Marco Island businesses and beaches opening up

A sense of normalcy on Marco Island since a lot of restaurants, shops, rental places, and even South Beach opened back up.

But, keep in mind, health officials ask people not to swim in the Gulf, and there are still piles of storm debris on the streets.

Quite a few people on South Beach are feeling good, relaxed, and happy to be back on the sand. Many people could be seen swimming, despite The Collier Health Departments warning of possible contamination in the Gulf.

Many swimmers may not know the dangers in the Gulf. As of Wednesday, there are no warning signs up, but the health department said they’re working on changing that.

But that didn’t help on Wednesday since vacationers are already happy to be there.

There are a lot of open signs at local businesses and restaurants, even though some of them do have ‘cash only’ signs.

Business owners told WINK News even though business is down they’re making the best of it and are very pleased they didn’t sustain damage.

One of those business owners is Garrett Chamberlin from Marco Island Bike Rentals.

“It’s nice to see people coming back and going out on jet ski tours or coming out and going to the beach and just enjoying a lot of the stuff that Marco has to offer,” Chamberlin said. “What’s great about Marco is that everybody here works really close together. And the day after the storm people were raking their yards. We clean up pretty quick and we just want to show that to a lot of other people as well.”

And even though Marco Island is known for having money, there are people on the island who need help too. Among the mansions, there are more modest, one-story houses, and lower-income apartments that are housing families who are much less privileged.