Day 34 on Captiva

Today is another beautiful day on the Island.  I caught up this morning with the blog posts and am back to real time posting rather than backdating them.   We continue to have beautiful weather and in the hi 70's.  While I have been writing, Al has been finishing his picks for tonight's Northfield races ...hoping they are not cancelled again.  Al went to Timbers Fish Market  after 11:00 to buy mussels for dinner and some shrimp.  When he returned,  I served lunch on the porch.  We had Turkey Sandwiches and Fruit Salad with Cottage Cheese  made with fresh strawberries and pears served with tall glasses of refreshing Iced Tea.

Then off to the beach.....click on the video below to experience a bit of the beach and birds:

Photos of birds on the beach:

After the beach, we enjoyed Gin 'n' Tonics with shrimp cocktails on the porch.   I prepared Steamed Mussels with a Light Italian Sauce ( Old recipe by Jeff Smith)  and served with Arugula salad and rolls with Wine.  The mussels were the largest that we have ever seen ...the size of large oysters and very succulent.  Al watched the races and made a few hundred dollars on his wagers.

Day 33 on Captiva

Today we started with a walk in Bailey Tract after early coffee and pastries.  We arrived at the tract about 8:30 on a warm and sunny morning.  We spotted only a few birds including a pair of Blue-winged Teals sleeping on the water who woke for photos and an Eastern Kingbird.

 

 

We spotted some alligators throughout the tract, a popular sight with the hikers.

 

 

We thought a Blue Heron (white phase) was in danger as he was feeding very close to an

alligator who was in the water nearby but nothing happened as we stood and watched.

Alligator on the left and Heron facing him on the right.

 

The last alligator of the day on a spot near the tract.

 

We stopped at Over Easy Café for breakfast after our walk through the tract.

 

 

We grabbed a seat at the counter to avoid a long wait for a table.  Al ordered Egg Reuben sandwich on a bagel topped with 1000 Island dressing, grilled corned beef, fried egg and Swiss cheese  and potatoes.  I had traditional Egg Benedict with a toasted English muffin  topped with grilled Canadian bacon, 2 poached eggs  and Hollandaise sauce  served with grits.   This was the most perfect eggs Benedict that I have ever had. 

 

 We spent the beautiful afternoon at the beach soaking in the sun and surf.

 

For dinner I prepared Triple Tail Milanese ......this is a delicious fish and so easy to prepare.  Simply flour with seasonings,  dip in egg, panko crumbs and sauté about 3-4 min on each side.  Serve with lemon sauce.  We enjoyed with asparagus and salad.

Day 32 on Captiva

Today began early with coffee and a plan to go to DDWR around 9:30 because there is a low tide about that time. It is another perfect day for birding with warm temperatures and a sunny sky.  We saw the usual birds including the many White Pelicans, Ibis, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and so on. But we still have not seen any Yellow-Crowned, Black- Crowned or Green Herons which are some of our faves at DDWR.

Al loves to photograph the White Pelicans as they come in and land on an island ....
this is their daily routine.

 

 

 

We took a walk on the Wulfert KeysTrail which we had always driven by before but decide it was time to check out.

 

End of the Trail is an Overlook

View that is seen at the end of the trail

 

After our DDWR Trip, we stopped at Lazy Flamingo for a lunch of Fresh Oysters on the half shell....very refreshing after being on the trail.  We also shared a chicken tenders sandwich with fries.  Lunch is a great time to eat here as it is not busy and we had great, quick service.
We spent the afternoon on the beach which was very quiet...not many birds or people.  A great time to rest, relax and read.
For a easy and light dinner, Al grilled chicken breasts and I served them on a bed of arugula and salad fixin's  including fresh strawberries.   We did not need much dinner after a larger lunch that we usually have.

Day 31 0n Captiva Sunset

This is a continuation of Day 31 with coverage of the return of Parachuters at sunset and a video and photos of sunset. Click on each arrow to see videos.

 

This is a video of the sunset:

This was a beautiful evening for a sunset ...a nice breeze stirring over the sand and surf and the clouds were glorious with colors.  As we approached the beach about 6:00,  the 2 parachuters from this afternoon returned to give a second show of their flying skills with the motorized parachutes.

 

 

 

 

 

After sunset, we prepared a dinner of panko crusted triple tail with asparagus and arugula salad with strawberries and balsamic vinaigrette.  A nice ending to a nice day.

Day 31 on Captiva

Monday is massage day for Al.  While he was away, I tried to catch up with posts for the last several days as I got away from my daily routine of posting one day at a time.  I think I was able to recapture each days event with most details.  As I write this,  it is actually Thursday, March 5, so I am almost back to real time.

I had tuna salad sandwiches waiting for Al when he got home about noon.....he did some shopping at Jerry's after his massage.  We lunched on the porch with Iced Tea .... it was a beautiful day...perfect for the beach.  We enjoyed reading, watching the birds, and seeing a show by some parachuters.

Parachuters  take to the sky.

 

 More to be continued on another post about tonight's Sunset. Stay tuned.

Day 30 on Captiva

Today begins  our last 2 weeks here on Captiva!  Time has gone so fast.  It has been a good time to be here since we have had the worst winter of snow and cold temperatures back home.

We went to the Farmers' Market in Sanibel early and parked in the theater parking lot since the library lot was full.  We bought our usual produce- tomatoes, lettuce, red pepper, radishes, strawberries and some scallops and triple tail fish at the seafood booth.  We also bought a bouquet of Yellow Spider Mums.....wanted some  alstroemeria but did not have.

 

We stopped for breakfast at Sanibel café and to our surprise, they were not busy at all, not like the usual Sunday morning crowd.  Al ordered the  Café Sampler – Two eggs, two slices of bacon and two pancakes (sorry, no substitutions) but they let him substitute sausage for bacon.   I had Salmon with Cheese and Onion Quiche of the day with parmesan tomatoes ....the quiche was a bit overcooked.

 

We made a quick stop at DDWR and took a short walk out on the Indigo Trail just to the Observation Tower.  I was hoping to see the Mangrove Cuckoo again but no such luck.   We did see a Tri-colored Heron and a pair of  Blue-winged teals feeding.  I think they were the same ones we saw on a earlier trip.

  

Scene from Observation Tower

 

 

We spent a couple hours at the beach in the afternoon....

perfect sunny weather  with a cool tropical breeze.

 

Al grilled some delicious Scallops and I served with lemon orzo and caprese salad. 

We enjoyed with glasses of wine.  Al even took a photo of dinner to share.