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pelicans, roseate spoonbills, white ibis, blue herons, egrets and other seabirds are spotted. Just a note: In 1967, this sanctuary became the Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. So named for cartoonist and conservationist Jay Norwood Darling (1876-1962), who is remembered as the "Father of the National Wildlife Federation." Some of Darling's works hang in the Old Captiva House at 'Tween Waters Inn. After taking a short walk through tropical trees around a Calusa Indian shell mound and alongside a canal-where we watched for wildlife, namely the alligator-we again "hit the trail", so goes the clich.

Oh, and if you have a fishing pole (we didn't), know that the sanctuary offers backwater fishing in the mangroves at Tarpon Bay. Fishing from the road that runs through the refuge often produces mangrove snapper, trout, redfish, snook and blue crab. The bay bottom contains deep holes, channels and grass flats two-to-six feet deep serving as home for tarpon, cobia, shark, large jack and tripletail.

And I hope you have a bag to store all the many shells you'll find when you park your bike and walk the beaches. Both Sanibel and Captiva islands are know for some of the most rewarding shelling in the Gulf of Mexico, producing shells of many shapes, sizes and colors. Sanibel even houses the Shell Museum, dedicated to island findings. Local Chamber of Commerce information notes that the islands catch empty shells that wash onto the beaches during strong northwestern winter winds. Summer is not as good for shelling because the warm breezes pull the shells back into the water. Please note that live shells contain fragile animals and should not be abused or removed. As well, beachgoers should be aware that some seabirds camouflage their eggs by nesting on bare sand; so keep a lookout.

Historic places we found of interest while biking through the islands included the Old Schoolhouse Theater, which specializes in live entertainment, and the Sanibel Historical Village & Museum, dedicated to the early settlers of the island. This museum contains The Rutland House, built in 1913, which typifies the Florida Cracker-style designed to keep dwellers comfortable in hot and humid weather (Cracker-style houses usually have breezeways between rooms). You'll can also see the general Bailey Store built in the early 1900s, 1926 Model T Ford delivery truck, 1926 Post Office, Miss Charlotta's Tea Room and the Burnap Cottage that displays its history as a guest house and

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