Day 6 on Captiva

We began the day with our usual coffee and biscotti.  I worked on a card for some challenges and Al spent time on the computer. I made B.L.T's for lunch on the porch. We then headed for the beach ....it was the quietest time we have spent there...not even a gull was making a noise. Only one couple there but several people walking by.  This is the fewest birds that we have ever seen on the beach. Around 4:00 we walked down to the eagle's nest located near us but I cannot divulge the actual location since it on private property that we have permission to visit.  The nest has 2 chicks who are a pretty good size which you can see in the pics.

The eagle's nest was the highlight of our day.

 

For dinner, we enjoyed leftover chili served over pasta with salad and warm honey wheat bread (leftover from Timbers).

Day 5 on Captiva

Wed, Feb 6
Up early this morning with our coffee. We drove to DDNWR about 8:30 to check out the birds...were a bit late since there was a low tide early this am and most birds had already eaten and were hidden away. But we did see white pelicans, brown pelicans, cormorants, anhingas, lot of willets and gulls, yellow-crown night heron, great blues, herons and egrets.

We had lunch after we arrived back at the house. I made roll ups with chicken, avocado, lettuce and served with chips. We went out to the beach for a bit of sun in the afternoon and then headed back to the bay to check for the kingfisher and the murre but no sighting today.

Dinner tonight at the Timbers for a seafood dinner. We shared an appetizer of oysters with drinks. Al had the triple shrimp dinner served with salad, steamed veggies, and baked potato.  I had peel n eat shrimp dinner served with clam chowder, steamed veggies, and baked sweet potato.

Day 4 on Captiva

Tues, Feb 5
This morning was slow going again. After coffee and pastries, I made a card and posted for several challenges. After a brunch of scrambled eggs, leftover steak, and toast with orange juice, we took a walk to the beach.....not many people there...we almost have all the sand to ourselves. The temp is in the hi 70's headed to 80.  We then headed to the bay side where we set and watched the birds....a great spot for birding.  We saw a lot of willets, gulls, white and brown pelicans, osprey fishing, great blues, egrets, snowy egrets, kingfisher and more. A surprise bird that we saw was a thick billed murre swimming by....yes we know that is an arctic bird  but we almost certain that is what it was. We check the books against a blurry photo that I shot and we almost certain even though someone asked if we had been drinking when we told them that we had spotted a murre.
What do you think this is?

This photo was made from a distance and then was cropped from the picture.

If you read our Captiva blogs, you know we enjoy eating good food and we sometimes make your mouth water reading our menus. Well, that was not the case with dinner tonight.  We had the worst meal of our times on the island....and we cooked it.   Al grilled a steak that was too tough to chew....but he had cooked it perfectly medium rare....it was just a bad piece of meat.....not to buy steaks at P.....  any more.  I made baked potatoes that were over cooked in the microwave......you have to understand that I do not cook with a microwave....do not like those ovens. I read how long to cook the poor potatoes but I executed them......were great side for the steak.....were not edible at all.  That left us with sauteed mushrooms and salad and a bottle of wine for dinner.....guess you might say we drank our dinner.  I did not even have a dessert to offer.  Glad we did not have guests for dinner......would have headed to the nearest restaurant.

Day 3 on Captiva

Monday,  Feb 4
Another day sleeping in late which is something Al seldom does.  He was in bed til 8 this morning.  We enjoyed our usual coffee made by Al and served with biscotti.  We enjoyed a lazy am reading and writing on the puter and getting Al's printer to work.  I made chicken sandwiches for lunch. We then drove into Sanibel to go to Bailey's market for some items including a grill brush and then did a quick drive through Ding Darling on the way back.  Did not see much wildlife as it is middle of the day.  We cooked dinner in the new kitchen and grilled steaks outside. I served with mushrooms, orzo, and arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette.  Another early night.
Pictures from drive in DDNWR:

Day 2 on Captiva

Sunday, we spent a restful day after a tiring drive. Al is feeling better but still is suffering with a cold. I finished unpacking and organizing.  We had a beautiful sunny day. We enjoyed coffee with biscotti and relaxed the day away. I made a pot of Chili for dinner and served it with salad and chips as the Super Bowl started. After dinner we continued watching the game but fell asleep during the half time. Missed the most exciting part of the game when the 49ers tried to catch up with the Ravens but they failed to catch up. Baltimore won 34-31.
Thought you might like to see pictures of the new kitchen. We also have a new grill outside which makes Al a happy Grillmaster.

Arrival at Captiva

Best Western Ocala

We were slow getting started this am....a we ate a bite at the breakfast buffet which was very crowded. Al made a bagel, egg, sausage sandwich with cream cheese...he was proud that he thought of  making this. We left shortly after 9am for our final leg of our trip south. We stopped in Ft. Myers at Publix to shop for provisions before heading to the island.  Arrived about 4pm at the rental home.  Margarethe had remodeled the kitchen which has an improved layout and all new cabinets. She did a great job with the design.
Finally I got unpacked and organized.  Had some sushi from Publix with gin and tonics.  Headed to Lazy Flamingo for oysters on the half shell with mesquite ribs, fries, and grilled grouper served with Caesar salad and Texas toast.  We shared our meals so we each had some of all the dishes. We are happy to have arrived safe and sound after the 21 hours drive over 3 days. Weather is beautiful and warm!!

Lazy Flamingo for Dinner

2nd Day of Drive to Captiva

 

Up early today....cold and frosty outside ...must be in the 30's. We left Cecilia's about 9am after coffee, coffee cake and OJ.  We had an uneventful drive to Ocala, FL where we arrived about 6:30 pm and stayed at  a Best Western. The worst part of the drive was through Atlanta but it was not too bad this time.  We saw a beautiful cloud filled sky as the sun started to set just north of Ocala. 

Dinner tonight at Olive Garden which was being remodeled. Al had grilled chicken over romaine in a creamy Caesar dressing topped with parmesan cheese and croutons .  The chicken was too marinated for Al's taste. I had garden fresh salad and shrimp and scallops with linguine in a seafood cream sauce, topped with toasted parmesan breadcrumbs.  We shared a mini dessert of amaretto tiramisu.  Early to bed after a long drive.