Dont know what day this was, but it was before one of our excursions. We went to Jimbo's for breakfast which was kind of a greasy spoon place. We wanted to sit outside, but since they allow smoking out there for forewent that idea and sat inside. After we visited the Shell Factory. It was a first for us all and based on the ads in the attraction magazines it looked interesting. Well, interesting was not the best adjective to describe it. The building was a giant gift shop/museum that would go from shells, to christmas to taxidermy animals, to a pirate cave to a subway to a post office. It was just random and weird. I did learn a bit about pirates and how the most notorious pirate of them all kept spanish princesses captive on a small island with hope to get a ransom. That is how Captiva Island got its name. So not a complete loss of time I suppose...
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| Why uncle thought this was a photo op is beyond me... |
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| Best attraction they had... |
Tuesday we decided to drive down to Siesta Key Beach in Sanibel. One of the firefighters I was talking to at the airport was saying how beautiful it was and Aunt concurred so we decided it was worth the 2 hour commute. While parking was a predicament, we finally set up camp for the day on the beach. The sand was like powder, so white, so soft, just amazing! It was pretty crowded with spring breakers so we didn't set up too close to the water, but I had the sun and my kindle and was a happy camper. It looked like it was going to storm and got a little chilly, to the point I put a long sleeve shirt on, but it blew over right after the beach cleared. Im glad we stuck it out.
Wednesday Aunt had book club and Uncle was going fishing with some guys. The amount of sun I got on Tuesday was going to determine which activity I did.... I ended up going to book club! We had a lovely lunch and I enjoyed listening about the book they read, 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Not King's typical style, but sounded engaging. After most of the ladies left, we hung out at Mary's who hosted and had a few martinis. Then when uncle got back from his fishing trip it was off to Big Rib City for 25 cent beers on Wednesdays. I couldn't believe such a deal still existed! Fine print: 3 limit and must order a meal, but still... Awesome! The food was delish and the beer was cold despite Uncle Al's complaint that the mugs weren't frosted. Since Aunt doesn't drink beer Uncle and I took the liberty of drinking her share too.
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| Cheers to quarter beers! |
Thursday we hit another beach, Fort Meyers Beach. I went there last time I visited with Carla, it's very touristy. This time we went further down the strip where it was less crowded, which I was happy with (am I turning into an old lady or what?!). It was pretty much a repeat of Tuesday, a day of sun, fun, cocktails, kindle and relaxation. On the way home we stopped at the store to pick up some things for the Cabana crawl on Friday. We all know how aunt feels about cooking so I graciously volunteered to make the hors d'oeuvres. I love to cook! While I was prepping, aunt made a nice pasta dinner and then we relaxed and watched a bit of tv before crashing.
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| Guess which chair was mine... |
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| Real troopers, we were one of the last to leave the beach! |
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This is about as far into the water I would go.
I hate when anything touches me in the water |
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I made spinach and cheese swirls with pastry puff
and a sausage crescent swirl too.
There weren't too many left overs after the party. |
Friday I enjoyed the amenities of Tarpon Point and hit the pool. It's nice to just walk down there and not have to pack a cooler or anything for the day. Everything is just an elevator away. Then we went down for the Cabana Crawl. There were about 8-10 different people that opened their cabanas for the group. It was neat to see how each was decorated differently. They ranged from modern city style, to cruiseship style, to Caribbean style and so on. There was also a steel drum player which always makes things sound like vacation. I enjoyed mixing and mingling with everyone; there are so many interesting people in their complex. I was definitely holding my own and didn't even know where aunt and uncle were for parts of the night. It was a nice conclusion to a great trip. Saturday I soaked up the last two hours of sun I could and we headed to Prawnbrokers for some appetizers and VTs before I flew off. They had delicious seafood. The oysters were from Texas (a first for me) but were so meaty and not fishy at all. The escargot was buttery and supreme and the coconut shrimp were yummy. With a full belly I was off. This was just the second of many Florida trips to come! Apparently there is a place that has giant margaritas that we didn't get a chance to go to so I'll for sure be back. Thanks again Aunt Gam and Uncle Al!!!!
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One of the many attempts at a group photo. Perhaps we should
have tried that at the beginning of the night, not the end... |
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