Day 31 Captiva

Monday morning began with a trip to Bailey Tract in Sanibel which is a part of Ding Darling, 100-acre tract located off Tarpon Bay Road. This wetland is home to freshwater bird species, herons and egrets, turtles, and alligators. The tract has almost two miles of trails that are suitable for walking or biking. Our best sighting of the morning were several nesting Yellow Crowned  Night Herons across from Smith Pond going out the back path to Island Inn Road.

Other sights photographed by Al:

Osprey



Alligator in Smith's Pond




Vulture in Flight

Stopped for breakfast at Over Easy....and then shopped at Periwinkle Gardens where I bought some cotton clothing items at Fresh Produce.


Then back to the house and off to the beach.  More dolphins at play today.  I made these photos:

Dinner was at home.  Dined on panko crusted red snapper (purchased at the Farmer's Market) served with arugula salad and red-skin potatoes roasted with fresh Rosemay and garlic.

Day 30 Captiva

It has become our Sunday routine to go to the Farmer's Market in Sanibel. We stopped first at Over Easy for breakfast....Al had his usual bagel and lox platter and I had scrambled eggs, sausage patties, grits,and toast. That's more breakfast than I usually eat but I was hungry!  Headed off to the market for bag of mussels, red snapper, zucchini,tomatoes, radishes, arugula and romaine.  The produce and seafood are very fresh.  Stopped at Bailey's for some milk, pastry, and bread. Spent the afternoon at the beach....we are having such beautiful weather!!!!
Made some pics of dolphins again but not very good.

For dinner, we had steamed mussels in a light Italian sauce.....think I have written about this before. Al loves mussels...says he could eat every day? Not me, but I do love every once in awhile. Served mussels and sauce over linguine with arugula salad with onions, radishes and lemon vinaigrette.
Dessert tonight (which we do not eat often) was Orange Crunch Cake baked by Kate from Bailey's.

Ended the evening by watching the Oscars but fell asleep ...was a boring show.

Day 29 Captiva

Birding at DDNWR on Saturday

Click on video arrow to view.

We drove to DDWR early today....did the drive from 8:30 -11:00....was low tide and a great morning for birding.  The pools were filled with many birds feeding even in areas where we have never seen birds feeding.

                                   

After lunch, we headed across the street to the beach. This was another birding experience since there were many birds out today including a pair of Marbled Godwits that we had never seen on the beach. They seemed to enjoy the company of the many willets sunning today.

 

Served dinner on the porch .....forgot menu.
Stayed in tonight and Al watched the races from Northfield Park.  Al won $400 + from his bets.
Was a fun filled day!

Day 28 Captiva

Lazy day....guess we were resting from our dinner last night. Spent the afternoon at the beach, reading, watching dolphins, and seeing the Thriller go by again.
Casual dinner at Lazy Flamingo.....such an appropo name and a perfect place to eat on a lazy day. Ate at the bar where all the action is.....Shared Caesar Salad and Mesquite grilled ribs that fall off the bone. Tried a new beer...Blue Moon...a Belgian wheat brew, which Al goolged and found that it is actually made by Coors.  Blue Moon is traditionally served with a slice of orange...will have to try that time.
                                       

Day 27 Captiva

Today, Thursday, began with a walk for Al.  We had breakfast of scrambled eggs, bagels, cream cheese and OJ. Al captured some pictures of Ibis that landed in the tree by our porch:

We spent the afternoon at the beach watching the dolphins at play in the gulf.

And we saw the "Thriller" go by which cruises the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Pine Island Sound, circumnavigating the world's most prestigious barrier islands.  The Sanibel Thriller docks at the Sanibel Marina.

Tonight we dressed up and dined at Il Tesoro Risttorante, one of the newer restaurants on Sanibel ( formerly the Melissa's, Twilight Cafe and Bluefish Redfish). I am thinking of writing a book and listing the history of all the restaurants and the different names they have been over the years. LOL! Every year we wonder which restaurants will still be under the same name and ownership as there is a continous turnover on the Islands. One of our favorites, Ellington's Jazz, has been closed since  we arrived for supposedly fire suppression repairs but we wonder it will ever reopen. They have only been in this location since Aug 2009 having moved from the Sanibel Inn. Their current location  was formerly Dolce Vita.
Back to our dinner......This is a very small restaurant seating only about 48 - 50.

 Service is very good and food is great. Reviews are varied on this restaurant but we found it to be very good although very pricey. We shared Caesar salad which they did not divide on 2 plates as most better restaurants do and a bowl of anchovies was served on the side of the salad and were $2 extra. Interesting!!! Al had Scaloppine Saltimbocca alla Romano, veal stuffed with proscuittio, fresh sage, and white wine sauce. He said it was great...this is a dish I do not paticularly care for.  I ordered the Pescatore Risotto...love risotto....served with lobster, clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops,and calamari sauteed in white wine and finished with a fresh tomato sauce. Yum! Yum! I did share this with Al. Great dinner....our special treat for the week.

Day 26 Captiva

Not much to write today. Wednesday was one of those lost days.....did not do much or go anywhere except the beach.  No pictures to show either.

I did work on a couple of cards. Dinner was at Doc Ford's. We shared a lime panko crusted fish sandwich and calamari salad. This salad is a meal in itself and is a favorite of both of us.

Day 25 Continued

These are pictures and videos fromTuesday visit at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge:
Horseshoe Crabs:

Ibis feeding:

Sunset at DDNWR:

                                     

Day 25 Captiva

Today, we went up to the Lighthouse area of Sanibel. First we stopped at the Sanibel Cafe for brunch. Al had his regular--lox and bagel platter and I had tuna salad with tomato slices. Note to me: tuna had onion and was dry...had to ask for more mayo. Next stop was Sanibel Marina...we had this marina confused with Port Sanibel Marina that is across the causeway behind Lighthouse Restaurant which is where Adventures in Paradise is located. This marina is the location of the "Thriller", a tourist boat that passes by the beach every afternoon.



Pirate at Sanibel Marina



Al at Sanibel Marina





Sanibel Marina




Gramma Dot's Restaurant at Marina



Causeway Seen from Marina

Thriller at Marina

 Drove by the Sanibel Lighthouse...did not stop here but made pics from car.
                 



We drove out to the beach at the causeway, made some pictures and then drove under the bridge taking the turnaround to the other side of the beach. I have always wanted to do this turnaround drive.

Lighthouse Seen from Causeway Beach

Causeway Bridge from Beach

View from Causeway Beach

Stopped at Comfort by Design.... I found some walking shoes more then 50% off with additional 10% off with a coupon.  Always looking for a bargain! Stopped at Jerry's and drove home. Did a late drive through DDNWR around 5:00.  (Pictures to follow in another Post.)

Most interesting thing we saw was a bunch of horseshoe crabs grouped together. Al thinks they were mating because of the way they were hanging together. We were in DDWR until sunset .....saw some of the birds as they gathered before they flew off to their roosting areas.

Dinner was ham steak, baked sweet potatoes, green beans, and salad at Pollack's Diner.