Second Day of Drive Home

Sunday, Mar 17
Today is Happy St. Patrick's Day! 💚

We were up at 7am and ate breakfast in the lobby at the Super 8...small waffles with banana, juice, and coffee.
On the road to Farragut, TN by 9am.  Arrived there at 1:15 after a short traffic delay due to an accident....we passed what looked like a car that had burned, but fire had been extinguished. 
We stopped at Kroger's for some flowers and dinner supplies before heading to Cecilia's to celebrate St. Pat's with her.  She had a Forsythia bush full of yellow blooms and  beautiful daffodils blooming at her front door. Spring has arrived!

We celebrated being together and the holiday with a Corned Beef dinner with cabbage, potatoes, onions, and carrots with glasses of wine.  Shared a large St. Pat's cupcake for dessert.  A fun day with my sister.

We stayed at Super 8 near the interstate in Room 126.  

First Day of Travel to Captiva

 Thursday, Feb 2, 2017
      Hello and welcome! Al and I are traveling again to Captiva Island for 6 weeks of sun and sand on this beautiful island.   This begins my daily diary/blog of our annual trip to Captiva Island on the west coast of Florida west of Ft. Meyers and Sanibel Island.  I will be writing about our daily activities  and adventures in Florida.  Please join us as we enjoy our stay. This is my first post since our last Captiva trip in 2016.

 We left around 8:00 am in the morning getting up early at 5:30.  We had packed the car yesterday all except food for the trip, computers, and toiletries. The morning was a cold 24 degrees and a bit snowy.  The sky was cloudy and remained that way  all day.   Our first stop was Farragut, TN to visit Cecilia, my sister.  We arrived at the motel about 4:30 and checked in at the Super 8 at 11748 Snyder Road, right off  I75. 

 

We then headed to Cecilia's and then to a fun dinner at Calhoun's. 

 Al had Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Q ribs(half slab) served with slaw and baked beans.  Cecilia and I both had Southern-Fried Catfish and Spinach Maria which is the best spinach!!!  I ordered the Macadamia Nut Banana Pudding with 3 spoons....it was a huge dessert (more than we three could eat) and outrageously delicious!

We had a great evening with Cecilia and look forward to another visit with her on our return in 6 weeks.
More Travel to come tomorrow.

 

Day 23 on Captiva

Sun, Feb 24

Al, Mike, and I were up early at 6 am to get ready to go to DDNWR at 7:00 when the gate opens. It was a sunny morning and birds were out feeding....mostly saw white pelicans, brown pelicans, ibis, blue herons, great blue herons, tri-colored herons, reddish egrets, snowy egrets,  great egrets, yellow-crowned night herons, pied billed grebes, red-breasted mergansers, cormorants, anhingas, wood stork, and osprey. Special sightings were a Little Green Heron and a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron feeding on a crab. Mike saw several birds for the first time.

I left at 9:30 to drive to Punta Gorda airport to pick up my sister, Cecilia, who flew in from Knoxville to spend a week. Al and I are so thrilled that she is coming as it always a fun time with her.

Al and Mike drove to Bailey Tract for a walk to see more birds. These are photos of some of what they saw there:

Al and Mike had lunch at the Sunset Grill in nearby Santiva. Cecilia and I arrived at the house about 1:30 after stopping at the Farmer's Market to buy a fresh bouquet of flowers. I made us some turkey roll-ups with chips for lunch.

We all headed out to the beach for some sun and rest.  One of the eagles again landed in the tree and sat there for about 2 hours...that seems to be the eagle routine.

Tonight we had 6:00 reservations at The Mad Hatter, our most favorite dinner spot even though it is a small restaurant. We had hoped for a great sunset but the clouds prevented that but the lack of a sunset did not put a damper on dinner.



 



We began dinner with wine and salads. Al started with Mad House Salad-mixed organic baby greens, sliced pear and candied walnuts tossed with  house shallot and red wine vinaigrette, garnished with raspberry coulis  crowned with tempura Gorgonzola.  Mike had Strawberry Blue Salad-mixed organic baby greens, red onions, cherry tomatoes & fresh strawberries lightly tossed in a shallot and red wine vinaigrette, topped with Maytag Blue Cheese, drizzled with an aged balsamic reduction.  Cecilia and I shared Spiced Watermelon Salad-fresh watermelon tossed with roasted pine nuts, cayenne pepper, fresh mint and feta cheese served atop organic baby arugula.  All of the salads were delicious.
For entrees, Cecilia, Mike and I ordered Crab Cake dinners-2 panko crusted jumbo lump crab cakes with mustard sauce and  yucca  fries. Al dined on Rack of Lamb-pan seared, oven roasted Free Range Australian Rack of Lamb with walnut and cherry pesto crust, finished with a rosemary and port wine demi-glace served with roasted garlic risotto and mixed vegetables. This was a very delicious meal with excellent service and great conversion!

                               
 We chose to finish the evening with coffee and Key Lime Pie on the porch back at the house.  It was a very enjoyable day especially with Mike and Cecilia joining us.