Sanibel Beach Prime Time

This afternoon, we went to do a couple of errands and since it was so nice out, we went on over to resident access 2 on West Gulf Drive.   The sky was a beautiful blue today with only small fluffs of clouds floating around.  There was a pretty strong breeze blowing and it didn't feel too hot.

 

You have to call this time of year, 'Prime Time on the Sanibel Beach'.  I only saw one couple walk past while we were there.  There were plenty of birds though.  I love it when they get used to you staying in one spot for a while and start walking right past, or standing close.  That's what they did when I was on my knees, looking through the shells.

The selection of shells wasn't great, but I picked up a few mini shells, and had fun doing it. :) 

It was so nice and peaceful  on the beach that I wasn't ready to leave, but after being in the sun for a while, I started getting too hot, so it was time to go.  I suffered from heat exhaustion eons ago when I thought I was invincible. I had a habit of working out in the hot sun all day, because the heat never bothered me, and now I get very annoyed when I can't be out in the heat of the day. During summer months here, I try to be careful not to be out very long at a time. In the winter, I do better, but still can't stay in the direct sun too long if there isn't much air movement. 

Some symptoms of heat exhaustion are, feeling weak, clumsy, and confused. Since I have to deal with those things on a regular basis, it's a little difficult to know when I actually have a problem from the heat. :) Seriously, I have to be careful not to get dehydrated and usually the first warning I get is weakness, dizziness, nausea, and blurry vision. If I notice any of those things, I know it's time for me to head for a cooler spot. Thank goodness for big umbrellas, beach chairs and bottled water.

After one glance back toward the water, I headed back to the access path.

This evening we went to spoil island B on the Sanibel Causeway to watch the sunset.

The sunset was very pretty, but the usual rainy season clouds were missing.  I truly love those clouds, but when the clouds leave, the humidity drops and that's a good thing.  The breeze was cool, making a pleasant evening to relax as the day ended.

Well, that is until this couple, probably in their late 60's, came roaring in beside us.  After a few minutes, they shut the noisy thing off, got off for a couple minutes, then he got back on and fired it up again, drove a circle around her, parked it closer to the water and shut it off again.  Now, I've seen lots of people taking photos of each other with a sunset in the background, but this was a first!  They stood back, while he took pictures of the cycle (by itself) as the sun went down.  After that, he got back on, cranked it up, revved the engine several times, she climbed on and they roared away.  Yep, another one of those things that make you go......hmmm.

After the sun was down, I walked along the water's edge to see what was there.  Usually there are no shells worth picking up in this area.  I found one little cone, so that made me keep looking.  In just a few minutes we had picked up 17 of them.  One Florida cone was fine, there was a little color left on a couple of others, but the rest were white.  There was also a Rose petal telin and (I think) an Eastern Nassa.I could use some verification on that one. :) I looked until I didn't have enough light to see very well.  I had found little minis in a couple of other areas on the causeway islands, but none right there.  That turned out to be entertaining and fun.

Sanibel All Around

The City of Sanibel opened new, solar powered, public restroom facilities near the City Boat Ramp. A 100% native vegetation is still to be planted to finish the project. This project was entirely funded by the Tourist Development Council of the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau.

It was opened a few weeks ago and I finally went there today to take a picture, so I could get it posted. I'm sure all those folks who frequent the boat ramp or picnic area, will certainly appreciate it. :)




I walked over to the picnic area to take a look at the clouds, because we're still wishing for rain.


Clouds were coming this way! I could see it raining on the mainland. A couple of fishermen were still trying to get their day's catch, before it rained. I saw this guy catch a nice size fish, just as I was leaving.








Yes! Clouds overhead!


Some pretty flowers and tree, along the way.




Next stop, Lighthouse Beach. I had doubts that we would be there long, because these clouds were looming overhead.


Looked pretty good in that direction.


What I saw straight out, over the water, was a little scary. I had to do that in three pictures.

The left side


Center


And right.


Someone had written in huge letters, across the sand; HELP THE EARTH.







Even with lightning in the distance, there were still a lot of people in the water. A couple of dolphins had just passed very close to them.


Mommas pointing at clouds and yelling at kids to come in.


Very poor shelling there, at the time.










People finally packing things up to leave. That's what we did, also.

Driving on Middle Gulf Drive, we discovered that the Dolphins weren't looking good today. This dolphin was down; maybe a hit and run?


This one may be on his way down too. Now there's one more use for Duck Tape; and you thought it was just for Ducks. Now didn't you?


A while later, we drove over to West Gulf Drive and went out to the beach at resident access 2. There were more dark clouds moving past.


If you look closely you'll see a sea turtle nest.


Another sea turtle nest hiding there.


There really weren't any prize shells laying on the beach. But it was nice having the beach all to ourselves. The cool wind felt pretty good too!









I could see a few shells in the water. So, off went the flip flops and in I went.


I find a very small cockle shell, both halves still together.


Then I picked up one that was a pretty, dark color and a Key Hole Limpet.




Then, it seemed like the dark clouds were getting pretty close, so I got ready to leave.




Behind us, the sky was still a pretty blue and the sun was shining, I could still feel it burning on my skin.




As I was walking out of the water, I found a live Whelk, said hello, and put it back.


Just before I reached the sand, a light rain came. But, by the time we got over to the beach access, it stopped. :( No rain for us today.