Boop's Ice Cream, Captiva, Florida

The Florida mainland ends and “on island” begins right here at the Sanibel toll plaza. McGregor Boulevard, also known as County Road 867, becomes the Sanibel Causeway and takes travelers to Sanibel and Captiva islands. Boop’s Ice Cream is located at 15001 Captiva Road, in downtown Captiva.

The town of Punta Rassa is in the rearview mirror as the Sanibel Causeway stretches out over San Carlos Bay. At three miles or five kilometers long, the Causeway was reopened in three weeks when Hurricane Ian partially demolished it in September 2022. Traffic on the Causeway is heavy as reconstruction continues.

The man-made island parks between the three bridges on the Causeway are temporarily closed, due to ongoing rebuilding efforts stemming from Hurricane Ian. Construction continues apace and earth-moving equipment operates sun up until sun down along these stretches. Daily improvements are noticeable.

The speed limits posted on Periwinkle Way vary from 20 miles (32 km) an hour to 35 miles (56 km) per hour. Back at the Sanibel toll plaza, three lanes of traffic merge into just one lane. Traffic controllers like this gentleman handle the flow of cars, school buses, contractor vehicles, and construction equipment all day long.

Travel times on Sanibel Island range from 40 minutes to 90 minutes. At the Ding Darling wildlife refuge, Periwinkle Way becomes Palm Ridge Road and is now Sanibel Captiva Road. Who was Ding Darling? He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and friend of Walt Disney, who in 1936 founded the National Wildlife Federation.

Bowman’s Beach is located 1700 Bowmans Beach Road. The Lee County Parks & Recreation parking pass is valid here; otherwise, car parking is $5 per hour. There are ample parking lots, which has free accessible parking plus some parking for RV’s. Parking is purchased via a smart-phone app as the parking kiosks are gone.

Bowman’s Beach on Sanibel Island is beautiful during the week of February 24, 2025. The temperature reached 73 deg F (22.77 C) with gusty, southeasterly winds all day. Sunset will be at 6:26 this chilly evening, and the day’s sun-seekers are heading out. Adventure-seekers, however, are arriving with their surfboards and bodysuits.

While Blind Pass Road and Captiva Drive are open to car and bicycle traffic, Captiva Island’s wonderful Turner Beach is temporarily closed for repairs. Construction is on-going, with improvements made each day. Be careful when going in the water: part of a wooden shed, with nails exposed, washed ashore at Bowman’s Beach.

Expect an hour drive from the Sanibel toll plaza to the parking lot for the Bubble Room in downtown Captiva. This parking lot, intended for the Bubble Room, is also for motorists heading to Boop’s Ice Cream Parlor & Cafe. Boop’s Ice Cream is also known as Boop’s by the Bubble Room, and has the same wonderful cakes.

The fantastic Bubble Room restaurant sustained damage from Hurricane Ian in September 2022, but re-construction is on-going and power has been restored. This Christmas-themed eatery is still closed, but Boop’s Ice Cream has ice cream, old-fashioned sodas, coffee, sandwiches, and the Bubble Room’s famous cakes.

v Everyone’s favorite Jazz Age flapper, Betty Boop, has her own ice cream parlor on Captiva Island. This little shop is open 8 am until 8 pm seven days a week. Today is February 24, 2025, with mostly cloudy skies. When the sun’s out, guests sit outside with their purchases; but today, most folks will be inside to enjoy their treats.

Betty Boop had her animated big-screen debut in August 1930, entertaining millions of fans with her famous “Boop oop a doop” catch-prase. The Betty Boop theme pairs well with the old-fashioned soda fountain and hand-dipped ice cream. The Bubble Room has been around since 1979, at which time Betty Boop was nearly 50 years old.

Come as you are to Boop’s Ice Cream, hats included. Boop’s has been here since March 2021, when it took over the previous Bubble Room Emporium location. Boop’s is usually pretty busy, as there are so many offerings here. There is no bathroom at Boop’s, but a realty company down the street lets people use theirs.

This is the marble counter where the magic happens. Because of the hurricanes—Ian, Helene, and Milton—Captiva’s shopkeepers and restaurateurs get creative to take care of their customers. There is a cake cooler inside Boop’s of course, but there is also a large refrigerated trailer in its parking lot for that and other things.

At the top is a build-your-own breakfast egg sandwich on a ciabatta roll. At the bottom is the “modern times” bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich. Sandwich prices aren’t posted so just ask. They are both tasty selections; that’s all that matters. Boop’s offers Illy coffee, which is always delicious with a meal or by itself.

Boop’s has three working antiques in the shop. First is the 1890’s belt-driven ceiling fan directly overhead, keeping the air circulating. Second is the ice cream freezer from 1948. And lastly there is the old-fashioned soda fountain, which produced this orange soda ice cream float ($7.50) which was absolutely delicious.

The Bubble Room is closed, but the special cakes are still available. A whole cake or pie is $63 and a slice is $9.50. A single slice of cake is more than enough to share. The Orange Crunch Cake, shown at bottom right, is a yellow cake with brown-sugar almond layers and orange cream cheese frosting.

The Bubble Room will re-open soon, but the Bubble Room Emporium is open for business. The Emporium sells t-shirts, knickknacks, hats, baubles, and all kinds of curiosities. The hours are 9 am until 8 pm seven days a week. Sanibel Island fiber artist Katie Gardenia created The Bubble Room and ran it for the first ten years.

The Emporium has a lot of pretty things for sale. There are as many curiosities to see as there are shelves to browse. There are postcards to pick from and keychains to choose, and there are also jukeboxes and neon clocks to gaze upon. Some of the ballcaps have fake shark bites. This store also carries plus-size shirts.

“Work Like a Captain, Play Like a Pirate,” so says an old-fashioned hotel key fob. Another proclaims affinity of the Sanibel Shell Club. Also, behind the clerk are other interesting things. The antique carnival shooting gallery was installed in 2020, and there is the jukebox that is for sale. Katie Gardenia would surely love all of this whimsy.

“Are you having a Boop and Bubble Day or are you having a Bubble and Boop Day?” Perhaps a Boop and Bubble and then a Boop Day. There is a big selection of Boop and Bubble t-shirts, plus a variety of Sanibel and/or Captiva shirts and souvenirs. This is as good a place as any to find SanCap merch until everything opens back up.

With t-shirt shopping completed, it was time to head back to Boop’s for a hot cup of Illy coffee and a slice of Orange Crunch Cake to go, which comes in a travel-worthy plastic clamshell. Rain is coming, and so is school dismissal time. Is the Orange Crunch Cake worth a two-hour round trip? Of course it is . . . yolo.