Day 24 on Captiva

Early up this am to go to Fort Myers on missions of the day.....drive was about 45 minutes as we took a shortcut  this time.  Arrived at Best Buy just as the store opened at 10:00 and had to wait behind 2 others to pick up new and old computers.  We then headed to Val Ward Cadillac Repair Department and arrived about 10:40 for a 11:00 appointment.  We had excellent and quick service and were on our way by 11:45 with a repaired lift gate and a clean car.

Our next stop was a nearby Verizon store for Al to have someone check his Blueberry ear piece that quit working.   We received no solution to that problem and they do not carry a replacement that Al could use.  Adjacent to this store was a Chick fil a where we had lunch of a spicy chicken sandwich and chicken nuggets.  This is the fastest and most efficient fast food restaurant chain by far!

Our next stop was a spin at Sanibel Shops Outlets before we drove back to the causeway.  The only thing we bought was Polo Black After Shave Gel for Al. Even thought the name of the outlet  has changed,  the stores are still the same.

 

We drove across the street and shopped at a Publix and picked up a pork tenderloin and some large shrimp for dinners.  As we drove over the causeway back to the islands, it looked like the island of Sanibel was evacuating there were so many cars coming across.  But the traffic did not slow down our side.

 

For dinner Al grilled skewers of shrimp, mushrooms, and onions that I marinated with my own recipe of liemon juice and zest, garlic, oil, squeeze tomato paste, red pepper flakes, lemon pepper, kosher salt, black pepper, and pinch cayenne.  I served with my Parmesan cheese grits and green salad.   We are beginning to enjoy our dinners at home more than going out especially when we serve glasses of wine. I need to get Al to make phone photos of our dinners to share as some look as good as they taste.

Day 23 on Captiva

We decided today that we would not go until tomorrow AM to pick up my computers from Best Buy since we have an appointment at Val Ward Cadillac in Fort Myers to repair the automatic lift gate on the Escalade.  It quit opening over a week ago and we cannot use the manual lift either.  You do not realize how much you use the lift gate until it does not work.  We still have not heard from BB if the puter is ready but we think they must have called our home phone not our cell phone and they did not send an email either??
We started late this am....not up until 8.   Made eggs with leftover lox from yesterday and served with fresh bagels for brunch.  Spent leisurely afternoon at the pool.  We grilled hamburgers outside and served with all the trimmings for dinner.  A very vacation like day on the island. 

Day 22 on Captiva

Our Sunday routine includes a trip to the Farmer's Market in Sanibel.  We arrived about 9:00 and parked underneath the library...best spot to park. The market was crowed with locals and tourist.  We bought some okra and corn with our usual produce as well as some guacamole at Dynasty Quacamole booth. Very good quac!

After our market shopping, we went to Sanibel Café for breakfast where we had 20 minute wait for a booth.  They have done some remodeling since last year but mostly the same place and  menu.

Al had lox and bagel with onion, tomatoes, capers and cream cheese.  I had  scrambled eggs, grilled Parmesan tomatoes, and wheat toast.  After eating we checked out some of the shops...Al bought a blue short sleeve woven shirt at Brown Bag.  Stopped at Bailey's for a piece of grouper and some ground beef and other groceries.  Then back to the beach for the sunny afternoon.

Al pan fried the grouper for dinner and we served with lemon butter sauce, green beans and tomatoes with basil.  Dessert was Tiramisu from Bailey's bakery.

Day 21 on Captiva

Another lazy day in paradise.  No blogging without a computer.  Brunch of French Toast, Sausage, and Grapefruit served mid-morning.  Spent afternoon at the pool relaxing and reading.  We seem to have a repeating pattern to our days. And watching the young eagles....one was really flapping his wings today.

Drinks at 4:30 by the pool followed by dinner on the porch.  Al grilled Snapper (purchased at Jerry's) to perfection and I prepared Vera Cruz sauce (recipe by Bobby Flay) made with olive oil, onion, garlic, white wine.tomato, olives, capers, jalapeno  pepper.  Served with green beans and mashed potatoes.   
Great dinner if I do say so!             

Day 20 on Captiva

Early this morning, Al insisted that we go to Fort Myers to Best Buy to have my broken laptop diagnosed.  (I have already mentioned what we found out in an earlier post.)   After coffee and pastries, we took off about 10:00 for the hour drive to Best Buy even though  our appointment with Geek Squad was not until later. 

 After Randy told us the screen was cracked and would be expensive to replace and may not even work.  But they could transfer the files on the old hard drive to a new one.   So we went shopping for a new laptop and I bought the HP Envy x360.   We left the old and new computer for a free transfer with the Geek Squad....a 24-48 hours wait to be ready for pickup.  I will be out of commission doing blogging for a few days.


 We stopped for lunch  about 2:00 at the Lighthouse Waterfront Restaurant  at Port Sanibel Marina not for from the causeway in Fort Myers.  This a beautiful setting right on the water.

Al ordered a Corned Beef Rueben with Corned Beef, Swiss, Sour Kraut, Tomato Remoulade on rye with fried potatoes.   This was ha huge sandwich...Al only ate half.   I had Chicken Salad with Grapes served on a Buttered Croissant, Sprouts, LTO, Pickle, and fruit.  Both were delicious and perfect for lunch with a beautiful view of the marina that Al snapped with his phone camera.

Heading back to the islands, traffic was bumper to bumper leaving Sanibel all the way over the causeway  just as it was this morning but in the opposite direction.   Lucky for us we on the moving side.  A quick stop at Jerry's to pick up snapper for a meal at home.   Arrived back at the cottage after 4:00.  I was not hungry this evening because of our big, late lunch and decided not to cook the snapper tonight.   Al was nice enough to eat the rest of his Reuben for his dinner which I grilled to warm.   Think we were both a bit tired after the trip to Best Buy. 

Day 19 on Captiva

Another morning of rain! Only lasted a brief time.  Al had an appointment for a massage at Tween Waters Spa at 10:00 and I finished some cards that I started yesterday.  I had a problem with my laptop this morning and after several tries, it would not open.  ( I did not know the reason that the computer would not open until we took it in to Best Buy Geek Squad Friday.) Unfortunately I had cracked the screen on my laptop when I unknowingly tried to shut the top with a plastic clip inside.  Basically I killed my laptop.
Al was not upset that and I had been so careless but I was.  He just said we would get another one for me.

Putting my problem aside, we continued the day.   We had lunch of Tuna Salad sandwiches and Iced Tea at the pool.  Enjoyed the sunny afternoon relaxing, swimming and reading. 

Both Eagle chicks shown sitting in the nest:

 

 
I prepared Beef Stroganoff,  again, using leftover beef from last night's steak.  Just happened to have all the ingredients that I needed.  Served with Salad and Hot Roll.

Day 18 on Captiva

Rain and more rain today!   This is the first really rainy day of our stay on the island.  Great day to spend on the porch with coffee and books.   I served a hardy breakfast of sausage, eggs, and bagels with cream cheese and grapefruit.  Al read emails and did surveys on his computer and I caught up on some blogging.
I decided to create some cards in my away from home studio set up downstairs but did not post to my blog yet.  We gathered back on the porch for drinks and leftover calamari at 4:30.

After a rainy and somewhat lazy day,  Al grilled steaks from Bailey's for dinner and I sautéed mushrooms, roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary, and tossed a green salad.

Day 17 on Captiva

Today after coffee, we headed to Bailey Tract for an early morning walk around 9:00.  We were surprised how low the ponds were especially the ones near the entrance.  The temperature was perfect for walking and looking for birds and other wildlife.  We spotted several Blue-winged teals mostly feeding in pairs, a pair of mottled ducks, coots, moorhens, tri-colored herons, ibis, brown pelicans, ospreys, one kingbird,  and one green heron hidden in the brush. I was unable to get a good picture of the green although I tried.  There were also alligators sunning in the ponds.

Photos that we took at Bailey Tract

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had lunch at the new Doc Ford's in Sanibel directly across Bailey's on Tarpon Bay.   The place was very busy and we opted to sit at the bar and we ordered a beer and a glass of wine to start.   Al had Doc Ford’s Original Lime Panko Crusted Fish Sandwich-seared, baked and served on a fresh baked Kaiser, topped with house slaw and spicy remoulade.  I had Fried Calamari-lightly breaded, hand cut tender calamari served with our tangy cocktail sauce.  We shared our orders but the calamari was too much for us to eat so we took some home.   The new restaurant is very roomy and has 2 outdoor areas.

 

We shopped at Bailey's for groceries for a couple of dinners and arrived back to the cottage about 3:30 and sat on the porch reading until time to cook.  I am now reading Still Alice. Al prepare scallops on the grill....this is one of his specialties .... we served with green beans, sweet potatoes and hot roll.  

Day 16 on Captiva

Monday began with the sighting of a lot of birds from the porch as we enjoyed our early morning coffee.  This was the most birds we have seen at the cottage since we arrived.  There were several cardinals, red-bellied woodpeckers, doves and a gnatcatcher.  I manage to capture a few photos through the screens which I will share even though they were not that great.

Video of Cardinal:

 

We had lunch under the gazebo at the pool watching the eagles as we ate.  We enjoyed the afternoon swimming, napping and reading by the pool until it was time for drinks on the porch. I finished the book Maude and Al finished Sex, Lies, and New Money.

We walked over to the beach to watch the sunset around 6:00.  It was a beautiful sunny day and ended with a beautiful sunset.

 

 

Taking a lazy way out, I prepared a frozen dinner of P.F. Chang Orange Chicken-White meat chicken is paired with carrots, water chestnuts and edamame glazed with a spicy orange sauce and served with rice and egg rolls(also frozen).  

 

Day 15 on Captiva Continued

Continued Sunday:

This was a beautiful day in Captiva.

  After the Cullens left, we drove through Ding Darling. These are some of the photos that we took.

 

 I captured this video of a Black-crowned Night Heron feeding:

 

Spent some time at the beach  and ate dinner at our fave dive Lazy Flamingo.

Day 15 on Captiva

My Sunday morning began with a walk to the beach just at sunrise.  Al was already on the porch with his coffee.  Again the beach was quiet but I enjoyed the walk and took some  photographs.

 

 When I got back to the cottage I snapped some shots of the nest.  Only this chick was seen.

I saw that Pam was up and Mike had already gone to Jensen's to  pick up his brother, Fran. Pam and I joined Al upstairs and had coffee while we waited for Mike and Fran.  After we became acquainted with Fran and had more coffee with pastries, bagels, and fruit, we went outside to check on the pool and the eagle family on what was a beautiful day-warm and very sunny.  It was an enjoyable morning keeping a watch on the nest and hanging out poolside.

 

 The five of us then took a walk up the street to take a view of the bay from Margarethe and Rene's dock.  There was one white pelican, who soon flew away, along with terns, gulls, and brown pelicans sitting on the sand barge.  A fishing boat with some people was anchored near the deck.....we watched as a swimming brown pelican tried to steal a sheep head fish from one of the fisherman as she pulled in her line but the pelican lost.

 

 Some of the scenery along the way:

 

After our walk we all decided it was time to eat breakfast or lunch.   We went to the nearby Sunset Grill just beyond the Blind Pass on Sanibel Island.  Our timing was perfect as we had no wait and arrived just ahead of the lunch  crowd

 

Mike and Fran each ordered corned beef hash and two eggs. Pam ordered cakes and eggs-two buttermilk pancakes, eggs, hash browns and meat of choice. Al had his usual order of Bagel and Lox-toasted bagel served with smoked Salmon, tomato slices, capers, onions, and cream cheese.    I ordered Eggs Captiva -homemade crab cakes and poached eggs on a toasted English muffin

\ topped with hollandaise sauce which was enough for two people.  I should not have ordered so much.  The food and setting was delightful and a good breakfast was enjoyed by all.  This restaurant certainly has an island feel about it and a great view as well.

 

Mike and Pam said their farewells and then headed with Fran in tow to visit Mike and Fran's sister for dinner before driving back to Naples.  We enjoyed their visit but it was much, much too short.

 

Al and I then took a drive through Ding Darling.  I will continue in another post with more details on the rest of Day 15.