Enjoying the West Coast of Florida

 I cannot say how grateful we are to be here on Sanibel Island for the winter.  Because we are in southwestern Florida the temperatures are just beautiful.  This means we can be outside doing things and getting fresh air.  I cannot begin to imagine how difficult it is for those living in the north, being cooped up in the colder temps.  We are also very fortunate that there are numerous restaurants open.  One of our favorites is Mudbugs.  This is a Cajun restaurant that has wonderful food.  We paid them a visit last week for some gumbo, oysters, and crawfish etouffee.

These were our Cajun roasted oysters.  They were "delish".

And this was the Crawfish etouffee.  Who'd have thought a mudbug could taste so good?

After all that yummie Cajun food, we needed a little exercise.  We have decided to play tennis several times a week, but Keith has also been playing golf and I have been riding my bike.  They have very nice bike paths throughout the island of Sanibel.  The paths are busy, however, as everyone walks and bikes around here.  You definitely have to be a little on the look-out for others around the curves.

One of the many bike paths on the island

Don't take the curves too wide or there could be a collision.

This past weekend we also took the boat for a little trip north of Sanibel to Cayo Costa State Park.  This is another of southwest Florida's barrier islands that has been designated a state park.  There is a very large protected harbor area on the east side of the island.  The west side faces out to the Gulf of Mexico and has a wide sand beach.  We left Sanibel Marina on Saturday and cruised up along the Gulf of Mexico side of the islands to get to Cayo Costa.  Although we pulled some fishing lines, we did not catch anything.  By the time we arrived at Cayo Costa, the tide was up which was good.  There is a very shallow entrance getting into the anchorage area, but we made it in without any problems.  There were tons of boats already there for the weekend.   (Keith counted 85 other boats in the anchorage).  Luckily we found a spot just big enough for us to drop our anchor and we were set.  It was a beautiful evening to be anchored.

View off the starboard side of Southern Style Saturday evening

The next morning I took the kayak out for a paddle while Keith worked out on the boat.  This is a view of the anchorage from the kayak.  Sorry about the water droplets, I seemed to have trouble keeping it off the lens that day.

There are a lot of mangroves at Cayo Costa.  Unfortunately, I did not see any manatees.  

Boat dock into the park Cayo Costa

Cayo Costa is part of the Calusa Blueway Trail.  This is approximately 200 miles of marked waterways that meander throughout the Fort Myers area.  These waters are both marked with placards as well as mapped for kayakers.  Some are open waters of the bays, others snake around small barrier islands and mangroves, and some are local rivers.  All of them were used extensively by the original inhabitants, the Calusa Indians.  Today they make for great boating and kayaking.

This is one of the placards of the Calusa Blueway Trail

In the afternoon we explored a bit with the dinghy.  Working up an appetite, we decided to take the dinghy to Cabbage Cay.  This is a small island just 3 miles south from Cayo Costa with a well known restaurant located on the island. 

Coming into Cabbage Cay

 It is touted as being the place where Jimmy Buffet wrote "Cheeseburger in Paradise".  Whether that is true, I cannot say.  They are proud of their cheeseburgers at $14.00 for one without fries; but worth doing once in a while.  It had been 3 years since we were there the last time as we came around west Florida doing "The Loop" back in 2018. 

Open-air restaurant at Cabbage Cay

   Like so many beach bars, patrons hang dollar bills all around the walls and ceiling of the restaurant.  Because you are not leaving enough of your money with them already, right?

There are several resident Gopher tortoises on the island.  This was one passing by the restaurant as we came out after lunch.

View out over the dock from the restaurant porch

We headed back to Southern Style around 2:00 PM.  She sits just where we left her.

After pulling anchor, we cruised back to Sanibel Island via the intracoastal waterway.  Southern Style ran well this weekend.  It was good to give the old girl a run and good for us to get away for a bit.  Keith is taking a radar class in St Petersburg this coming week to add another endorsement to his USCG captain's license.  I will be on Sanibel alone and without the Jeep.  I plan on working on some of my quilts and sea shell projects.  Hopefully I will have some pictures of my latest crafty craziness on the next post. 

Off Roading

   The last several weeks we had been having some issues with our Jeep sometimes getting stuck in low gear and not shifting into the higher gears as you accelerated.  We were concerned that the transmission might be going; but as usual Keith figured it out.  Luckily it was just a speed sensor on the transmission and he was able to order a new sensor for $20 and replace it himself.  The Jeep is now running like a champ.  So we decided to do a little off-roading last weekend.  The Fred Babcock/Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area is Florida's oldest wildlife management area and protects over 80,000 acres.  It is about 20 miles from Fort Myers, just a short drive.  So off we went.

     Pengi was excited to go off-roading.  Here he is as we entered the park

Much of the roads in the park are flat, firm gravel or dirt so they are easy to negotiate.

There are large sections that are very marshy

The park is protected home to many native Florida species of wildlife.  White tailed deer, alligators, racoons, many different birds etc.  There are even occasional sightings of the rare Florida panther.  Pengi and I kept a close look-out for any panther, but we did not see one this day.  

This is what the Florida panther looks like

We did see numerous birds.  Here is a sandhill crane.  This bird is common in Florida and they mate for life.

This cattle egret appeared dumbfounded as I snapped his picture.  The look on this bird's face was priceless

There were honey bee hives

And local farmers also raise cattle in some sections of the preserve

Here is a cattle egret appropriately hitching a ride on a bovine.

We spent about 2 hours driving through the preserve.  It was a nice way to spend some time off the boat.  On the way home we popped into a car wash to get the dirt off the Jeep.

Pengi experiencing his first car wash

The Jeep ran great for us and we are relieved that we don't have a huge repair bill.  The weather has gotten a little chilly here in south Florida.  We are not complaining, mind you.  I am still able to get out on the beach regularly to do some shelling and Keith is getting out a least once a week to play some golf.  All is well here in Sanibel.

National Shell Museum

 As I have mentioned, Sanibel Island is one of the top places in the world to hunt for sea shells.  There are over 300 different species of shells that can possibly be found on its beaches.  One of the reasons this island has so many shells is its geography. Most of  Florida's Gulf coast barrier islands run parallel to the coast of Florida in a north to south orientation.  Sanibel is torqued and lays in a northwest to southeast position.  This tends to better funnel shells from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean onto its beaches.  I have seen videos of the beach after storms and it is like nothing I have ever seen.  But even without any storms, the shelling is still wonderful here.

Pengi on a big shell pile last week when we went shelling.

I actually found a juvenile alphabet cone shell in this pile along with some other treasures. 

One days worth of shelling

Here are some of my cone shells.  The three on the left are alphabet cones of various sizes.  The shell on the right is a Florida cone.

Close up of the three nicest ones.  The alphabet cone is one of the most prized shells in southwest Florida because it is somewhat hard to find and quite pretty.

  So appropriately, Sanibel Island is also home to the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum.  Last week, Keith and I made a visit to the museum.  There we learned all about the animals that create the sea shells I love.  

Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum

The museum was started in 1984 by avid shell collectors and Sanibel residents Charlene and Rolland McMurphy.  It is the only accredited museum in the United States devoted solely to shells and mollusks (the animals that create shells).  The museum has grown into a national and international resource for the study and distribution of knowledge about mollusks.   It features shells from around the world as well as a touch tank to get up close and personal with some creatures.  There is a movie that is about 45 minutes playing on a continuous loop detailing the anatomy, life cycle, and habits of many common mollusks.

Inside the museum

There are several displays that exhibit artwork done with shells.  This particular exhibit shows sailor's valentines.  This art form was developed in the early 1800's.  It is paired, glass covered shadow boxes always octagonal in shape containing tiny sea shells glued in geometric shapes or floral patterns.  The boxes were constructed of hardwood and hinged so they could be closed for safe storage.  Contrary to myths, they were not made by sailors in order to pass the time while at sea.  They were made by female residents of Barbados and other Caribbean stop-over ports for sailors, particularly New England whalers, to purchase and take home for loved ones.  When the whaling industry declined and those islands were no longer common ports-of-call for traveling sailing vessels, this shell art form disappeared.  Recently this craft has undergone a revival.  Here is an example of a sailor's valentine created from shells on Sanibel Island.

Closer shot of each side of the Sailor's Valentine

Maybe by the time we leave Sanibel, I will have enough shells to create a Sailor's Valentine.  Don't tell Captain Keith.