Lazy Days on Sanibel

The 4th of July has come and gone.

We had a fun time participating in the 32nd annual Sanibel-Captiva Optimist Club’s Fourth of July Road Rally.  This year’s theme was Rallying for a

Shell of a Good Time.  We were a part of The Margaritaville Marauders team.  Below is our battle wagon, which our leader had decorated for the occasion with bits taken from a few of Jimmy Buffet's songs.  He had even labeled the side mirrors with, fins to the right and fins to the left, along with a fin on top.  There were around 130 questions along with a few items that we had to retrieve and take back with us.  We don't know yet how well we did, but we had a fun afternoon. :)

This was one of the cutest decorated vehicles that I saw.  A lot of work went into this one.

 This morning we went to the airport to pick up two grandsons and one of their friends, who will be staying with us for almost 2 weeks.

On the way back across the Sanibel Causeway, we could tell that clouds were beginning to gather.

The boys were anxious to get to the house so they could change their clothes and get out on the beach.  About 30 minutes after we got home, this is where we found them.  Just as well, because it started pouring down rain a few minutes later.  There was some really loud thunder.  Then a helicopter flew low over our house about 10 times, as they were spraying for mosquitoes. The guys slept through it all. :)

Tonight we went to dinner at the Sanibel Grill.

Then we went to the beach on West Gulf Drive to  watch the sunset.

There wasn't much air moving and we had just had another rain shower, so the no-see-ums started bothering us right away.  We quickly hurried away.

Sad Day, Happy Hair

I know it's a strange title, but I'm a little sad today because my friend and :) personal hair dresser, left the island today to go home. We had lots of fun with our Missouri friends during the past month, and will truly miss them. Hopefully they will be back soon. We've had several good friends visiting Sanibel during the month of May, and all have gone except for our friends from Holland, who will be here a while longer.

First thing this morning, I cheered myself up, with a little tropical bouquet of variegated ginger blooms. The blooms look like a mixture of tiny seashells and orchids that have a spicy fragrance. I love them!


I very rarely put any photos of myself on this blog; mostly because I don't like any of them. But, I had to share my new 'Happy Hairdo'. Thank you friend! I hope you can return in time for a touch up in about 6 weeks. :)


This is a cute gift that was given to us this morning. Don't you just love the little turtle holding a picture frame? He was looking a little sad today too. :)


This afternoon we drove to Captiva, parked in a friends driveway on Wightman Lane. He has a beautiful four bedroom home, Rainbow's End, that is a weekly rental. We walked to the end of the lane to the beach. There were bright colored umbrellas in either direction, but not many people moving around on the beach. I saw a few in the water and the others were just relaxing in their beach chairs.






As I walked out onto the beach and toward the water, there was what looked to be a crater. Hmmmm??? Maybe the signs of a giant sea turtle's false crawl???


There was plenty of parasailing activity going on.




There were only a few scattered small seashells.










Video was taken at the end of Wightman lane. This is just slightly north of the Mucky Duck and Yolo Waters Sports.



I've heard of stolen, stripped and abandoned cars; could this have been a stolen, stripped and abandoned trash receptacle??? On Captiva??? You think???


The walk back on Whitman Lane was very pleasant. It's not like walking on a street, it's exactly as the name implies, it's a nice quiet lane, lined with trees that are hiding some beautiful homes.


At the very top of a pine tree, young Osprey were crying out for mom and dad to bring them some food.




Captiva Island is one of those places where everyone names their homes. Walking along Whitman Lane, it's entertaining reading all the signs with clever beach house names.


On the drive back, I watched more parasailers, the view from up there is amazing. If you haven't done this yet, you should!


Next stop, Sanibel Grill, for Happy Hour. :)


For a Pina colada and . . . .


a Steak Quesadilla with black beans and rice. :))

A Sanibel Sunday

Spent time with the kids today, because the last group of six is leaving tomorrow. :-( Laundry is all done. They have all their things together, so they will have time to do a little something tomorrow before they have to leave.

Part of them went to Pointe Santo to spend time with friends that they made there. After dinner at the Sanibel Grill, we drove to West Gulf Drive and Resident Access #2. There had been some threatening clouds passing by, but we got no rain. The temperature got up to 92 today with the water temp at 90. The water was pretty clear this evening and you could see shells laying on the bottom. The waves were breaking out on a sandbar. There were people out walking in the shallow water, looking for shells.











Best viewed in HD on YouTube by clicking on the screen below.

Nice Sanibel Sunday

I thought I had seen the causeway islands loaded with people before, but today on the way off the island, it was even more crowded than I have ever seen them! The island with the restrooms on it, was lined with vehicles and people. The other island also had lots of people. These photos were taken on the way off the island. On the way back there were double that amount. I'm totally surprised that they didn't sink out of sight from the weight! There were LOTS of boats out today too.









I made my airport run to pick up my Daughter and family this afternoon. They all four were waving as they walked around a corner and saw me waiting. :-)) I haven't seen them since Christmas. I think they are probably more excited to be on vacation than to see me. Ha! We stopped for lunch on the way back and also to pick up some groceries at Publix.



After my vacationers got settled in, Daughter took a book and headed for the beach to relax for a while. Grandson and; Grand Daughter headed out to walk on the beach, looking for shells. Son-In-Law's back was hurting after an hour drive to the airport this morning and then the plane trip, so he vegged out in the condo. There is a wonderful ocean view with so much glass, you feel like you are outside, even if you are laying on the bed or sitting in the living room.







Tonight we went to eat at the Sanibel Grill, then they came here to eat Key Lime Pie. :-) They were ready for an early night, since last night was a short one for them.

Blind Pass, Monday's Mission

This afternoon it was sunny, 78 degrees and windy; a perfect day for a mission. That mission was to check out the dredging project at Blind Pass again. After parking in the Sanibel parking area and walking across the bridge, I was surprised to see such a large amount of water in the containment cell. I took photos and have videos so that you can see for yourself how the water was piped into it and the way it was leaking back out. This is where they are holding the excavated material that is not suited for beach renourishment. That material will be trucked to an upland disposal area. One dredge was pretty far out in Wulfert Channel and the other dredge was next to the gulf shore. You can certainly tell the project is progressing. I checked the 'before' photos of Wulfert Channel and even though I remembered what it looked like at that time, it is still shocking to think of how much sand has already been moved. I even saw a fish jump out of the water, while I was standing on the bridge. :-)











This is the Gulf side with the containment area. The sand that is being pumped into this area is deemed not suitable to be released into the Gulf.


This is the bay side of he Blind Pass dredging project.


This is Turner Beach on Captiva, just over the Blind Pass Bridge. The water was really clear and the beach was empty.


After getting back from Blind Pass, it was around 4:00 and time for the Sanibel Grill to open. Made a stop there for early dinner,and Happy Hour prices. :-) They have the best steak quesadillas! For those who don't know, this is a sports bar, with TVs all around.

Soon after arriving, I saw a news alert that there was a grass fire on Sanibel Island, they were showing clouds of smoke in the sky over the island. What a surprise, since just driving past that area and seeing no smoke at all. Evidently a fire was started from the exhaust of a pickup truck when it was driven into a restricted,15 acre open field, called Sanibel Gardens, owned by Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge, the city of Sanibel and the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. The vegetation is very dry here now, and it was windy today, which caused the fire to spread quickly. There were a few homes near the area, but firefighters got the fire under control before causing them damage. I wouldn't want to be the driver of that pick-up right now.

So, that's about all the excitement I can handle for one day.