Day 38 Captiva

Another cool morning on the island.  Spent lazy am with coffee and computers.   Went to Farmers' Market on Captiva at South Seas Resort.  Very busy, no parking near SS so we parked at the Post Office ...bought some stamps....and walked to the market.  Ended up not buying anything even though we wanted tomatoes, but vendor was too busy doing other things than taking care of paying customers.  We decided to have lunch at Doc Ford's in Sanibel since we could not park at the one in Captiva.  Had a nice lunch on the outside terrace at a sunny table looking on to Tarpon Bay Road.   Al ordered 1/2 dozen raw oysters and I ordered Fish Fingers served with tartar sauce.  We both had bowls of clam chowder.  Then we went to Bailey's General Store for just a couple of items....were very busy ....waited in check out line longer than it took to shop.  We drove to Tarpon Bay Explorers at end of the road.....usually a good spot to look out over the bay at birds and wildlife and shop the neat gift shop.....but the place was under construction and the observation area was blocked off.  Gave up on that idea and drove back to the cottage.

We walked over to the beach about 4:00.  Even with the cool winds, a lot of people on the beach and some swimming and surfing.  The Thriller passed by at the end of their tour.

People at the beach:

 Two Surfer Dudes in the Waves:

 This Dude was reading:

Only a few birds: 

Strong waves brought in debris to shore:

We stopped at the pool to check out the eagles' nest:

For dinner, I roasted red snapper with panko crust and served with baked potato and arugula salad.  Tried a different recipe for roasting instead of pan frying.  It was just as good but took a little longer.  

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.