Tuesday Sanibel Happy



The temperature is my idea of perfect; 68 last night and 81 today, it's 74 now at 9:30 PM.  I hope this will last the whole winter through. 

I got side tracked last night and didn't get my post done.  So here's yesterday's photos.

We had fun taking Pinkerbell for a ride again today, then a stop on West Gulf Drive at resident access 3.  There were a lot of shells, but I only picked up around 5 or 6. 

It was such a pleasant day, we drove on out to the Sanibel Causeway just to see the view.  We made a loop at the turn around and headed back.

Before we went home, we made a stop at Jerry's.  These guys were having a great time!

Now on to today!

It was far to nice to spend the whole day inside.  This afternoon we went out riding around, enjoying the warm weather.  We listened to Christmas songs and when they got to lines like, the weather outside is frightful, it put a smile on our faces.

We hadn't been to the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge in quite a while, so we took Pinkerbell there.  She was so excited and wanted to get her picture taken by the sign.

The refuge consists of over 6,400 acres of mangrove forest, submerged seagrass beds, cordgrass marshes, and West Indian hardwood hammocks. Approximately 2,800 acres of the refuge are designated by Congress as a Wilderness Area.

This area provides feeding, nesting, and roosting areas for migratory birds. It is an important habitat to over 220 species of birds.

This is a nice drive, bike ride or walk,

with some great scenery.  There are plenty of other things you can do at the refuge.  Check out the refuge website for a calendar of events.

We saw one Roseate Spoonbill in a group of birds feeding on a sandbar.  Pinkerbell got excited when she saw another pink bird, but then she realized that it was quite different. 

We saw several different kinds of birds in small numbers, but I noticed a large amount of White Pelicans.

Of course my cell phone photos

don't give you a choice view. 

After we left the refuge, we drove on out to Captiva.  When we got into the village, we drove past the Chapel By the Sea.

As we drove past Jensen's, I noticed that banner about Walgreens was gone.  Another mystery I guess.  I tried to get a picture of the empty spot, but Pinker got her head in the way. :)

We stopped at Tween Waters to say hi to some friends and watch the sunset.

Pinkerbell was enjoying the Christmas lights as we drove away.