Day 34 Continued

After our trip to DDWR, we had a brunch of French Toast, Bacon and Oranges.   We had worked up an appetite after our birding excursion.  The sky was a bit cloudy and not great for sunning on the beach but was nice enough for a walk and more photographing of birds.   Al sat on the beach while I walked and shot beach scenes.    There were over 100 Royal Terns, one of my favorite shore birds,  on the beach today.   They were in 3 different groups.

 

 

 

 

 Did you see the sand castle that I built?

 A close up of Royal birds.

 It gets tired standing all day!

 

Birds in flight after being disturbed by walkers and/or dogs. 

Don't they know that's a bad thing for us birds?

 

Other birds today:

 

 

Other interesting scenes:

 

 

Al sitting on the beach.  Photographed from a distance.

 

Tonight we enjoyed a special evening of dinner and live music at Traditions with Joe and Marvilla.

 

We shared Prime Beef Carpaccio served  with baby arugula, grated  Reggiano Parmesan Cheese, capers, lemon, and EVOO and balsamic vinegar.   This was the best Carpacio that we have had in a long time....very well presented and a generous serving.   Al ordered the evening special of Veal Filet with Giant Shrimp with a Brandy Cream sauce and served with eggplant, potatoes, and steamed spinach.   I ordered Veal and  Artichokes with capers, lemon, and wine sauce served with Potato

 Dauphinoise  and vegetables.  We splurged with a dessert of Crème Brule Flan served with fresh berries.  We finished the evening dancing to the music by Joe and Marvilla  and with complimentary drinks from the host, Andrea, who we have known over 27 years.   We first met him at his former restaurant Bellini's on Captiva Island and have memories of following him to his other restaurants  The Riviera and Dolce Vita.

 

A great evening that brought back wonderful memories and made new ones.

Day 35 on Captiva

Today began overcast and cloudy but the sun started to come out about 10:00 AM and it turned out to be another great day at the beach.....I have forgot to mention that we have been seeing dolphins the last few days......first we have seen since our first week here. 
Tonight we had dinner at Traditions- 6:30 Reservations.  The sun set at 6:30 but was covered by black clouds this evening.

Joe McCormick and Marvilla Marzan were the entertainers for the evening with the sounds of Broadway, Latin hits and all styles of popular dance music.  We have been enjoying Joe's music since we began coming to the island some 30 years now.  

We have followed Andrea, the host at Traditions, through out the years as he moved from Bellinis on Captiva to Riviera on gulf Drive to Dolce Vita on Periwinkle and now at Traditions on Gulf Drive.  For dinner we started with Beef Carpaccio with Arugula, Reggiano, Capers,  and EVOO.   Al ordered the Veal Special...medallions in a rich reduction sauce served with Portobello mushroom, new potatoes, broccolini, and spinach.   I had  Naturel Veal Artichoke with lemon sauce served with broccoli and  dauphinoise  potatoes.  We enjoyed dining with great music.

 

 

Day 35 on Captiva

Today is Saturday and we have only one more week here on the island.  We will be driving home next Saturday am.  It is cool here but it may be good for shelling with all the winds from the last couple days.  I bundled up and headed over to the beach just after sunrise to check for shells.  Shells have not been as plentiful and varied this year ...probably because of the beach restoration done recently.   That is probably the cause of fewer birds on the beach as usual  this year.  I did collect a few shells but will probably not keep them....no exciting finds.

The surfers and paddle boarders were out in the gulf this morning taking advantage of the waves.  I tried to capture the look of the morning and some of the action in photos and video:

 

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After some warm hot chocolate and later a lunch of clam chowder and BLT's ,  Al and I went out to the beach.  We were welcomed by an Eagle flying over the gulf who was maybe chased or being chased by an Osprey.  We wrapped up in our beach chairs as if we were on the deck of a cruise ship  The video below shows the intensity  of the waves and that the winds are still high.

                                         

To view the video above, you may need to sign on to my actual blog, not just the email.

http://captivadays.blogspot.com/

 

Dinner tonight was at Traditions at 6:15.  The entertainment was  Joe McCormick & Marvilla Marzan

                            

        

 

 For dinner, we shared  oysters on the half shell and a Julius Caesar Salad.  Al ordered the Grilled Veal Chop with porcini mushrooms bordelaise sauce and Gratin potatoes.  I had the grouper special served with crab meat on the top and potatoes. 

Andrea spent time visiting with us even though the restaurant was very busy..  The entertainment was great  and Saturday night seems to be very popular with the local crowd.   A lot of people were here for the dancing.

Day 25 on Captiva

We went to DDWR with Jack for an early morning drive and photo shoot after coffee and pastries.  We all got some great photos as there were a lot of birds especially white pelicans.

Jack got these great shots of the White  Pelicans in flight:

These are pictures by Al:

 

 

I tried to capture the sounds and birds of the morning in video:

 

 

 

Jack shot these 2 birders as well as the birds. 

At least we did not look too bad from the back:

 

After our birding expedition, we drove to Bailey's for lunch and dinner supplies.  Jack found some hot brisket at the Deli which we had in sandwiches for lunch.  After lunch we were off to the beach.

 

We went to Traditions for dinner and music tonight for 6:15 reservations. Music was Father Al & the Jazz Congregation with vocalist Paul Ventura shown below with Andrea :

 

Al and I shared a mozzarella and tomato salad.  Jack and Loy shared Julius Caesar Salad ...both Delish!  Loy ordered the Scallop Special and Jack had Manicotti. Al had Veal with scallop special and I had Colossal Lump Crab Cake.  For Dessert we shared an Amaretto Caramel Flan Brule.

 

A great evening of food, fun, and music.

 

Day 27 on Captiva

Thurs, Feb 28
Another cloudy day...where is that sun????
We had breakfast of mushroom omelet with bacon, toast, grapefruit, and orange juice on the porch.  It seemed a bit warmer today.
 We decided to visit the eagle's nest today.....Margarethe told us that one of the eaglets has left the nest and was seen on the ground. When we arrived at the nest we saw only one eaglet sitting on a branch of the Australian Pine Tree but the other one soon joined him/her. The one eaglet seemed to be encouraging the other one to fly.

The sun finally came out and it was warm enough to head to the beach.  We gathered our chairs and towels and to the beach we went.  Not many beach goers out today or birds. But it was sunny enough to enjoy the gulf.

Tonight we had 6:30 reservations at Traditions on the Beach.  The host of the restaurant is Andrea Mucciga whom we have know all the years that we have been coming to Captiva.  We have followed him from Bellini's on Captiva to Riveria, Dolce Vita, and now Traditions all on Sanibel.

Andrea and his wife with Award

 

It was great to see Andrea as always.....his places always have the best entertainment .....some musicians have been working with him for years.
We started dinner by sharing  PRIME BEEF CARPACCIO-Hearts of palm shavings, rugula,
reggiano, lemon EVOO drizzles ...not as good as I remembered.  I shared a salad of greens and  artichokewith a shallots-balsamic vinegar with Cecilia. Al had the Julius Caesar salad.   He ordered Veal Chop with sautéed chanterelle mushrooms and brandied-creamy veal pan demi,     Cecilia ordered Grilled Scottish Salmon with asparagus, roasted garlic, ciboulis, vino cotto white wine fusion. I had Crab Cake with creole spiced jumbo crab meat withsautéed, red bell pepper remoulade. For dessert, we shared  Amaretto crème brule with a caramel crust.  Andrea treated us with after dinner cordials.

The best part of the evening was music by Joe McCormick and the vocalist, Marvilla Marzan. She has a beautiful voice.  I think Cecilia really enjoyed the music and entertainment.

Marvilla on the left and Joe performed.  Barb on the right performs other nights.

Day 38 Captiva

Our stay here will be ending soon...too soon.  This is our last Monday.  I tried to catch up with some email and posts this morning.  Soup and sandwiches for lunch.  Great afternoon at the beach.....waves are really pounding today which brought the surfers out ...tried to capture in video:

Was great birding on the beach today. Great blue heron was here today....first to see one on the beach this year...usually regular visitor in past years.  Captured these pictures:

Great Blue Heron

Willet

Ring Billed Gull

Ruddy Turnstone

Black Bellied Plover  (Corrected name)

Al on the Beach

Today we went to Traditons on the Island, the restaurant at the Island Inn which has been recently renovated and is now managed by restaurateur Andrea Mucciga whom we have followed around the island first at Bellini's on Captiva , then Riviera on Gulf  Drive, then Dolce Vita on Periwinkle and back on Gulf Drive  at Traditions. Traditions on the Beach has been completely renovated and added a full bar and lounge area and has a wonderful Gulf view. 

The musician for the night was Woody Brubaker but is usually Joe McCormick, a favorite entertainer of ours.



Gulf  View at Island Inn



Woody Brubaker

We shared a Caesar salad and Al ordered  flame grilled veal chop served with porcini mushrooms and potato gratin. I enjoyed veal with lemon, capers, and artichoke served dauphinoise potatoes. Al had creme brulee with caramel crust for dessert. After dinner, we enjoyed dancing and after dinner drinks.

Dining Room

Bar and Lounge