Ocean's Reach Condominiums is a vacation resort tucked away on secluded stretch of gulf front coastline on Sanibel Island. For over three decades, visitors to Ocean's Reach have been admiring the Gulf of Mexico from their oceanfront balconies, wading in a swimming pool with a view unrivaled on Sanibel Island, and walking the fabled "nineteen steps" it takes to reach the shell-strewn beach. And now, thanks to the eco-conscious and diligent staff of Ocean's Reach Resort, they can do it all with a clear environmental conscience. Ocean's Reach is the first property to attain Green Lodging designation on Sanibel and Captiva Islands.

Regardless of where it begins, the last leg of any trip to Ocean's Reach starts on the Sanibel Causeway. After several years of the noise and debris of major construction project, a larger toll building and the new three-part causeway bridge to Sanibel were finally completed in the summer of 2007.

The wife and I drive past the tollbooth and begin the steep ascent of the new high-span bridge. The original drawbridge is gone, and this sleek, precipitous beauty now stands in its place. The tallest bridge in Lee County. Anticipation builds, and my view is obstructed as I drive up its sheer, concrete face. My temporary blindness is rewarded as I reach the summit and a tropical fantasy land reveals itself with all the magnificence and grandeur nature can muster. Here is a magical place. Here is where the gentle curve of Sanibel stretches off into the distance. Here is where the waters of the Caloosahatchee River and Pine Island Sound merge with the salty tides of the Gulf of Mexico. Here is where bright Florida sunlight kisses the treetops on Fisherman Key and Picnic Island. Here is where the iron skeleton of Sanibel Island Light first comes into view. Here is where windsurfers challenge waves, pleasure boats drift aimlessly, and fishermen bait their hooks. Once I reach the top of that first bridge, I leave the whole world behind me, and immerse myself into the paradise that is Sanibel Island.

Improved landscaping graces the man-made causeway islands. Palm trees provide intermittent shade. A recreational vehicle is parked on the shoreline with its awning fully extended. Two vacationers doze in beach chairs beneath. A great blue heron stands sentry nearby.

A brown pelican races our car across the final bridge span, finally banking to the right and splashing in a sloppy dive into the water below.

Before long I'm on Periwinkle Way. The Australian pine canopy is gone, ripped out by Hurricane Charley. Nature always returns to a clean slate, given time. It steers us in the right direction, sometimes nudging, sometimes punching. Nature's voice is always there, all we have to do is listen.

Sanibel's done a good job listening on Periwinkle way. The invasive exotics were replaced with native species as a result of the Periwinkle Corridor Vegetation Restoration Project. Over three-thousand native trees were planted along with native under-story vegetation. Bald Cypress. Sabal Palm. Gumbo Limbo. Live Oak. Green Buttonwood. Strangler Fig. Seagrape. All drought resistant. All needing no fertilizer. All hardy enough to stand up to hurricane force winds. Native plants are good for conservation. Native plants are good for the environment. Nature loves native plants.