Welcome to Island Breeze!

Our cell phone number is 443 994-1726. Sherman Cottrell and Ella are your host and hostess--his number is 502 419-3306 or 239 472-2202.

Your phone number is 239 395-1165. You can only make local calls. You can use 800 numbers.

Please clean your feet before coming into the house and rinse off salt. A quick rinse and removing your shoes protects the house from the abrasive damage of sand. Rinsing off the salt from your body keeps it off the furnitrue. Salt in the upholstery collects moisture and then feels clamy and mildews more quickly. There is a foot wash at bottom of stairs. Outdoor shower is below in back.

We do offer satellite TV as well as DVD, VHS, MP3, and music players. Every player has its own remote so it can be confusing. There is WIFI computer access as well as Ethernet access.

You can drink the water but the purifier removes some of the natural sulfur taste--the well is a couple of hundred feet deep. Use water sparingly. Water is difficult to obtain and expensive.

If using the Jacuzzi be sure to fill the tub before turning it on. Failure to do so will ruin the pump.

Your trash is collected once a week after you leave. Place bags in the barrel/bin under the house. Do not put trash on porch as the raccoons will shred it.

Please rinse off any bicycles, kayaks, boats, strollers, or outdoor equipment if they have contacted salt water or sandy beach. There is both a pump and tire repair kit in the house.

Watch out for fire ants, no seeums, and sand spurs. Fire ants are tiny and have a mean bite that raise a white head. If you get bit apply alcohol, baking soda, ammonia, or onion immediately--no one knows the best remedy to the human reaction to formic acid in the ant bite. Apply the fire ant poison left on the porch to any new ant hills you may see. No seeums are worst at dawn and dusk. Old timers don't even notice them. New timers may get red spots that itch considerably. Strong DET based bug repellent keeps them off. Sand Spurs are the seed pods of a plant and they can prick your feet painfully as they try to catch a ride. Wear shoes when not travelling on sand.

Be Kind to Gopher Tortoises as they are an endangered species. They should not be touched or moved. Moving them confuses them and they become lost as they know direction by their own movement.

Other critters abound on the island. In the summer there are mosquitoes. Palmetto bugs are under many outside objects and are a nice name for roaches. Palm rats and mice are a constant nuisance. There are black snakes which are harmless but startling. We have seen a Florida panther which get to about 30 pounds here. There are puffer fish, sting rays, and small sharks in the surf--rays can stab if stepped on. Herons, pelicans, and dolphinscan try to eat the fish you catch. Not to worry just pay attention.

Dogs get fleas easily in Florida as fleas live in the grass and there is no frost to kill them off. Dogs, even the best dogs, act unusual in new circumstances. Please watch out for them. Lee county has a leash law.

True Emergencies require that you dial 911. For a fire or to reach an island medic dial 472-8899 (station), 472-4079 (chief), or 851-7395 (chief's cell phone). For serious injuries, there is helicopter evacuation from the island.

The golf cart needs to be recharged every evening after use. It is plugged in under the house and takes a night to recharge. Please don't overload. If you need to carry more, make two trips or use the trailer. Don't take the turns hard as the suspension is moderately strong. If you drive through salt water--high tide flooding during the summer at the North end of the island--please wash off the salt.

If a circuit breaker blows and you don't have power, the circuit breaker box is in the basement. Call Sherman and we will have someone come out and reset it and check for problems.

If a water line breaks and water is flowing everywhere, you can turn off the well water at the valve under the house on the North West side where the pipe comes out of the ground. The valve has no handle and can be closed with pliers found in the tool kit in the store room. Then call us.

There is a small tool bag and first aid kit in the store room. Please do not make repairs on the house. They are for your convenience and you are responsible for their correct use.

Please stay out of the downstairs and use the store room only as needed. The store room has many of the house supplies and some emergency equipment. Pleases tell us so we know to replace it. We have one day to turn around the house. If someone has to run to town for a part then the house will most likely not be ready for a same day departure-arrival.

Navigators and Boatmen. Get a chart! Watch out for Hell's Half Acre a sand bar this side of the ICW going 20-30 degrees out of the Safety Harbor Fish House channel towards Pineland via east of Useppa. If you go too far east you will run into the sand bar unless you over compensate and head more east. Head for the double marker on the ICW and look for it. If in doubt follow the markers east out of the Fish house to the ICW and then go North to the double marker and then point to the west end of Part Island.

Send questions or comments to jim@islandbreezevacations.com.
Copyright 2009 Island Breeze