Flowers on Saturday

My entry......

a couple more for good measure...lol

I love taking pictures!!  I love how the top photo turned out.  I used it for my screen saver last summer.  The petals look so iridescent. I don't use any photo editing software.  I usually just download and go.  If I want to participate in a few more "photography" parties I am going to have to find some type of program to use.  Any recommendations?  "free" is always a plus!!

Eateries

Well....since I have Sanibel ALWAYS on the brain I will be sharing more about my favorite place on earth.  I will talk today about eateries.  I have already shared photos on The Bubble Room on Captiva so I won't be talking about it.  Let's see ...I think the first one I will talk about is The Hungry Heron

We went here on our first night on Sanibel.  We were starving and tired from the journey and looking through the literature in our condo we decided on eating here for the crab legs.  I did indeed have the crab legs served with corn on the cob and fries.  We had a seafood fritter for an appetizer and it was sooo good!!  My brother decided on a lobster boil type dinner ( I can't remember what it was actually called ) It had linguini and lobster and mussels and clams all boiled in one big pot.

Needless to say he was one big happy camper when they brought this to the table.  My crablegs were good but this was really, really good.  I'm not a fan of mussels and clams but the linguini in this was excellent with all the flavors melding together.  He couldn't eat it all so we happily took the leftovers back to the condo and heated it up for a snack the next day.  It was still very tasty!

We always make a stop here for lunch - just like it says the cheeseburgers are great!

The next place we always make a stop or two is the Island Cow.  Love all those happy colors!!

A very popular spot. The times that we have been either for lunch or dinner we have never had a long wait for a table.  But I always visit during the "off" season.

There is literally something for everyone here.  The menu is extensive and varied.  Great family dining.

Did I mention the colors?  Yep...they make me happy..lol  Just what an island eatery should do.

Next up is Grandma Dot's.  It is on the marina near the Sanibel Lighthouse.  Oh my, let me tell you - no wait - let me show you - heaven on a plate .........

Isn't that a pretty presentation for a lunch meal. Coconut shrimp and homemade chips. These were the best coconut shrimp I have ever eaten.  THE BEST!!  I want to rip it off my screen right now and stuff it in my mouth...yummy, yummy, yummy....

Well these were a few of our favorites - if you go to Sanibel Island and visit any of them you will not be disappointed. 

We had a lovely dinner here as well.  The lobster bisque was extremely good.  I was a tad disappointed with my filet but I think it was because I ordered it cooked too done. 

I know I said that I wasn't gonna talk about the Bubble Room but I found a picture of the prime rib that I took on one of the trips and just had to share it

It looks a little rare in this photo but it was delicious.  You know how tall those sauce cups are...the prime rib towers over them...it was humongous!!  Definitely enough to share.  We had salads first and then shared this entree.  Well........that's about it for now....until next time......take care!!

Seashells

I think I've mentoned something about the shells on Sanibel Island a time or two with the promise to do a post on the subject.  There really is no other place I've been that has the amount of shells on the beach like Sanibel has.  I think that is one of the main reasons I love Sanibel so much.  I do have a few photos to share but when I took them they were only for me to remember what I'd found on vacation so they are not very pretty.  I wasn't thinking anything about a blog when I took them.  If you want pretty pictures and to learn about the shelling then visit my friend's blog iloveshelling.com, Pam would love to have you.  Just tell her I sent ya :)  She lives on Sanibel and her blog is amazing!!

I tried to keep them seperated by type and color.  Here you can see scallops and cockles and fighting conchs.  And a sea star, I tend to always find a tiny sea star on my visits.  Which makes me happy and sad at the same time.  Happy because I love them and sad because the poor creature was dead.  We never take anything living that we find. We put them back in the water so that they may continue to live and populate the waters!

I wish I had something for scale in this photo because some of these cockles were huge!  I don't think the chair leg in the next picture does the job.

I even love the broken lightning whelks.  They look cool in a jar of shells.  If I can get a pretty picture I'll show you some of my bowls and jars of shells.  They are used as decorations throughout my entire house even though I live in KY.

I was trying to be a little creative with the shot above like my friend Pam from iloveshelling. (imitation is definitely a form of flattery in this case!!)

Look at all those lovely shells.....I can hear the waves crackle when they are pushing those shells ashore...*sigh*...And believe it or not this is a very small shell pile on the Sanibel side of Blind Pass.

More shots at Ocean's Reach

I really had no direction in which I wanted to go when I started this blog.  I love Sanibel and I love photographs so that is what I am sharing so far.  I really love vacations, but I also love seeing and am inspired by the crafty and d-y-i items I see on everyone's blog.  So possibly in the future (yeah... still dreaming about that too) I will have a post or two on that subject. In the meantime I will share  more photos of my beloved Sanibel Island and Ocean's Reach.

This one is the pathway to the beach again.  I just think they have the prettiest walkways.  You have the soft peach of the building, the greens of the bushes and tress and then the vibrant colors of the flowers blooming mixed with the white of the pool gate and the turquoise of the ocean on the horizon...sigh....can you tell where I want to be....LOL

Heaven on earth...can you hear the gentle lapping of the waves and feel the soft ocean breezes?

That's my umbrella you see in the distance.  One of these days I will have a permanent umbrella perched on this island beach somewhere.  Until then I have my vacations and my photos to tide me over.......hope you enjoy them as much as I do!


Linking with Dwellable.  I have a few more posts on Ocean's Reach if you are interested just scroll through or use the labels on the sidebar.

Ocean's Reach on Dwellable

One of my favorite places to visit and eat when I'm on Sanibel is the Bubble Room.  I think it is so fun and cute.  The outside makes me happy whenever I see it.  All the colors are so festive, don't ya think?

Who wouldn't be in a good mood after walking into this?

The food is pretty good.  The prime rib is awesome.  The tarzan cut is huge!!  I shared it with another person and we still couldn't finish the whole thing, it was crazy!  They also have the cutest gift shop on the grounds. 

My niece (light of my life) had a blast trying on the hats in the gift shop.  You really should at least stop here on your visit even if you don't eat.  I love the atmosphere!!

Ahhh...."Always Dreaming" of being back on the lovely Island of Sanibel FL.  Such a good time was had by all.

I thought I would share a few more pictures from my time on Sanibel Island and my stay at Oceans Reach.  I am not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination.  However I do think these shots are pretty.

Oh...to be back there would be heaven.....*wistful sigh*...........isn't it just lovely?  My heart and soul yearns to be there.....LOL.......sounds like I'm writing a romance novel!!  I am hopelessly captivated by the island and shelling.....ohh...the shelling there....that will be another post.