Riding over the nearly completed causeway to Sanibel this year was a pretty amazing experience. In years past the approach was much lower, less dramatic. Before that, before me, it was only reached by boat. And while the new road resembles more of an express highway than a back door sandy lane with a few puddle jumping bridges, it’s a pretty thrilling sensation to climb to the top towards the clouds while seeing nothing but blue skies and puffy white clouds in front of you. We slowed to a crawl to make the experience last longer, tying up traffic a bit behind us. But that’s okay, there’s no need to rush. With a maximum speed limit of 35mph on the entire island you are supposed to cut down your speed to at least half of the harried pace with which you conduct the rest of your harried life. The new bridge looks like it should spirit you over to island life at a brisk, efficient pace…the challenge is to fight that impulse, roll down the windows, breathe deeply and be transported – the slower, the better.
