Day 18 Captiva

After early coffee with Al,  I headed to the beach for a walk around 9:30 and found several brown pelicans were still there along with hungry gulls.

Cormorant talking to the pelican: "You're a big bird!"

For breakfast we had poached eggs, bacon, biscuits and grapefruit. We spent from 11:30-2:30 at the pool and kept eye on the eagles' nest:

We went out to the beach but it was too hot to stay long.  We saw a small group of willets on the shore and mixed in were 4 Marbled Godwits:

The pelicans were still flying about.  Love when they soar across the sky in formation:

The Thriller tour boat passed by at 3:00:

Dinner tonight at the Timbers.....we called ahead when we left at 5:30....no wait for a table at this time of day.  We shared a dozen gulf oysters on the half shell.  Al ordered Florida Lobster tail with drawn butter, served with salad, sweet potato and asparagus.   I had Mango Snapper (one of the fresh fish of the day) served with lemon butter, clam chowder, rice pilaf and asparagus.  Great honey bread served with our great dinners! We bought fresh mussels at the fish market on the way out.... for tomorrow's dinner.

Day 30 on Captiva

Cool morning on the porch.  I left Al sitting there and came inside for my coffee today.  I sat at the kitchen counter and posted blog entries.  I am now completely caught up to date after having my new computer.  I have edited and resized a lot of photos too this morning.  Al has been busy on his computer.
For this cool day, I made Matzo Ball soup for lunch and served with Chicken Sandwiches on the porch after it warmed up.  We went out to the pool for the afternoon.....the winds ripped off part of the gazebo cover that had already started to wear from the hot sun.  Margarethe already planned to replace so it was not a bad thing.

We went to Timbers Restaurant and Fish Market for dinner......we have been going here since the first we came to Captiva.  The restaurant has changed décor over the years but has basically the same menu except the prices. 

 

Al ordered 3+3 Appetizer-3 Oyster Rockefeller and 3 Clams Casino and Fried Oysters with salad, sweet potato, and sautéed vegetables.   I had Triple Shrimp platter with Scampi, Baked Shrimp. and Crunchy Shrimp  with clam chowder and sweet potato. Delicious honey bread was served with our dinner.  

They have a nice selection of fresh seafood in the market and we bought some yellowtail snapper for Tuesday's dinner.  This a very busy place but they do have call ahead seating so we did not have to wait for a booth.....just allow 30 minutes to call ahead.

Day 14 on Captiva

Another early walk on the beach but did not pick up any shells.   Very quiet this morning.  I only saw a few willets:

I walked over to the bay and found a few early birds including a flock of Ibis who settled in a tree by the dock above the bench where I sat.

 Above is the resident Osprey next door to the dock.

 

Al was busy on the porch on his computer while I did my walking tour of the beach and bay.

I made us Roasted Chicken Soup with Vegetables (from a can) and sandwiches for lunch.  Hot soup was good on this cool day.

 

We spent the afternoon between the beach and bay.  We spent the time watching birds and boats go by and napping.

 

 

 

I walked to the bay to check out the afternoon visitors but only found Brown Pelicans, one Commorant,  and one White Pelican.

 

 

Dinner tonight was at Timbers where we always enjoy the food and service.

Al had an appetizer of Clams on the half shell.  For dinner he had broiled Sea Scallops with sweet potato, veggies, and salad.   I had Steamed shrimp-peel and eat-with clam chowder and rice pilaf.  This was served with their Honey Bread by our server Laura who was excellent

On the way out we bought Red Snapper and Beef Tenderloins at the Fish Market for Saturday and Sunday dinners.

 

 

 

 

Day 5 on Captiva

Today was an early day to rise.....enjoyed coffee and biscotti while surfing the web.  We scheduled a flight for my sister to come for a week's visit this month.  We always have so much fun when she is here....wished she'd come for the entire time.  After a lunch of turkey sandwiches with avocado and arugula,  we drove into Sanibel and picked up some items at Bailey's and some fresh Red Snapper and Shrimp at Timber's fish market.  There was a backup in traffic on Captiva Drive both ways due to workers painting road markings. 

Bailey's General Store

Timber's

We had shrimp cocktails with our Gin and Tonics on the porch around 4:30 .....no walk to the beach because of cloudy skies.   We dined in on Grilled snapper with rice and green salad with hot rolls.
Al did a great job grilling the fish seasoned with lemon pepper, salt and pepper. Yummy!

This was a fairly uneventful day which is common for us here on the island but made more enjoyable when we think of the inches of snow falling back home.

Day 17 on Captiva

This is another typical day beginning with coffee, lunch and then to the beach for the afternoon.  The photos below will show you another beautiful day of sun and sand.  The top 2 photos shows parasailing on the shimmering gulf.  The bottom photo show you the white sand of the beach and some of the beach homes behind us where we sit on the beach.

We had dinner at Timbers in Sanibel tonight. There was a lot of traffic backed up on San-Cap road as we approached the intersection at Tarpon Bay Rd. about 5:00.  We were told this was not unusual traffic for this time of the season which is at it highest.  The traffic has greatly increased since Hurricane Charlie, seems almost back to pre-Charlie days.
For dinner we of course had to try the oysters on the half shell...not as good as Doc Ford's.
Al had the Baked Stuffed Shrimp with salad and fries.  Fries were not the best choice. Baked  Sweet Potato is a better selection for a side.  I had Caesar salad  and Fried Calamari( appetizer as entrée).
Seafood is always a good choice here. Baked bread is always great here.

Day 25 on Captiva

Tues, Feb 26

Cecilia and I went out at 7:00 to check for shells....after heavy winds and rain, we found some great shells but we had to be careful not to pick up live ones. There were a lot of live conch shells. We also saw a lot of dead fish because of the Red Tide and we had some coughing spells caused by it. We were all by ourselves and had all the shells to ourselves.

After coffee and pastries, we drove to DDNWR for a drive through the reserve. There seemed to be more white pelicans and ibis today but feeding seemed to mostly finished at the time we drove through.

 

 

 

 

For lunch, I made mussel salad sandwich with last night's left over mussels adding mussels, remoulade sauce, and lettuce  to buns.  This made great sandwiches.

Since the weather was not great, Cecilia made a card using my supplies. She did a great job since she had not made a card before. To check out her card see the post on my blog.

 

Tonight we went to Timbers for a seafood dinner.  Cecilia ordered the Oysters Rockefeller- oysters baked with seasoned spinach and cheese and we ordered Flight Oysters on the half shell for appetizers and shared. For entrees, Cecilia had Captiva Crabcake  served with dill sauce. Al had the Triple Shrimp Platter-scampi, baked stuffed, and crunchy. I had Baked Stuffed Shrimp with seafood stuffing.  We enjoyed salad or clam chowder  with sides of steamed vegetables and baked sweet potatoes.  It was a great dinner.