Day 31 Captiva 2019

Tuesday, Mar 5
It's was a cloudy morning.  Al was up at 5:30...I have no idea why he gets up so early.  Me? I did not get up until 7 for our coffee and pastries.  I spent most of the morning editing pictures to be used in a movie of our trip.  Al worked on bills and surveys.....too cloudy to be at the beach or pool, etc.  He also did some needed laundry.... he is our family laundryman.    I made lox and eggs for breakfast served with fresh tomato slices and rye toast.  We later made a trip to Bailey's for grouper and steak and a few other basic items.  We did a quick stop at Tarpon Bay that was under some construction last year. They have a new Marine Laboratory that was re-located to the site of the old store and have expanded the parking and dock areas. We saw some Egrets and Herons on the distant islands.  A man at the dock told us that he had just seen 2 dolphins and a manatee.  Guess we were too late for that show.

Tarpon Bay Explorers Store and Canoe Rental

We were back at the cottage by 3:30.  Had drinks with cheese and crackers on porch but it was a bit cool.
Dinner was Smokey Grouper served on bed of spinach ( sprinkled paprika and Italian seasoning on grouper before pan searing). Served with Fried Okra and Hot Garlic Rolls.  Very good!  Found recipe on line. Link   for recipe.
Dessert was Tiramisu from Bailey's.

Day 14 on Captiva

Our morning began early this morning because we attended the birding lecture of  longtime winter residents of Sanibel Island ,Donald and Lillian Stokes,  at Ding Darling Education Center. The event started at 10:00 and we there by 9:05 to make sure we had seats as there was limited seating and there is always a big turnout.   Our timing was just right because all the seats were filled by 9:15 and people were turned away.  We enjoyed the slide show and talk by the Stokes as they are quite entertaining and informative.  After the lecture, we were almost the first in line to have some new bird books written by the Stokes personally autographed.  

 

 

I am anxious to see 3 birds that they have recently seen at DDWR....white crowned pigeon, green-winged teal, and hooded merganser.  Stay tuned for reported sightings.

We then ended up at  the Sanibel Deli and Coffee Factory for lunch...our first time here.  We were looking for a place that would be quick and no wait.  We happened to get in before a line formed to order at the counter.  Food was good and served fairly quickly.  Al had a Sanibel Fire sandwich... roast beef  on a sub roll with a lot of heat...very, very hot mustard. But that's the way he likes it!! I had Croissant with Chicken salad ...just the way I like it too....chunks of chicken, celery and not too much mayo.  Served with great crunchy chips and pickle.  Great place for sandwiches and looks like it might be a good place for coffee and breakfast sandwiches.  Will come back again.

After lunch,  we shopped at Bailey's for a few items of groceries.  We have been enjoying eating in most meals and like to keep the pantry full.  We then stopped at the dock on Tarpon Bay butdid not see much wildlife,  just a few cormorants sunning on mile  markers posts.

 

It was too cool again to spend time on the beach but was a sunny day.   For dinner I prepared Lemon Chicken with Asparagus with a recipe found on the web.   Recipe here.  It was very simple, quick and good. I served with sliced tomatoes with basil and Ciabatta rolls.  Photo taken from recipe on line.

 

 

 

That's all to report for Friday the 13th.  Not a bad day!  Hope everyone is keeping warm!

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.

Day 26 on Captiva

Wed, Feb 27

Cecilia and I spent another early morning at the beach collecting shells... even better today.... and not as cool. Found a lot of olives and more variety.  Photo on right shows most of what we found.


This morning Al had a massage with his therapist at 10:00 and Cecilia and I used the time to shop at the Tahitian Gardens.  I bought Jacob and Hannah "Life is Good" tee shirts for their birthdays and some cute books. Cecilia bought Hannah the cutest pink cap and Jacob a book about seashells. She also found a box for a treasure chest for him to hold seashells. Their birthday party themes are Pirates for Jacob and Princess for Hannah. Her gifts will tie into their themes. 

We manage to shop most of the stores before Al met us for Brunch at the Sanibel Cafe.  Al had his usual lox and bagel platter. Cecilia and I both had the quiche special of the day served with hash browns.

Then we shopped The Brown Bag (a men's shop) where Al bought a pair of shorts and a shirt. And we also shopped the remaining stores.  Our next stop was Tarpon Bay to see what was going on there. This is the place to go for canoes and pontoon boat tours of DDNWR. Here we saw some Ruddy Turnstones, Osprey, and Piliated Woodpecker.  Not any birds on the water or islands.

The skies were too overcast and cloudy to spend time at the beach today.  It did rain late afternoon so no sunset to see. We decided to go to dinner about 5:30 to Doc Ford's which usually have call ahead seating but we found out they no longer do that starting today.  We had a 40 minute wait but it was worth it.  Once seated, we started with oysters which we shared. Cecilia and I had to have the Mojito.

 Cecilia ordered Cedar Plank Salmon-freshly cut salmon filet topped with a mango chipotle glaze, served with au gratin potatoes, wilted spinach and caramelized mushrooms-which she shared with me.   Al had  Panko Fried Shrimp - with french fries and cole slaw. I ordered the Calamari Salad - lightly battered calamari tossed with mixed Everglades greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, a sweet and sour vinaigrette dressing, topped with crispy wontons. I shared the salad with all.....