Sunday, March 8, 2009

Soaking up the Sun Sunday

I still have no voice today and generally feel crappy. Thought some sunshine might be good medicine. Met friends at the beach, all the way at the end of West Gulf Drive near Resident Access 7. We were hoping that there wouldn't be as much red drift algae a little further west. There was much less than I saw yesterday and no bad smell. There were some parts of this area that had algae and some places where there was hardly any.





Three of us just sat in our beach chairs relaxing. It was sunny and 79 degrees, a little too hot for me to just lay back in my chair and bake, the cool breeze helped though.

The other two looked for shells as they walked along the beach, but they came back with less than a handful of very small ones.

We had plenty of activity to watch; like four or five dolphins, swimming and jumping right in front of us very close to shore, for quite a while. One of them was very small. I think they were circling around fish to pick out their dinner entree, because every now and then a fish would jump up. I sat there watching them for quite a while and then decided to try a video and see if it would be clear enough to see them. Three kids were splashing around in the water, just a few feet from the shore, and were really surprised to see dolphins coming so close to them. There was a pelican that flew past us, with a 3 or 4 foot long piece of fishing line hanging from it. The end of the line had a leader with a large weight on it. It's sad, because most likely the poor bird will eventually get the line caught around something and then won't be able to move. Hopefully it will come off somehow.

7 comments:

Jacque said...

I so love the dolphins. Last summer when we were in Ocean City, my daughters swam with Dolphins around them for more than an hour. It was an experience they'll never forget. Some people pay lots of money for that! It's the best if you get to experience it naturally...what a paradise you live in!

Snowbird said...

Sorry to hear you're not feeling too good but there is nothing better than sittin' in the sun to chase away the germs. It just made me sick when I read about the Pelican. You are right about him probably getting hung up in a tree somewhere.

Gayle said...

The dolphins were quite a treat. Thanks! I read on another blog that it is $6 to go across the bridge to Sanibel. Is that true? Is that $6 each way or round trip? That is so much! I would be mad about that. When we were in FL we were told that the "red" would make our throats hurt (and it did). Is that what happened to you from the other day? I sure hope you are feeling better soon so you can enjoy the 79 degree weather (lucky duck!).

Tootie said...

Gayle, what you experienced was 'Red Tide', which totally different. This is red drift algae, there are two clickable links at the end of the post below this one. You can read what the red drift algae is. It really isn't harmful like the red tide.

My voice loss is, I believe from a sinus infection. I feel a slight bit better today, but still no voice. :-( Which probably pleases everyone in close proximity to me.

It is $6 to come onto the island only. I believe the fee was raised to that when it became evident that the entire causeway was in need of replacement. Residents and island workers have the option of buying a pass or a transponder. By doing that, the amount is less. Personally with the transponder, we have an account set up where we can pay online, and by keeping a balance in that to auto deduct each time and being a resident, the fee is then $2. If we didn't choose to do it that way, we would be paying $6 each time we came through. Just a part of the price you pay to live in paradise. :-)

toni said...

Absolutely beautiful! I hope you continue to feel better! I have never seen a dolphin outside of a zoo. I hope I get to see some when we visit!

Tootie said...

I'm sure you will see dolphin, if you watch for them, when you are on the beach.

If you want to see dolphins, you should go out on The Sanibel Thriller that I posted about. We had lots of dolphin jumping very close, in the wake of the boat.

loriann signori said...

Hi Tootie! Thanks for checking out my blog. I loved Sanibel; it's a little piece of heaven! It's great to see your blog and remind me of the beauty I left behind. Feel free to check in as I will be posting some work from Sanibel. Lucky you gets to live there...I will simply live there in my paintings!
Cheers,
Loriann