the Friends of Rookery Bay’s annual fundraiser. The Fourth Annual Batfish Bash for ... Read More »

Year after year, Sunshine Booksellers hosts some of the finest writers at its location at 677 South Collier Boulevard. Owners, Stuart and Theresa Unsworth always welcome any and all to stop by their unique book store during their many book signing events. Having already hosted Karna Small Bodman, James Sheehan, Tom Dorsey and most recently, Randy Wayne White, the Unsworth’s are on a roll and just won’t quit. Next up to appear at the family-owned book store is Robin Cook. Discussing and signing copies of his new book, “Nano,” Cook will be at Sunshine Booksellers on March 26th at 4 ... Read More »

By Steven Banks Q: You are getting ready to attempt a non-stop, 24-hour, consecutive paddle of a kayak on March 30th and 31st, Easter weekend. This is your second attempt and last year you were almost struck by lightning after 13 ½ hours of paddling. What motivates you to put your health, and for that matter, your life on the line to attempt this? A: Quite honestly, I have a very bad addiction to helping people. But unfortunately, I do not have the finances to support this habit on my own. So my wife and I started Dreamlander Tours so ... Read More »

A small group of dedicated volunteers has been busy planning the 5th Annual Marco Island Seafood Festival which will take place at Veteran’s Community Park on March 23rd and 24th. Each year the committee fine tunes the event making it better and better. One major change this year, the festival will no longer be billed solely as a Seafood Festival. It was decided since most of the attendees of the Festival loved the music almost as much as the food, and the festival did showcase headliners such as the Landsharks, “music” should have equal billing. Rightly so! The new name: ... Read More »

It’s another day in paradise, and season is in full bloom and it is already Monday and I feel like I just passed myself leaving when I walked in the shop this morning! Ah, yes season on Marco Island. Everything is moving at breakneck speed, the volume of work coming in is beyond overwhelming. It involves the simplest repair to the most complicated special orders to basic requests, the phone never stops ringing, and the best way to describe it is drinking from a fire hose. That’s the way it is here in paradise, suck it up and deal with ... Read More »

Goodland’s Community Center on Mango Avenue used to be home to our Volunteer Fire Department and before that, who knows? It sits on land once occupied by Calusa Indians who were known as shell collectors and fierce warriors. And that’s a fact! These Calusas were fishermen who lived on the waterways of Southwest Florida for years. They died out in the late 1700 hundreds due to disease brought by the Europeans and invading enemy tribes. Incidentally, the Spanish explorers found these Indians to be very unfriendly and I think we would have too! Just look at one of their ceremonial ... Read More »

The Annual Everglades Homes Tour is the highlight event for this weekend on Saturday, March 9, from 1 to 5 PM. Come visit some of our oldest homes and buildings in Collier County. The cost is $20 and includes a souvenir book. Tickets are available from the Everglades Society for Historic Preservation’s website at www.evergladeshistorical.org or at the Art-in-the-Glades which will be taking place at McLeod Park beginning at 10 AM that same day. For more information, call Marya Repko at 239-695-2905. Also, on the same day from 1 to 3 PM, the Friends of the Museum of the Everglades ... Read More »

Life aboard GRENDEL continued to keep us diligent and aware of our surroundings at sea. We had weather gathering capability, but not like you would have today. At that time, all we had was a SSB single sideband/ham radio. Each morning we would tune in and listen to David Jones in AM and Herb Hilgenberg in the evenings. We would get weather faxes from NOAAH on our SSB. Now with internet, it is possible to get weather as a result of Wi-Fi at a good number of the Caribbean anchorages. Boating has come a long way in such a short ... Read More »

Restaurant challenges combine to make a very long list. Being able to keep up with the trends and desires of your guests can make or break your business. As we move into our second season, and making the move from a capacity of 70 seats to 267 seats, we are constantly listening to our audience and asking questions. As we have adapted to dietary restrictions and customer palates, we have gained an enormous amount of knowledge. Life changes daily, and so do our desires for a healthier lifestyle. Salmon has become a favorite, as well as fresh spinach. One of ... Read More »

Situated at 7,000 feet above sea level in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southern range of the Rockies, Santa Fe has a mild climate with an annual rainfall of 14 inches and snowfall of 32 inches. Visiting this capital of New Mexico, three aspects impressed me immediately; the architecture, the art, and the richly textured history reflected in today’s mixture of cultures. It’s not that we were unfamiliar with adobe or pueblo style architecture. We once house hunted with friends in St. George, Utah where all the newer developments emphasize this style. And we have good ... Read More »

Typically the month of March brings some of the best Speckled Trout fishing our area has to offer.  If you can find areas where you have grass on one side of the boat, and sand on the other, you could certainly get into some fun fishing!  In these areas you can fish the same flats for both Speckled Trout and Pompano.  Try casting out 3/8 oz “Don’s Potbelly jig” tipped with very small fresh shrimp pieces (cut a shrimp into 6-8 pieces).  You can buy them at Everglades Bait and Tackle next to the grocery store in Everglades City. The ... Read More »

I have to tell you up front that, after reading various reviews about this book, there were varying feelings as to its worth. A good many people liked it a great deal. Almost as many readers were less enthusiastic. Those who were less enthusiastic seemed to dwell on details about the writing itself, which I found perfectly acceptable. There are a number of books on the best seller list right now that, in my opinion, do not have as good a story and are written in the style of some third class romance novelist. If you decide to take my ... Read More »

By Nancy Richie – [email protected] Florida, originally called “La Florida” or “flowery land” by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513, is home to an amazing and impressive array of wildflowers and butterflies. Florida is known for many unique characteristics such as having the longest contiguous coastline in the lower 50 states (1,197 miles), the only State to have two oceanic borders (Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean) and, of course, the famous Everglades. But it is the vast and diverse number of native plant and butterfly species that really are the most spectacular characteristics for year- round residents ... Read More »

Nobody quite knows when blues music began, but what we do know is, without the blues, there would be no rock n’ roll, and man, the world would be a boring place without bloody rock n’ roll! This past week, I had the pleasure of attending the “History of Delta Blues” seminar by local blues musician, Danny Jo. It was both interesting and entertaining. As he told about early blues artists, he would play the songs that they were known for. All who attended seemed to enjoy the lighthearted nature and cadence of the “101” of Delta Blues. He explained ... Read More »

I so enjoyed the recent conversation I shared with Everglades Fishing Guide, Becky Campbell. She revealed little pearls of wisdom describing her vast experience “hunting” for fish. Becky speaks of fishing with a gleeful glimmer in her eye and prefers to refer to her experiences as “catching” rather than simply “fishing.” I thought it most appropriate to share my conversation with Captain Becky with other angling enthusiasts because expert tips like these are few and far between. Becky grew up in Clearwater, where she describes the water as being a beautiful crystal clear green. Due to the amazing water clarity, ... Read More »

With the water situation in Florida getting worse each year and the water rates going up almost as fast as gas prices, the general public – not only serious gardeners and those involved in the green industry here in Florida – need to take into consideration the water needs of all new landscaping plantings. I don’t think we will ever run out of water, but it may get so expensive that many people will not be able to afford to irrigate their landscape at all. I suggest we all consider moving towards Florida Friendly Landscaping. Developed by the University of ... Read More »