Day 35 on Captiva

Today is Saturday and we have only one more week here on the island.  We will be driving home next Saturday am.  It is cool here but it may be good for shelling with all the winds from the last couple days.  I bundled up and headed over to the beach just after sunrise to check for shells.  Shells have not been as plentiful and varied this year ...probably because of the beach restoration done recently.   That is probably the cause of fewer birds on the beach as usual  this year.  I did collect a few shells but will probably not keep them....no exciting finds.

The surfers and paddle boarders were out in the gulf this morning taking advantage of the waves.  I tried to capture the look of the morning and some of the action in photos and video:

 

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After some warm hot chocolate and later a lunch of clam chowder and BLT's ,  Al and I went out to the beach.  We were welcomed by an Eagle flying over the gulf who was maybe chased or being chased by an Osprey.  We wrapped up in our beach chairs as if we were on the deck of a cruise ship  The video below shows the intensity  of the waves and that the winds are still high.

                                         

To view the video above, you may need to sign on to my actual blog, not just the email.

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Dinner tonight was at Traditions at 6:15.  The entertainment was  Joe McCormick & Marvilla Marzan

                            

        

 

 For dinner, we shared  oysters on the half shell and a Julius Caesar Salad.  Al ordered the Grilled Veal Chop with porcini mushrooms bordelaise sauce and Gratin potatoes.  I had the grouper special served with crab meat on the top and potatoes. 

Andrea spent time visiting with us even though the restaurant was very busy..  The entertainment was great  and Saturday night seems to be very popular with the local crowd.   A lot of people were here for the dancing.

Day 34 on Captiva

After yesterday and last night's rain,  this morning was very breezy and cool.  We enjoyed coffee and pastries while Al worked on paying bills online and I posted some cards and wrote on this blog.
I made bacon, lettuce, tomato, and basil sandwiches for lunch,   We walked over to the beach but the 30 mile winds kept us from staying there as well as everyone else except a few surfers.
This photo shows the choppy surf:

 

We then walked over to the Bay Side which was more calm.  We sat and watched the birds and also saw some manatees swimming.

 We took the easy way out for dinner and made a Bertolli  Frozen Dinner,  We had roasted chicken risotto with portabella mushrooms and asparagus with parmesan cream sauce, salad, and hot rolls.

Day 33 on Captiva

This morning we made an early trip to Ding Darling to photograph birds.  It was a bit overcast but some birds were out. 

 

 

 

The day became more cloudy and we decided to go to lunch at Doc Ford's and sat outside on the deck.  About the time we finished eating, there was a heavy tropical rain and many diners ran for cover as the wind blew the rain under the sides.  We were not affected as we were well under the roof.  Al ordered a lunch special-a roast beef wrap with fries.  I tried the  Captiva Gulf Shrimp Flat Bread topped with arugula, local gulf shrimp, roasted red bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, kalamata olives and crumbled greek feta cheese. Finished with basil and an aged balsamic reduction drizzle.  Was not to my liking....balsamic was too strong. 

We then went to Chadwick Square across the street and did some shopping. I bought a new Captiva Tee and a sun visor.  Al bought a Life is Good Captiva Tee at a new shop Beach Life.

 

For dinner, I made Shrimp Scampi served with pasta and salad. Used a yellow tomato in the salad from Renee's tomato garden.

Day 32 on Captiva

Not a very happening day!  We lost Wi-Fi connection and weather was not warm enough for a long stay at the beach.  I did some posting on our Captiva blog.  I like to use the less than nice days to work on computer. 
Al has decided he likes his new phone and it is a keeper.  He did get all his contacts...more than 400!!!....downloaded from his Verizon account that backs up his contacts.  Just a  short time at the beach today.


Sanibel Thriller Tour Boat 

For dinner I made Jambalaya, another favorite of Al's.   He likes anything spicy, hot and with sausages.  I made this with Andouille sausage and shrimp and served with salad and crunchy rolls.  I was a day late since we should have had yesterday in celebration of Mardi Gras.

Day 31 on Captiva

Today Al and I watched more of the Blackberry tutorials how to navigate the Z30 model.  He is becoming more comfortable and confidant using the new model and has "almost" decided that it is a keeper.   He can use to listen to his radio stations, take pictures, and has re-downloaded a lot of the apps that he uses.  After a lunch of sandwiches, we spent the afternoon at the beach, Al with his new phone.  It was a beautiful day at gulf side.

 

There was a lot to see on the beach today.....willets, sailboats, speed boats, and a drone?

 

 

 

 

 

For dinner tonight  we tried a fish purchased at the Farmer's Market that we had never eaten....triple tail, a Florida fish that is very meaty and we think is even better than grouper.  We pan roasted the fish and served with a lemon butter sauce.  We had fresh asparagus, another tomato/mozzarella caprese salad and hot rolls.  We both really enjoyed this delicious fish described as the tenderloin of seafood.

Day 30 on Captiva

Today is a bit cold.....a good day to stay in and for  Al to learn to use his phone.  We started the day making coffee in the new Kurigs Coffee maker that Margarethe dropped over last week....just what Al  has been wishing that we would have here.  He even thought of bringing ours and I said NO.    We stocked up on K- cups last night.  
We finally got the Sim card installed correctly and inserted the media card from the old phone yesterday but have not transferred his contacts. The phone is now activated, up and working.  Al has a hard time navigating from the different screens and still is ready to give up. 
I made him...yes made him....watch some of  the Blackberry tutorials online to learn to maneuver the screen going from apps and to different pages to get adjusted to using .  We watched some videos and then stopped for lunch and  back to watch more.  He did find his contacts and backup at Verrizon and has them downloaded......feeling more like his phone.

After a hard day at learning the phone,  Al grilled great scallops which we enjoyed with pasta and salad with wine.   Too cool and breezy for the beach today.

 New Phone

Day 29 on Captiva

Today is the last day of Jack and Loy's visit.  After coffee, we headed to the Farmer's Market in Sanibel for some shopping and walking.  We had to park at the theater and walk the path over to the market.  We bought produce, cheese, triple tail fish and scallops.

 

 

We headed to Sanibel Café for brunch where we had 20 minute wait foe a table.  Jack had
breakfast croissant scrambled eggs, Havarti cheese, shaved grilled ham and tomatoes on a grilled croissant,  Loy tried  Benedict Crab Cakes with tomatoes. and Al had his usual bagel and lox platter.  I ordered the quiche special which was so overcooked it was rubbery and I sent it back and ordered a quick poach eggs and toast which came out hard cooked. I finally settled for the side of grilled parmesan tomatoes and Loy shared one of her eggs.   What a disappointment since I had bragged how great the food was here.

After eating we drove back via Gulf Drive to show our guests more of the island and made a  stop at the dock at Tarpon Bay for more photo opportunities.

We spent the rest of the day at the beach until time to leave for the Punta Gorda  airport at 4:00 for the flight scheduled 6:34 ....about a 1 hour 20 minute drive.  We had no problem this time finding our way back to interstate.   But Jack and Loy had to wait for the departure which was an hour late.  Luckily they had a packed lunch to tide them over.

On the way home we stopped at Minerva's Grill (next to Publix )  and had a great dinner....Al ordered Caesar Salad and Veal Francoise with pasta.  I had the dinner special of Shrimp with pasta and champagne sauce.  Both were delicious and prepared to order.

We then did shopping at Publix ......was a great time to shop...none of the usual busy crowds from daytime.  We arrived home about 9:00 pm.

Sorry to have seen Jack and Loy's visit end.  Maybe a longer stay next time.