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 13 on Captiva

Friday morning was quiet and cloudy.  Quick walk on the beach and picked up a few shells but nothing exciting.  Shared the beach with a few birds.

 

For breakfast on the porch, I served poached eggs, bacon, grapefruit, and toast with juice.  We shopped at Bailey's later in afternoon for mussels and other items.  Al shopped at the Grog shop for wine, scotch, and cigars using a 10% off coupon. Back to the cottage and the pool and beach.

For dinner I made steamed mussel with a light Italian sauce (tomatoes, garlic, green onions, and wine.  Served them over pasta with green salad and hot roll.

We had an uneventful day but very relaxing.

Day 3 on Captiva

After coffee and sweet rolls on the porch,  we headed to Ding Darling Wildlife Drive to check out the birds.  Did not leave too early but it was low tide and a lot of birds were feeding.   We spotted the usual herons, Reddish Egrets and large flocks of White Pelicans but not too many smaller shorebirds. Sharing some of the photos that I took on the drive.

 White Pelicans

 

 

 Immature Heron

 Black Crowned Night Heron

 Anhinga

Little Green Heron

Ibis

White Heron

A fisherman showed me this fish but I forgot the name......maybe scissor fish??

 

We drove over to Bailey's Center and picked up some more provisions including snapper for tonight's dinner, some pastries, bagel, bread, etc.   Back to the cottage for brunch of  scrambled eggs, bacon,  and bagel.  Enjoyed the afternoon poolside reading, sunning, and napping.

 

For dinner we prepared snapper with a panko coating and served with red lettuce salad with radishes, tomatoes, onions and Parmesan cheese with  my homemade dressing.  W enjoyed with glasses of wine.

Day 8 on Captiva

After our daily coffee,  we took a trip to Ding Darling Wildlife Reserve to do some bird watching.   We arrived at the drive about 9 with a cloudy sky and cool temperatures.  The tide was low and a lot of birds were feeding in the distant waters including many White Ibis, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, Reddish Egrets, White Pelicans, Brown Pelicans, Cormorants, and a few Roseate Spoonbills scattered in the crowd.  We saw a lot of Blue-Winged Teals, more than we saw last year, but not any other ducks today. Some of our photos shown below:

 

 
We then drove into Sanibel to shop at Bailey's for dinner and a few other items.  It had started to rain by the time we arrived back at the house.    I made sandwiches for lunch on the porch.   It had begun to rain harder and was very windy.   Al had an appointment for a massage at 3 so we drove down to the Spa.   He was very pleased with the Masseur and his back felt better after his massage. The rain continued to fall.

For dinner I prepared Panko Crusted Red Snapper that baked in the oven.  Used recipe from the web.   Served with mashed potatoes and arugula salad.  Very good!  We dined inside tonight....too cool and damp on the porch.

 

Al watched the races at Northfield Park tonight on the computer.

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.