Day 34 Captiva

 Early up this morning at 6:30. Sunny but cool at 54 degrees here but 24 at home with snow. We left about 8:30 to go to a lecture at Ding Darling.  Although it started at 10,  the room would fill up quickly and you have to be early to get a seat.  The space was completely filled by 9:15. Kevin Karlson, a birder, tour leader, and a wildlife photographer,  gave a presentation on birds of prey.  He began with a video by Pete Dunne who wrote Birds of Prey. He showed many great slides of all kinds of raptors including those in the book and had many stories to share.  Also, in attendance were Don and Lillian Stokes in the audience.

After the talk,  we took a walk on Indigo Trail out to the Wildlife Education Boardwalk.

The alligator was there but no signs of the nesting yellow-crowned night herons that we saw on our earlier visit.  We did see Ibis, Blue Heron, Anhinga and  2 green herons who supposedly are building a nest.

Alligator from different views:

Green Heron sitting near Alligator:

More of the Green Herons:

We returned to the cottage and had lunch of chicken salad and iced tea on the porch.

We spent time at the pool while the cottage was cleaned by Edguardo and Norma. 

Dinner tonight at The Mad Hatter restaurant ....one of our long time favorites.  Reservation for 5:00 for a window table  so we had a great view of the gulf.   Al ordered glasses of Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir.  He had the Caesar Salad with Italian White Anchovies and I had Spiced Watermelon salad with Arugula, Pine Nuts, Mint, and Feta Cheese.  We should have shared a salad....one was enough for 2.  Al dined on Short Ribs braised in red wine and served with horseradish sauce and truffle yucca fries.  I enjoyed Florida Gulf Shrimp served over goat cheese grits with roasted red pepper cream.  Both dinners served with fresh asparagus.  We finished by sharing Espresso Crème Brulee for dessert.  Excellent dinner!   We watched the sunset from the parking lot as we left. 

 Pictures from internet:

Quote from website:

The food is divine, the view is spectacular

and the experience is unforgettable."

Day 40 on Captiva

After coffee, I took a walk on the beach about 9:00am and waiting for me was the Eagle in the Australian Pine near the path to the beach.   A lot was going on this morning.....many people were out fishing, shelling, and walking, even flying kites.   A lot of birds were already flocking to the shoreline including this group of Willets.

On closer look I spotted a pair of Marbled Godwits I in the group.

 

These are some of the scenes that I saw this morning:

 

We had a light breakfast of cereal , toast, and fresh oranges when I returned.  Then we spent the afternoon on the beach.   While we there, a pair of eagles hung out in the Australian tree.

 

The flock of Willets on the beach had grown to about 150 birds in size from this morning.

We had 5:00 reservations at The Mad Hatter for dinner....one of our all time favorite restaurants.   Al ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio to begin our special dinner.  We began by sharing an appetizer Blue Crab Cake - panko crusted jumbo lump crab cake crowned with tropical fruit salsa and yucca chip finished with mango cream beurre  blanc.   Then we shared a Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Frisee, and Walnut Vinaigrette.  Both the appetizer and salad were very delicious.  Al ordered Dayboat Scallops-pan seared and encrusted with Panko Crumbs and Black Truffle finished with a caramelized shallot beurre blanc served with Garlic Mashed Yukon Potatoes and Asparagus.  I ordered a new entree just added to the menu- pan seared  Striped Bass with Tomato Jam served with Spinach Risotto and Asparagus. Great entrees!  Since this was such a special meal we just had to have dessert to finish.  We indulged with Classic Crème Brule-vanilla bean enhanced  espresso  baked custard with a caramelized raw cane sugar crust served with creme anglaise, melba sauce fresh whipped cream & berries topped with a spun sugar design.

 

 

  The sun set as we finished our dinner but it was cloudy so not as beautiful as the one shown here:

 

 

                                                        Sunset at The Mad Hatter

                                                               

Day 41 on Captiva, continued

We spent the afternoon on the beach watching the dolphins and boats.  This was the most beautiful afternoon on the beach and there were many boats of all kinds sailing in the gulf.  I made several pictures of the boats passing by. 

 

Here are some other photos from the beach visit:

This is the view looking behind us on the beach.
 

Tonight was a special dinner at one of our very favorite restaurants The Mad Hatter, a wonderland of New American Cuisine. The food is divine, the view is spectacular and the experience is unforgettable. Chef Kurt and Michelle Jarvis are in charge of this cozy, romantic restaurant on the beach with its well-deserved reputation and unbeatable sunsets.  The ever-changing menu features flavors from around the world.  This was one of the first restaurants that we visited on our very first trip to Captiva Island so many years ago. It has changed ownership a couple of times but has now been restored to its original greatness.

We had 5:15 reservations, a bit early for us, but it turned out to be a good time.  We had a great table by the window and a great server.  We ordered glasses of wine and were served complimentary blue crab claw appetizers and olive tapenade.  We shared a Strawberry Salad-mixed organic baby greens, red onions, cherry tomatoes, and fresh strawberries lightly tossed in a shallot and  red wine vinaigrette, topped with Maytag Blue Cheese, drizzled with an aged balsamic reduction.

Al ordered Rack of Lamb which was 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 potato gratin and asparagus.

I dined on Blue Crab Cake-panko crusted jumbo lump crab cake crowned with tropical fruit salsa and yucca chip finished with mango cream beurre blanc and served with asparagus, risotto, and fried plantains.

 We splurged on dessert served with French Pressed coffee.  The dessert we chose was Espresso Crème Brulee -  baked custard with a caramelized raw cane sugar crust served with crème anglaise, whipped cream and  mint.

This was a fantastic dinner...the best of the 6 weeks that we were in Captiva.  We really should start our trip with a meal here as well as end our trip here. 
Note: Photos of Mad Hatter and their menu items were taken from the internet.

Day 39 on Captiva

Last year a pair of eagles would visit the beach nearly everyday when we were in Captiva. They would sit in an Australian Pine tree directly behind the area where we sat.  This year we have only spotted them on the beach only a couple of times.   But today an eagle flew in and landed in the same tree and perched there for about 3o minutes,  I caught a picture as he flew above the roofs before landing.....

 

Today was a windy day but it was warm and was a great day to be at the beach.

The photos below gives an idea of how windy it was and how high the surf was.

 

 

Dinner tonight was at one of our favorite restaurants, The Mad Hatter.  We had early reservations at 5:15 with a table by the window.  We shared an appetizer of Portuguese Oysters roasted with chorizo, grilled corn and roasted pepper crusted  and Duck Salad-sliced cold duck on a bed of spinach  with orange, pecans, bacon and chopped onion dressing.  Al ordered Short Ribs, red wine braised, served with horseradish cream and truffle yucca fries,  I ordered the Triple Tail Special  pan-fried  topped with crab meat and fruit and served on saffron rice and asparagus.  Enjoyed with Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio. A Lovely meal and great service by Michelle.

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.