Day 14 0n Captiva

I was out to the beach early again to check for shells but found nothing but broken pieces and the birds were very few.  Where have all the birds and shells gone this February?

This is a photo of all the willets that were here last year.

 

2016

 

Our friends and neighbors from home, Mike and Pam,  arrived for a visit this morning around 11:00.  They are spending 2 months this winter in a condo in Naples about one and a half hour drive to here.  We settled in at the pool under the cabana catching up on life in Florida and other events enjoying conversation and the warm, but not sunny day. We had a lunch of sandwiches, potato salad, and ice tea at the pool while watching the eagles in the nearby nest. 

 

 

We spotted 2 chicks in the nest....up to now we had only seen one chick at a time as in the picture above and were surprised that there were actually 2.   The afternoon was a bit overcast with clouds but we took a walk over to the beach about 3:00 and found an almost deserted beach but we did spot a dolphin in the gulf.

 

 

We returned to the porch for gin n tonics and chips with salsa and more conversation.  Mike left at about 6 to meet his brother and his fishing buddies for dinner at the Timbers.  Al, Pam, and I went to Doc Ford's in Captiva for dinner.   The place was busy and we had an 18 minute wait for a booth but the service was friendly and prompt.  Al ordered a half dozen oysters on the half shell and Calamari salad -lightly battered calamari tossed with mixed Everglades greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, a sweet and sour vinaigrette dressing and topped with crispy wontons.  Pam ordered Ford’s Famous Clam Chowder-a rich, creamy chowder chock full of sea clams, sweet onions, carrots and diced potatoes and Captiva Crab Cakes-pan-fried beach-style, served with jicama cole slaw and finished with a  Key lime butter sauce.  I opted for the Chicken Taco Salad-crisp romaine lettuce tossed in avocado feta vinaigrette and topped with Jack and cheddar cheeses, Cuban black bean salsa, grilled chicken and tomato pico de gallo, surrounded by corn tortilla chips.    I liked my salad but prefer the Calamari salad which I nearly always order here.

 

We all four  arrived back at the cottage about the same time.  We spent the rest of the evening on the porch until Pam and Mike retreated to the bedroom suite downstairs. 

 

Note:   We have renamed the cottage to "Red Bucket" Cottage since we hung a red beach bucket to the post with the house number so that everyone can find the cottage more easily with this "landmark".

Day 13 on Captiva

Friday morning was quiet and cloudy.  Quick walk on the beach and picked up a few shells but nothing exciting.  Shared the beach with a few birds.

 

For breakfast on the porch, I served poached eggs, bacon, grapefruit, and toast with juice.  We shopped at Bailey's later in afternoon for mussels and other items.  Al shopped at the Grog shop for wine, scotch, and cigars using a 10% off coupon. Back to the cottage and the pool and beach.

For dinner I made steamed mussel with a light Italian sauce (tomatoes, garlic, green onions, and wine.  Served them over pasta with green salad and hot roll.

We had an uneventful day but very relaxing.

Day 12 on Captiva

Took an early morning walk on the beach hoping to find some shells after the rain yesterday, but to no avail.  Click on arrow below to view the beach at that time of morning.  If you open this post in email, you will need to go directly to my blog to view a video. Link at bottom of email.

 

Back to the cottage for coffee with Al on the porch.  

 

It was a quiet morning even with the construction on the house(mansion) next door.  Al had an appointment for a therapeutic massage at "Tween Waters Spa at 10:00.  After he returned we had tuna salad sandwiches with chips and iced tea on the porch.  We spent time at the beach reading and relaxing.

Dinner tonight was at Lazy Flaming for a casual dinner at the bar about 5:30.  We got there just before the crowd came and watched the sunset from our seats at the bar.   Al ordered the fried grouper basket with fries and coleslaw and I had the half Caesar salad with a skewer of shrimp.  We shared the dinners.  The couple next to us were there for the first time and we struck up a conversation about the food and other restaurants on the islands.

 

Day 11 on Captiva

The morning began as usual with coffee and pastries and sunshine.   We read for awhile then had lunch.....a hot dog for Al and a chicken sandwich for me both with potato salad.  We settled in at the pool after lunch and enjoyed a swim before the clouds rolled in around 3:00.

Just as we landed back on the porch, the rain came in a torrential downpour, but we were nestled in on the porch with books and drinks while enjoying the sounds of the rain.  It rained off and on the rest of afternoon.

 Sharing a picture that Al made of the Eagle watching the nest:

 

For dinner, I made beef stroganoff with last night's leftovers using fresh mushrooms, onions, garlic, broth and sour cream.  I served over pasta with green salad.  It was a good night to stay in for dinner at the cottage. 

Valentine's Day on Captiva (Day 10)

Day began early on this cloudy Valentine's Day.  Temps are warm but no sun in sight.  Quiet morning on the porch with coffee and pastries.  Breakfast was poached eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice,  and grapefruit.  Wrote a quick post with pictures to this blog.   Sun came out around noon so  we went for a swim at the pool and sat outside until the sun went behind the clouds about 3:00.
 I finished another book Prodigal Son by Daniele Steel and Al finished Kill or Be Killed by James Patterson.

We spent the day exchanging Valentine cards through the day that we placed all around the cottage.

We had drinks on the porch at 4:30.  We stayed in for Valentine's Dinner as the restaurants are always so crowded on this holiday,   Al prepared delicious beef filets and I tossed a Caesar salad that we enjoyed with baked potato and rolls.  Al popped the cork on a bottle of Champagne to drink with dinner. Enjoyed by candlelight on the porch on a lovely warm evening.

Day 9 on Captiva

Today began a little cloudy.  Enjoyed coffee and sweet rolls on the porch.  I spent some time writing on this blog and Al was on his computer.  After early brunch  we went to Timbers to buy some filets for dinner tomorrow night.  We decided to swing through Ding Darling on the way back and we just happened to have our cameras. Lot of birds were feeding at the low tide and lot of people and fishermen  on the drive.  I got some photos of birds having lunch.

 

 White pelicans were in abundance.

 

 A flock of Willets hanging out on one of the islands.

 

 We spent the afternoon at the pool swimming and reading.

We watched the eagles at the nest from the gazebo.

 

Tonight, we had a casual picnic supper.  Al grilled beef Hot Dogs ( Hebrew National) and I made some great Potato Salad. Served with fresh sliced tomatoes and green beans. I only let Al have hot dogs on rare occasions but he loves hot dogs and sausages of all kinds.

Day 8 on Captiva

Early to rise on this Sunday morning.  We headed to the Farmer's Market about 9:00 to shop for tomatoes and other fresh veggies. We bought green beans, garlic, oranges, arugula, mushrooms, and more mozzarella cheese (homemade by Pete).  Al bought me a dozen beautiful pink roses.

We had breakfast at Jerry's Café .. ..Al had eggs, sausage, hash browns, and rye toast and I had half eggs Benedict with fresh fruit.

 

The café entrance had been remodeled slightly since last year with the addition of a Coffee shop.  After all these years, we found it more convenient to park underneath the store adjacent to stairs and elevator and easier to access the pickup area.  We shopped at Jerry's for some supplies and bought prepared Crab Cakes at the seafood market ready to cook.  Traffic was very heavy on Periwinkle going both directions when we drove back to the cottage....typical for this time of the season.

 

We spent some time at the beach and this was the best day so far....not too hot, just right as Goldilocks might say. There were shore birds but not yet in the numbers as last year.  More people too but not at all crowded.  After a stay in the sun, we headed back to poolside and Al served gin 'n' tonics. 

 

 

 

While I was photographing birds, I caught Al photographing this bird with his phone camera:

  

Tonight we had a candlelight dinner on the porch.  I served Crab Cakes that I gave my own touch by coating with Panko Crumbs before frying.  I made green beans that I steamed and added a touch of olive oil and basil.  The dinner was completed with a Caprese salad of fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of balsamic and oil dressing.   This was my favorite meal that I have prepared since being here.  Everything was delicious, even if I say so!