Saturday Sanibel Thrill!

Wow....I went with friends today at 1:00 PM, out on the Sanibel Thriller! We had a great time. It was a perfect warm, sunny day. The water was just a little choppy, although the boat gave us a pretty smooth ride; it was a little difficult to get good photos. We had high hopes of seeing dolphins, and believe me, we were NOT disappointed!

There was nearly a full load of people on board and we were all looking forward to a fun trip as we pulled out of the Sanibel Marina. Our Captain today was Captain JR Ireland and the narration was done by Captain Elizabeth Ireland.

We were quickly underway and flying around the tip of the island, with the Light House in full view. You will be able to tell from some of the videos that you have to be prepared for wind. :-) And, I should also mention the possibility of some water spray toward the back of the boat, depending on the wind direction etc. We had some good laughs over that.

It was interesting seeing the island by boat from the gulf side, which I had never done before. I had only been on the bay side by boat. The narration was very well done and included lots of interesting, historical information. It was also easily heard with speakers located on the side by each of the seats.

We were skimming along, looking at the resorts, condos and scenery, when Captain JR spotted a pod of dolphin. He circled back to try enticing them to follow in our wake. Soon we had four or five separate pods of dolphin following and jumping in the boats wake. They put on quite a show for a while. When we lost them, the Captain circled back and each time more would follow. I think they finally got tired. :-) They told us that it is uncommon to see that many pods at one time. That was great fun! They were so close and at times jumped very high.

We soon reached the area of Bowman's Beach, which looked very crowded today. Next we went past Blind Pass. You could see the black pipes very well, stretched out across the white sandy beach, that are coming from the dredging area. There is a markable difference in the width of the beach where the re-nourishment is being done.

From there we went along Captiva, viewing the beautiful homes along the beach and on past South Seas. We went a little way up on the gulf side of North Captiva to the area where the eye of Hurricane Charlie cut a narrow pass. That pass has since filled with sand again, but that part of the island is very narrow and still treeless. We could actually see over to the bay side where other boats were passing by.

We went back to cut through Redfish Pass (A great fishing area) over to the bay side and past South Seas' Land's End, the new swimming pools and then headed out further away from shore. The rest of the way seemed to fly by, as we looked at the scenery and laughed over friends getting sprayed with water. We went under the power lines that go to Sanibel from Pine Island. Then we spotted the Sanibel Causeway, which we passed under.

It had been nearly 2 hours since we left the marina, but all too soon, here we were again. Captain JR deserved a large tip because he had to have used up every bit of patience he has, circling around, time and time again to get the dolphins to follow us. Captain Elizabeth should also be a recipient for her knowledgeable narration. They certainly make a great team.

I know I had a wonderful time, and will be happy to recommend this trip around the islands to my family and friends. I've been on a couple of Dolphin Cruises and none compare to this. I plan to go again myself. :-) WHAT FUN!!!

People were already waiting when we arrived.

Everyone getting situated in the very comfortable seats.
On the way out of the Sanibel Marina.
After the first dolphin, I could tell that I wasn't fast enough to do very well with my cellphone camera.
Looking for more dolphin. :-)
The crowd of people at Bowman's Beach.
Wake behind the boat while going faster.
View of Blind Pass.
Looking back at Redfish Pass and the Northern tip of Captiva Island on the left and the Southern tip of North Captiva on the right.
South Seas Land's End.
South Seas' new pool area.

The folks in the back corner were getting a lot of spray on the way back.
Power line from Pine Island to Sanibel.
Nearing the Sanibel Causeway.
Going back into the Sanibel Marina.


We took a lot of video, but because of not wanting to block the view for others, we didn't get the actual view we had of dolphins jumping on both sides at once. That was totally awesome! I hope these will give you an idea of the fun we and the dolphins had. :-) At the beginning of one of the videos you will see a young dolphin with a bigger one. If you look just in front of the wake, you can see several dolphin swimming just under the water.

You may prefer to click on one of the videos to take you to YouTube where you can watch them all in full screen HD. Next best thing to being there.

Friday's Find

I thought by going to the beach earlier this afternoon there would be less traffic and there was less on the way there. Coming back it was heavy again.

The resident access parking areas were all nearly full, until access 7. Walking out onto the beach, proved that there was a reason all those cars were out there. The water was pretty clear again and a beautiful color. It was windy, but the waves were gentle. It seems like the waves are uncovering shells from beneath the sand and pushing them in. The first thing I saw when I looked down, was another tiny orange scallop. Once again, that was the only shell I carried away. :-)

This was a beautiful day for a walk and the brown pelicans, Royal Terns and sea gulls were very entertaining. When the pelicans crashed into the water for a fish, a whole group of sea gulls would fly all around it, trying to take the fish away. They put on a comical show. I doubt the pelicans thought it was very funny.









View in HD on YouTube.

Thursday's Miniature Treasure

The heavy traffic times seem to be starting earlier than it used to. I noticed yesterday it was already pretty bad going off the island before 2:30 and remained heavy until after 6 PM. Today it was solid vehicles from Causeway Blvd all the way to the other end of Periwinkle at 4:00 when I was out. I had no problems going toward the west at all. So, after doing a couple of errands, I decided to go to the beach.

When I got to West Gulf Drive, the traffic was backed up from the West with cars that were cutting through from Sanibel/Captiva Road on Rabbit Road. I got through the intersection easily because someone was there directing traffic. The rest of the way on West Gulf was fine.

I stopped at Resident Access 1. It was warm this evening, but pretty windy on the beach. The water was still pretty clear today and not many shells again. I had a nice time walking and watching the White Ibis as they hunted for their dinner.

As I was walking back across the beach, through the soft white sand, I saw a tiny speck of orange. I reached down to pick it up and saw that it was a very tiny orange scallop. Woo~Hoo, a teeny, tiny treasure! At least I didn't go home empty handed today. :-)

Warm Sanibel Wednesday

It was a sunny 76 degrees again today. It was a little windy and by late evening the wind began to get a little chilly. The weather says it should be around 58 tonight and back up to 78 tomorrow. I know you may be tired of hearing how wonderful that is, but this is just perfect for me.

Made a visit to the beach this afternoon, at Access 5. The tide was low, but there really weren't many shells today.

Went to Sanibel Cafe late this evening for dinner. They have a special each night and tonight it was pot roast, mashed potatoes and veggies. It was so good that I just woofed it right down and decided to try their homemade bread pudding. It was very good and looked like an artistic masterpiece. I was so busy eating that I forgot to take a picture of the food. Duh?? I don't usually eat that much, but I went a little overboard this time. The Sanibel Cafe will be open until 8 PM for dinner until the end of the busy season, when they will go back to breakfast and lunch until 3 PM.




HD on YouTube

Tuesday Wandering

Today was a very pleasant 76 degrees and a nice day to wander around Periwinkle Place at 2075 Periwinkle Way on Sanibel Island. This is a beautifully landscaped, tropical, little shopping mall with around 30 unique retail shops, with most of them being pretty upscale. There is one shop however, that has always caught my attention, because I think it has such reasonable prices for this area. This small shop is called, The Cheese Nook. Besides gourmet cheeses, crackers, cookies, spices (even specially packaged Sanibel spices), and other food items, they also carry wine (also a Sanibel wine), gift items and many tropical housewares.

I would love to have taken more photos of the things they have to offer, but I didn't see the gentleman there today that I usually talk to. I would have asked if he would mind. But instead, I think people were looking at me like I was pretty strange, when they saw me taking photos with my cell phone. The place was very busy, so, I just finished my shopping and departed with an innocent look on my face. :-)














And of course, if you don't find any seashells, there are always these! :-)

Monday's Sanibel Florist

Note: If you were on my 'Follower' list and your not there now, please add yourself again. I'm not sure what happened but a bunch of you went missing today. :-) If it shows you are a follower, but you don't see your icon there, you have to take yourself off and then add yourself as a follower again. ?????

A sweet friend surprised me with an exquisite bouquet of three exotic roses for my birthday. I posted photos at the time and said I would tell you about her flower shop soon. Well today I had to run some errands and thought I would take time to stop by and say hello to Jana and take a few photos of her shop.

My pretty roses again. :-)

This lovely flower shop is owned by Jana Telecka, a very talented designer. It is located at 2400 Palm Ridge Road, and is a preferred florist for both Sanibel and Captiva. Floral Artistry is also a well known shop with area wedding planners. They specialize in exotic tropical flowers, creative wedding designs, commercial arrangements, silk flowers and home decor. A prompt, dependable delivery service is promised and a world wide wire service is also available. With an exceptionally friendly owner and a helpful staff, you couldn't ask for more.

239-472-3040 or 800-449-1282
Fax 239-395-3030

This evening friends and I, invited Jana to meet us for dinner at Miceli's Italian Restaurant on San Carlos, just a short distance before the bridge to Ft Myers Beach. The food was absolutely awesome, as was the service. We had a variety of foods from the menu, from apetizers and entrees to desert. It was all excellent. I can't wait to go back again. I've included a link, just in case you want to check it out before your next visit. Just click on the 'Mangia Bene' and then 'GO' to find the menu, directions, etc. Just yummy!


Jana and I