Day 20 on Captiva

Friday morning began with early coffee and toast. We left at 8:30 to drive to Ft. Myers to go to Six Mile Slough for birding. The Six Mile Cypress Slough is a 2,500 acre wetland in Fort Myers, Florida, that measures approximately 9 miles long and 1/3 mile wide. This linear ecosystem is home to a diverse population of plants and animals, including a few considered to be endangered. The Slough also serves as a corridor for wildlife by providing a safe route of travel.
We did not see as many birds as usual but did hear a Barred Owl "Hooting" through the trees as we walked the boardwalk. We spotted a couple of wild pigs rooting through the roots for food. They are a noisy lot! Many turtles were sunning on logs. The birds that we did see included anhingas, cormorants, herons, one wood stork, and several ibis feeding.

 

After  more than two hours of birding, we had a picnic lunch that I packed before we left.

 We then drove to downtown Ft. Myers area to check out the Franklin Shops, a store on the corner of First and Broadway that is owned by our friends and owners of our rental home.  The Franklin Shops has  a department store style, with as many as 40 or 50 retailers and a central checkout counter.  The new shopping center fits into plans the city  to bring more retail shopping to the office-heavy government hub downtown.


 

   Margarethe in  her Tea and Wine Store

We made a quick stop at Publix's for dinner before heading back to the islands.  Dinner in tonight after a fun filled day.  We prepared Porterhouse steak with  mushroom sauce and asparagus.