Favorite Photo Monday

When I started blogging I really had no idea of what I would be blogging about.  I love Sanibel Island FL so that is where I started.  In looking around blogland I found a couple of link-ups that had to do with photos.  I love photos just as much as I love Sanibel so some of my posts are just about photos.  Here is my favorite photo for this week's party.

This is my beautiful niece Kenna.  We were at Virginia Beach and it was a very windy day.  We had been at the beach for several days and it had been cold and I do mean cold...brrr...  We finally had a sunny day warm enough for swimsuits and the beach so I took her out.  She started with a ponytail but as you can see that didn't last long.  But it didn't matter - we had sun and warmth and sand and fish sculptures to play on.  As you can see she was happy!!

When she is happy.....I am happy!!

She didn't know which fish she liked best...

Having so much fun!!

And this last photo is another one of my favorites.  None of these photos have been retouched they are SOOC.......(thanks Ewa..*wink*) Who needs to retouch when you have the perfect model?

Thanks for stopping by - I love blogging because I am meeting some wonderfully talented people and people who share my interests and people who are so nice,  I love getting comments.  I get so excited when I see an email that lets me know that you have stopped by and I will respond to all your comments here.  I also pop by your blog - leaving comments on my blog is the way I have found some of my favorite blogs.  THANK YOU!!

More pretty pictures

Here are a few more shots that I think turned out pretty.  What you see here are the shots as I have taken them.  I did not use any software to retouch the shots.  Maybe should and they would be a little more dramatic but I want to share the Island with you in it's natural state so to speak.

More from the walkways to the beach at Ocean's Reach.  The beach is so pretty on it's own on Sanibel Island.  It is definitely a very natural beach.  I love the fact that they do not rake the beach and that they keep the natural barrier between the beach and the condo complexes.  The sea grasses and such. 

and to make the walk to the beach even prettier you have the lushness of the plants and flowers to frame your view of the ocean.

I love these trees.  The crookedness of the branches make them look so cool and interesting.

Speaking of cool trees...this last one isn't on the property of Ocean's Reach.  It is near the Chapel by the Sea on Captiva.  But I love how it's branches look.

From the shopping complex at Periwinkle....well I started this post with pretty pictures but then the tree branches got me sidetracked...but I kinda like the way it ended up so I am staying with it.  Well.. how about some more pretty shots of the ocean....ok....you talked me into it...tehee....love the shape of these branches.....

and maybe one more.......

Had to stay with the "tree" theme........sure do wish I were sitting on that bench right now.........seriously wishing I was on that bench ...sigh...

Until next time, I sure do hope you are having a great day and I thank you so much for stopping by!

I found one more cool tree - this one is outside the Island Cow.  And the little beauty striking her "top model" pose in the middle of the tree is my little ray of sunshine - Kenna!

Flowers on Saturday II

My entry..............

Thanks to everyone who recommended editing software last week.  I did use picmonkey to crop and add some color saturation.  I love how it looks, but it feels like I am cheating because this is not exactly what I snapped.
This is what I snapped below........

These hydrangeas were really quite pretty in person.  I love the variation in the color from blues to pinks and purples.  They aren't my flowers, darn it!!  I was dog sitting when I took these.  Hopefully later on I can share some flowers from my yard.
But for now ....

cheating again with some cropping and color play.

I LOVE FLOWERS and I am loving playing with the photos on picmonkey - Thanks again for the recommendation.

Had to add some butterflies to the one above!

This one (above) obviously has had no editing.

while this one has.

Favorite Photo of the Week!

woohooo....my picture was chosen as a favorite in the party "Flowers on Saturday".  I am very pleased as I thought it was an amazing photo - no editing required and no editing done.  Thank you.
'It's the very first Clematis shot in the post below. 
Anyone who loves photography should check out the party.  I have the button on my sidebar.

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.