Day 6 on Captiva

Fri, Feb 7,2014

We enjoyed early coffee and muffin and drove to Ding Darling at 9 to see a lecture by the Stokes on bird ID but the room was already full .  We decided to not come back for the 1:00 slot since we have already seen them several times.  The temperature was a bit cooler this am...about 58 degrees.
We decided to have brunch at Sanibel Café but had to wait about 10-15 minutes for  a table.  Al had the  Bagel and Lox platter and I had Crab Quiche with broiled tomatoes.  Great food!
We shopped Tahitian Gardens  .. .we bought some beverage napkins and Al found a Thomas Dean Shirt on sale at  The Brown Bag.

 

We spent a couple hours in  the afternoon on the beach in the warm sun.  Temperatures back in the 70's.  We saw several dolphins in the gulf... must have been a large pod feeding...this was the largest group we have seen traveling together.....usually spot only 2-3 at a time but think there must have been 12 or more.

 

 

We then watched some brown pelicans on the bay side who swam around the dock area looking for fish.

 

                                         

 

Tonight we tried a new Doc Ford's that opened last August located at South Seas.  It is a bit closer to us than the Doc Ford's in Sanibel and has a lager parking area and capacity.   The food and service was as good as the other location.  We arrived there about 5:30 before the crowd and had our choice of dining location choosing the indoors instead of outdoors on the large heated porch.  We may opt for the outdoors when it is a warmer evening.  By the time we left, the crowd had arrived and people were waiting to be seated.  The hostess says that it is best to arrive before 6:30 in order to avoid a long wait for a table.  They do not have reservations or call ahead seating.

 

We shared a dozen oysters -fresh chilled oysters, shucked to order and served on the half shell with fresh lemon and cocktail sauce  which were some of the largest, juiciest, and tastiest ones we have ever had.  The oysters were from Texas and were Texas sized for sure.  Al ordered Panko Crusted Jumbo Shrimp served with French fries and coleslaw. The shrimp was great but fries not so great.  I had the Calamari Salad -lightly battered calamari tossed with mixed everglades greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, a sweet and sour vinaigrette dressing and topped with crispy wontons.    

 

We definitely will be returning to this new Doc Ford's Grille.