Sand, Birds and a Manatee!

I dreamt about sand days before we left on our trip and
imagined the warm sun shining down to sparkle on the waves.

A sand sculpture of an eagle greeted us on our first walk on the beach.
We admired all the shells that had been gathered to make this creation.

A blue heron investigated our hangout.  He didn’t squawk at us like he squawked at the birds.

The beautiful hibiscus and other flowers were a welcome sight!

When it was time for a dip in the pool, the blue heron was there to welcome us again!
In the above picture, he’s perched on the corner of the roof that protects the table and chairs.

A bird made a nest close to a beautiful home.

Seagulls gather, not wanting to be disturbed.

A manatee snorted a hello while he slowly traveled
about the harbor munching away on his green salad.

Many of the resorts on the islands of Captiva and Sanibel, Florida offer activities for visitors.  People can:

•  Sign up for sailing lessons;
•  Go parasailing;
•  Reserve a fishing guide;
•  Go on tours by boat or enjoy nature guided tours; and
•  Rent bikes or Rollerblades (just to name a few).

We preferred the sand, birds and searching for the manatees.  The pelicans entertained us by skimming along the top of the calm gulf water together in their flock.  Some days the dolphins made an appearance by flashing their fins through the waves.  A fisherman pointed out the different kinds of fish that could be seen from the shore such as the lady fish or the fish that had markings like a zebra that was probably a striped bass.  We swam “laps” in the pool in the late afternoon and dried off at our hangout in the sand.  There are many shops to buy souvenirs nearby, and the restaurants made sure that we got our fill of shrimp, grouper and snapper.  We also found places that serve chicken wings and burgers!  Thankfully, we discovered that Latte Da is the place to go for a raspberry chocolate chip ice cream cone.

Now that we are all rested up, we’re ready to welcome the Christmas celebrations!  The lights on the islands showed us that they are ready too.

The sand in our suitcases reminds us of the fun time we had!