Day 12 on Captiva

 

 This was a look at the beach about 1:00 PM today.  There were no people or birds anywhere to be seen.  The wind was quite strong and rather cool.  Too cool to sit even in the sun.  We spent the day inside or on the porch surfing the web, not the ocean waves.  I did some card making and Al finished his picks for Thursday night harness races at Northfield.  For a cool day lunch, we had chicken and sausage gumbo soup (can)  and cheese quesadillas . 

Al grilled rib-eyed steak for dinner and I prepared sautéed mushroom with red peppers, baked potatoes, arugula salad and hot rolls  (frozen). 

Day 11 on Captiva

Note:  For those who read our posts in  email, you can see the entire blog by clicking on the highlighted link at the bottom of the email. Captiva Days with Al and Theresa  

Tuesday began as usual and the morning was started with coffee and pastries.  It is cool but sunny today, almost too cool for sitting on the porch.  I played with card challenges and Al is studying the Northfield Races for Thursday selecting his picks.  I also posted to this blog.....this year I am glad to say that I have been posting daily entries rather than several days at a time.

We lunched inside having  Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Avocado sandwiches and chips.   Guess that is BLTA for short.  We are enjoying our meals at home rather than going through the hassle of traffic and waits in the restaurants.  Yes, we do have traffic on the island especially during peak season which we are in.  We were reminiscing about the trips we used to make here the week after Labor Day and we had the island almost to ourselves,  Hardly anyone on the beach and no lines of traffic on the roads or long lines at the eating places.  But we are glad that business is good here.

We ventured out to the beach this afternoon but found it to be very windy and very empty.  So we turned around and headed back inside.  It was very sunny but only in the hi 60's. 

We enjoyed dinner of panko-crusted grouper pan fried (prepared by Al), angel hair pasta with garlic olive oil sauce and green salads.   The grouper was delicious and is one of our favorite seafood in Florida. 

Day 10 on Captiva

Another early morning....I slept later than Al who was up very early because he was having trouble sleeping because of noises that  he heard.  Nothing wakes me up!  The weather is cloudy and rainy today.
This morning Al had an appointment with a Massage Therapist to get a massage and get some relief for shoulder pain he has.  The therapist at Massage Time, Joan, who I found online, is from North Jackson, OH and has been in Sanibel about 15 years.   While Al was having his massage, I began reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand which my friend Rita loaned me and recommended.  It is a great book and I am enjoying it.

We had a late lunch at Jerry's Café ...Al had a crunchy grouper sandwich on a grilled Kaiser roll with coleslaw and onion rings.   I  had Taco salad on a bed of tortilla chips...did not like the artificially colored chips of green, red, and black. But overall the food and service was good, but not the wait to be seated.  Hostess was too busy being cashier to sit the waiting customers.

We shopped for some provisions in Jerry's Food Store and stopped  at  H2O Outfitters and Footloose to window shop.  On the drive back we stopped at Ding Darling Education Center to buy some Stokes Bird Books.  It began to cloud up again so we headed home and beat the rain which started just as we unloaded the car  around 4PM.

Since we had a late and somewhat large lunch, we decided to have a light supper tonight.  I prepared a Frittata with roasted red peppers and leftover Angel Hair pasta and a grilled Andouille sausage served with tomatoes slices topped with mozzarella cheese and basil with toast.  This quick and simple meal was just right and more delicious that I thought would be.

It was a quiet night with some TV.  That's all, folks!

Day 9 0n Captiva

I cannot believe how time has flown....we have been here over a week and it seems that we just arrived in Captiva.  Sunday was a beautiful day full of sunshine and warm temperatures...up to 75.  We began our day with a trip to the Farmers' Market.....of course after coffee and biscotti.   We went earlier this week but the crowd was even larger but we had no trouble  finding a parking space.   We purchase the usual produce in addition to Scallops and Grouper at the seafood booth.  Also bought a large bouquet of Pink Carnations (beautiful and large)  with some filler and large basil plant for the windowsill.  I can't remember when we bought Bouquet of Carnations!  Usually have Roses for Valentine's but this is a lovely change.

  After making the rounds at the Market,  we had breakfast at the Sanibel Café.  We tried first at the Over Easy Café but it was way too long of a wait.  We got into the Sanibel Café  after only a 9 minute wait and the service was extremely fast.  We waited no time for Al's breakfast of two eggs, sausage links, hash browns,  and toast and my order of eggs Benedict served with grilled Parmesan tomatoes. 

We then shopped some stores at the  Tahitian Gardens and Al bought 2 new shirts at the Brown Bag....a brown knit pullover and a woven plaid shirt. 

 

We headed back to the house and did some quick laundry and then headed to the beach.....beautiful day.  Lot of boats in the Gulf today and many more people on the beach as well as birds.

We enjoyed gin 'n' tonics on the porch before preparing dinner.  Al grilled the large scallops from the market and I prepared sides of rice and salad with arugula, mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Yum dinner!!

On a sad note, I learned that my Uncle Joe who is 91 years old was admitted to the hospital in Tennessee on Saturday after a heart attack and he also has pneumonia.   We are praying for him and his wife Margie.

Day 8 on Captiva

Today was more exciting!  After coffee and biscotti, we headed to Ding Darling Wildlife Drive and spent the morning birding.  It was a spectacular day for birding as the tide was extremely low and birds were everywhere in droves.  This was the most birds we have seen in several years and not only were there large numbers of birds but a large variety of species.  Many Ibis, Great Blues,  Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Yellow Crowned Night Heron, Reddish Egrets, Tricolored Heron, Blue Herons, Cormorants, White and Brown Pelicans,  Roseate Spoonbills, Plovers and Willets were spotted.  Al saw a Bald Eagle flying over head but I missed that. Only duck we saw was the Pied-Billed Grebe.  I also spotted celebrity birders Lillian and Donald Stokes birding with the crowd of excited birders.  The most wondrous sight was a flock of about 12 or more Roseate Spoonbills take off and fly overhead as a group.  I almost got it on a video but just in a short frame.

Pictures from the morning:

 

 

 

 

We stopped for lunch at Sunset Grill. I had Dill seasoned and pan seared Atlantic Salmon on a bed of Romaine and Spinach with a cucumber, wasabi buttermilk dressing, tossed with bacon crumbles, sweet onion, tomato, cucumber slices and shaved Parmesan.  It was enough salad for 4 people. Al had the Wood Grilled Burger-a half pound Angus burger topped with your choice of cheese and grilled to your liking on a Kaiser roll.  We enjoyed our meal on the outside deck.

We drove home and spent some time on the bayside watching the fishing boats and distant birds on the shore line.
For dinner, I cooked Shrimp Puttanesca with pasta, one of Al's favorites,  and served with mixed green salad with hot rolls and glasses of wine.

Day 7 on Captiva

The morning began as usual...up early....coffee and pastries enjoyed while checking email and web.  I spent part of the day making cards and posting to challenges.  The day was a bit on the cool side...50's and 60's.   For lunch, I made roll ups with tortillas  and filled with ham, tomatoes, cheese, avocados, lettuce, etc.  Al took a walk and picked up a paper at the nearby convenience shop. 

Dinner tonight was grilled strip steak prepared by Al and I prepared angel hair pasta with aglio olio sauce and arugula salad.  Enjoyed with glasses of wine.

Evening was spent watching TV or sleeping in front of the TV.

Sorry nothing exciting to post!

Day 6 on Caotiva

Yes it does rain on Captiva!  It rained and thundered most of the night and we woke to rain on Thursday morning and it continued sporadically during the day.  The gray clouds hung overhead all the day so we spent our time inside except for a quick drive through Ding Darling but the birds were all hunkered in their shelters.

The morning began with coffee and pastries. I posted some cards and Al spent time on his computer.  Time flew quickly and it was soon time for lunch of soup and sandwiches enjoyed on the porch.  Tonight Al watched the races at Northfield on his computer and managed to win about $300 with his bets.  I prepared Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya for dinner which we ate as we watched the races. 

Even though it was a "Washed  Out" day, it was better than a snow day at home.
Photo on the right from North Canton sent by Mike, friend and neighbor across the street:

I love how he captured the full moon, a rather eerie scene.