Day 8 on Captiva

Today was more exciting!  After coffee and biscotti, we headed to Ding Darling Wildlife Drive and spent the morning birding.  It was a spectacular day for birding as the tide was extremely low and birds were everywhere in droves.  This was the most birds we have seen in several years and not only were there large numbers of birds but a large variety of species.  Many Ibis, Great Blues,  Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Yellow Crowned Night Heron, Reddish Egrets, Tricolored Heron, Blue Herons, Cormorants, White and Brown Pelicans,  Roseate Spoonbills, Plovers and Willets were spotted.  Al saw a Bald Eagle flying over head but I missed that. Only duck we saw was the Pied-Billed Grebe.  I also spotted celebrity birders Lillian and Donald Stokes birding with the crowd of excited birders.  The most wondrous sight was a flock of about 12 or more Roseate Spoonbills take off and fly overhead as a group.  I almost got it on a video but just in a short frame.

Pictures from the morning:

 

 

 

 

We stopped for lunch at Sunset Grill. I had Dill seasoned and pan seared Atlantic Salmon on a bed of Romaine and Spinach with a cucumber, wasabi buttermilk dressing, tossed with bacon crumbles, sweet onion, tomato, cucumber slices and shaved Parmesan.  It was enough salad for 4 people. Al had the Wood Grilled Burger-a half pound Angus burger topped with your choice of cheese and grilled to your liking on a Kaiser roll.  We enjoyed our meal on the outside deck.

We drove home and spent some time on the bayside watching the fishing boats and distant birds on the shore line.
For dinner, I cooked Shrimp Puttanesca with pasta, one of Al's favorites,  and served with mixed green salad with hot rolls and glasses of wine.

Day 7 on Captiva

The morning began as usual...up early....coffee and pastries enjoyed while checking email and web.  I spent part of the day making cards and posting to challenges.  The day was a bit on the cool side...50's and 60's.   For lunch, I made roll ups with tortillas  and filled with ham, tomatoes, cheese, avocados, lettuce, etc.  Al took a walk and picked up a paper at the nearby convenience shop. 

Dinner tonight was grilled strip steak prepared by Al and I prepared angel hair pasta with aglio olio sauce and arugula salad.  Enjoyed with glasses of wine.

Evening was spent watching TV or sleeping in front of the TV.

Sorry nothing exciting to post!

Day 6 on Caotiva

Yes it does rain on Captiva!  It rained and thundered most of the night and we woke to rain on Thursday morning and it continued sporadically during the day.  The gray clouds hung overhead all the day so we spent our time inside except for a quick drive through Ding Darling but the birds were all hunkered in their shelters.

The morning began with coffee and pastries. I posted some cards and Al spent time on his computer.  Time flew quickly and it was soon time for lunch of soup and sandwiches enjoyed on the porch.  Tonight Al watched the races at Northfield on his computer and managed to win about $300 with his bets.  I prepared Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya for dinner which we ate as we watched the races. 

Even though it was a "Washed  Out" day, it was better than a snow day at home.
Photo on the right from North Canton sent by Mike, friend and neighbor across the street:

I love how he captured the full moon, a rather eerie scene.

Day 5 on Captiva

Today was an early day to rise.....enjoyed coffee and biscotti while surfing the web.  We scheduled a flight for my sister to come for a week's visit this month.  We always have so much fun when she is here....wished she'd come for the entire time.  After a lunch of turkey sandwiches with avocado and arugula,  we drove into Sanibel and picked up some items at Bailey's and some fresh Red Snapper and Shrimp at Timber's fish market.  There was a backup in traffic on Captiva Drive both ways due to workers painting road markings. 

Bailey's General Store

Timber's

We had shrimp cocktails with our Gin and Tonics on the porch around 4:30 .....no walk to the beach because of cloudy skies.   We dined in on Grilled snapper with rice and green salad with hot rolls.
Al did a great job grilling the fish seasoned with lemon pepper, salt and pepper. Yummy!

This was a fairly uneventful day which is common for us here on the island but made more enjoyable when we think of the inches of snow falling back home.

Day 4 on Captiva

This morning is sunny but a bit cool....maybe not to anyone in the freezing north ....but it is cool for Florida.  After coffee and spending some time on the puters we had breakfast/brunch of easy over eggs, steak (leftovers), toast  and fresh Florida grapefruit. 

Parade of Willets

 We went across the street in the afternoon to the beach.....beautiful sunny day with a cool breeze.  Not many people around us.....could count the number on two hands. And the birds were just as few....only a few willets, a couple of ruddy turnstones, some sanderlings and a few gulls.  We did spot a dolphin swimming by shortly after we arrived.  There was one surfer wrestling with the waves but no boats sailing by.

 

We enjoyed gin and tonics on the porch with chips and salsa.  Dinner was grilled chicken breast salad made with arugula, tomatoes, radishes, red onion, avocado, black olives, mozzarella cheese and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.  I am listing the ingredients so I will remember for another time. We enjoyed the dinner salad with glasses of wine and hot rolls.

Day 3 on Captiva

Today began early with coffee and pastry on a sunny note.  But clouds moved in mid day and we had some heavy rain  No afternoon at the beach!  We spent a restful, relaxing day doing some blogging and Al doing surveys. 

We went to Lazy Flamingo for dinner......the perfect spot for a lazy day.  The place was not busy when we arrived about 5:30 so we sat at the bar where we could view the sunset across the street through the window.   We shared a dozen fresh shucked oysters on the half shell.  Al ordered Fried oysters with French fries and coleslaw.  I had Grilled Grouper with Caesar Salad served with garlic bread.  We shared our dinners enjoying all the food with Blue Moon beer.  The bar and restaurant was filled by the time we left since everyone seems to wait until after sunset to come in.

We enjoyed settling into island life today and look forward to more sun and warm temps tomorrow.

Day 2 on Captiva 2015

 Hello to those who are following our Captiva adventures! 
This morning we began an early day with coffee and bear claws from the Publix bakery.  We then went to the Farmer's Market in Sanibel where we purchased tomatoes, onions, radishes, avocados, fresh Mozzarella cheese, fresh cut flowers, etc  from the selection of fresh produce and other goodies.  The market was crowded with shoppers and dogs.

We then went to one of our favorites spots for brunch... Sanibel Café.  Al had Smoked salmon and bagel with cream cheese, served with tomatoes, red onions and capers. I had the Tuna Salad served over Romaine lettuce with sliced tomato, melon, fruit, and a muffin (Coconut and Chocolate chip) of the day.  It was about a 15 minute wait but well worth it. More about the restaurant and their song here.

Back at the house we spent a restful afternoon with gin and tonics on the porch at cocktail hour.
For dinner, Al grilled steak and I prepared baked potatoes and arugula salad with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and homemade lemon vinaigrette and served with hot rolls and wine.

Tonight was the NFL Super Bowl XLIX from University of Phoenix Stadium with the New England Patriots winning over the Seattle Seahawks which Al watched on TV but I fell asleep watching Downton Abbey.

 Photos from Web