Day 37 on Captiva

Cloudy morning! We went to Ding Darling for an early drive about 8 or was it 9....confused by the time change.  Anyway the time on the first photo was 8:10.  There was a low tide and a lot of ibis feeding .....only saw a few white pelicans 5-6.... a few roseate spoonbills feeding.....several yellow-crowned night herons including a "family" of three.  Most of our photos were  of night herons and roseates. 

These pictures give  a feel of the cloudy, gray morning:

 

 We had fun watching these yellow-crowned night herons: 

 

 

 

 

 And then a roseate spoonbill joined the herons:

 

 

 

Other birds of the day:

Reddish Egret

Tri-Colored Heron

 

Ibis

 

Mottled Ducks

 

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron near the end of the drive

Cat Bird

 

Our drive ended about 11:00 and we headed back to the cottage for a lunch of chicken sandwiches and chips.  We decided the cloudy afternoon would be a good time to hit the shops at Periwinkle Place and that we did.  It was more of a window shopping trip but I did buy something at Fresh Produce and some soap and lotions at a new shop Fanta Sea.

This shopping area is a lovely place located in a garden atmosphere with beautiful tropical plants, trees, and water fountains.

 

 

Since it is time to eat, we drove to Matzaluna for dinner but it was a 25 minute drive to the end of the island because of the bumper to bumper traffic headed to the causeway.

 

But we beat the dinner rush and were seated in a booth immediately.  Al ordered Veal Parmesan -tender cutlet, lightly fried, then baked with mozzarella and pomodoro sauce and served a salad.

I had Mulberry Street Shrimp-gulf shrimp, sauteéd with capers, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and prosciutto tossed in a sage cream sauce, served over angel hair pasta and with a salad.  This was absolutely delicious and way too large a portion.  By the time that we left, there was a long line of people waiting for tables and an overcrowded bar.  The Italian dinner was worth the drive in the traffic jam.

 

 

 

Day 35 Captiva

Spent some time ironing and blogging this morning. Also finished a birthday card.  Al spent morning  paying bills online and taking care of some business.  Therefore,  it is not all play while we are here. Drove into Sanibel for lunch at Hungry Heron.  This is one of the older places where we have eaten for years...it is beginning to become one of the less popular on the island as newer and trendier places come on the scene. Al ordered a half corned beef sandwich on rye  with a cup of clam chowder and I had a half shrimp salad sandwich with same soup.  Portions are plentiful  and good.

Al had an appointment with a massage therapist....he has problems with his shoulder and back and having a massage with a qualified therapist relieves some of the pain.  Dianne Johnson's office is behind the Village Shops  and he would recommend her if you need a massage. For a future reminder I all including her link here.  I passed the time away by checking the Village Shops but did not buy anything.

We decided to stay on Sanibel and eat at Matzaluna - the Italian Kitchen.  Since it was still too early for us to eat, we had drinks and an appetizer of Calamari Fritto at their bar.....well it was Happy Hour so why not get  happy. For dinner in the dining room,  Al ordered Veal Saltimboca...escapoles of veal baked proscuitto, provolone and sage cream sauce.  This was a bit different preparation of the dish than we have had before....Al was not crazy about the cream sauce and lacked the flavor of sage. I had Eggplant Parmesan...lightly fried and baked with mozzarella and sauce pomodoro with penne pasta.  Way too much sauce and cheese.......eggplant was in there somwhere.  I have not been able to find eggplant parmesan as great as the one from Maplewood  Restaurant in Vineland, NJ. This was not one of our best dinners ....may be better to try their pizza if we come back.