March 22-23, Sanibel Island, FL

This morning we took a 15 mile cruise up the Pine Island Sound to see the sights.




We enjoyed seeing some dolphin following the boat in our wake, saw some Osprey and cruised by Sanibel, Captiva, North Captiva, Caya Costa, and Useppa Islands and ended up at Cabbage Cay for lunch. Cabbage Cay is an old fishing lodge that serves good food and is only reachable by boat. Very crowded today (probably 75 in the dining room) and fun to see the place again. They have dollar bills tacked to the walls everywhere (they claim 70,000) and say they give the ones that fall down every year to the local school district (they claim to give over 10,000 per year). Cabbage Cay once featured itself as a spot where Jimmy Buffett was served a 'Cheesberger In Paradise' but no mention of that now. Must be a story there.

Real Dollar bills are the 'wallpaper' at Cabbage Key

After lunch we headed back south again and ended the day at the Sanibel Marina, just south of the Sanibel Bridge on Sanibel Island.

A pelican greets us at Sanibel Marina.

Sanibel Marina is a nice marina within walking distance of the Sanibel Lighthouse at the south end of Sanibel Island. There we looked for shells and were treated to a fishing display by several dolphin fishing in the surf very close to shore and only 10 15 feet from where we are walking. Spectacular.

Rick and Kathy walk the beach at Sanibel

Sea creature to be identified.

Osprey with lunch.

Dinner tonight at the Gramma Dots restaurant at the Sanibel Marina. Nice feature is the have preferred seating for people staying at the marina so we did not have to wait. Small restaurant open from 5 pm to 8 pm only withthe last seating at 7 pm. About 50 seats. Said they served over 250 meals. Very efficient operation. Required to close early because of neighbors.

Gramma Dot's

Judy and Kent Mergler were in Sanibel for a few days tending to their home here. They met us at the marina and took us to see their home (neat island home) and then to dinner. As we went to see their home, we found traffic leaving the island between 4:30 and 5 pm awesome. We passed a three mile line of cars waiting to leave the island. Only one way on and off the island. Thankfully we were going the other way from most of the traffic and when we returned to the boat after dinner along the same route, the traffic had completely cleared. Some how the line of traffic waiting to get off the island will be an enduring memory for me. They say it only happens in the height of the season and locals know the back roads to avoid the worst. Still....

Sanibel Lighthouse as we pass by.