Day 24 on Captiva

Mon, Feb 25

We arose early enough to go and view the sunrise on the bay from the dock.  There were not many birds on the islands in the bay but many were flying over. Photos of the rising sun:

We have not seen many roseate spoonbills at DDNWR this year but we did see one lone roseate feeding at sunrise this morning:

We all then walked over to the beach to see if anything was happening. As we approached the eagle's tree, we all spotted the eagle sitting on a low branch on the tree.....we had not seen it as close to the ground before. I was glad everyone got a good look because as I walked further down the path I must have scared it off because he suddenly flew away.  Not much seen on the beach...looks like another cloudy day.

We had breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, grapefruit, and orange juice when we returned to the house.  Mike left for Marco Island around 10:00 am.  Since it is too cloudy to sit at the beach, we headed with Cecilia to Periwinkle Place to do some shopping.  Cecilia bought the cutest binoculars at Friday's Child for her grandchildren who both have birthdays in March. We bought some items at The Original Chico's for ourselves.

 

Ibis feeding at Periwinkle Place

For tonight's dinner, we stopped on the way home at Timbers Fish Market and purchased fresh mussels (one of Ce's favorites) that had just arrived from Maine.  It began to sprinkle as we got back to the house.

Dinner was a joint venture tonight.  Al scrubbed the mussels, Cecilia made the salad, and I cooked the sauce, boiled the pasta, and  baked the rolls. The mussels were some of the largest, "plumpest" ones that we  have ever had.  Our mussels with light Italian sauce served over pasta was delicious as well as the tossed green salad.   Luckily, it was nice enough to eat dinner on the porch.

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.

Day 22 on Captiva

Sat, Feb 23

Today we went to Jerry's for breakfast....this grocery has a restaurant that serves a very good breakfast and is very reasonably priced compared to other breakfast spots. After eating we shopped for groceries buying for tonight's dinner.  The pictures below are of amazing South American birds scattered about in the atrium of  Jerry's Shopping Center.

 

We spent the afternoon on the beach and were surprised by 2 adult eagles landing in the tree behind us and spending almost 2 hours in the tree.  I took these pictures with my point and shoot camera.

 

This is the tree that the eagles frequent on the beach.



 We were excited today that our friend and neighbor, Mike, arrived for a visit with us before he goes to Marco Island for a visit with his sister.  He arrived on a flight from Akron-Canton airport to the Ft. Myers airport this evening. We decided to cook in tonight rather than trying to get into a restaurant.  Al cooked at his best tonight preparing some delicious beef fillets and asparagus on the grill.  I served the meal with iceberg salad with bleu cheese dressing and hot rolls. We enjoyed wine with dinner. For dessert, we served Key Lime pie from Jerry's.  We had an evening of great food and wine, conversation, and wonderful company. It was so great to have Mike here for a visit. Our only disappointment was that his wife, Pam, was unable to join him for the trip because of her work.  Mike retired in January so we will be looking for Mike and Pam both to come next year.

Day 21 on Captiva

Fri, Feb 22
Today was an uneventful day.  Spent the day making some cards and reading. I walked the beach early looking for shells and dolphins.....shells have been lacking so far, not much but crushed ones and small ones. I have not even seen many calico shells which are always plentiful. Guess we need a good storm to bring some in.

We had dinner tonight at Doc Ford's, one of our faves.  We shared some oysters on the half shell.  Al had Island Style Shrimp and Grits with jalapeno cheese grits, veggies, and sofrito sauce and I had Calamari Salad with lightly battered calamari tossed with mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet and sour vinaigrette dressing topped with crispy wontons. Great dinner!

Day 20 on Captiva

Thurs, Feb 21
This morning we were up early for coffee and pastry and then headed to Ding Darling about 8:00 am.  It was a great morning weather wise and light wise for photographing the birds.

 

After DDNWR,  we went to the bay and checked out birds there.

Osprey

Willets

Made some turkey roll-ups for lunch and then off to the beach. Another quiet day at the beach.

For dinner, Al grilled hamburgers....we are so enjoying the new grill....hamburgers cooked out are so much better.   Enjoyed with French fries and all the fixings.

Day 19 on Captiva

Wed, Feb 20
This morning, Al drove into Sanibel for his massage with the therapist and I stayed in and made a card that you can see on my card blog here.  He made a stop at the grocery for dinner items....told him to get whatever he wanted.
When he came home around noon, I made tuna fish sandwiches for lunch served with chips and fruit.
We spent the afternoon at the beach sunning and reading.  It was a very pleasant afternoon.
Al's surprise dinner was grilled scallops which were delicious and well prepared. I prepared pasta with pesto sauce and Caesar salad.  I am not good at preparing scallops.....either I do not brown enough or overcook...but Al always prepares perfectly.

Day 18 on Captiva

Tues, Feb 19

Another lazy day but warmer afternoon than the last couple days.  We spent the afternoon at the beach enjoying the warm sun and watching the ocean.  Not many people or birds on the beach.
Tonight we had dinner at Lazy Flamingo sharing fried grouper, fried shrimp, fries and Caesar salad. We had an early dinner to beat the crowd that comes in after sunset.......but clouds prevented seeing the sunset tonight.