Beach Angel turns 12

We Today is our oldest Beach Angel "Lexi's" birthday.  They grow up so fast.  we looked back on some pictures and videos from vacations past they are filled with many great memories of our time on Sanibel/Captiva.

We made a little video to celebrate Lexi's special day.     

We also made up a little display box to safely store Taylor's rare shell find she has told everybody about her shell.  I have no doubt she will have this shell for years to come.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

30 Day Beach Bum (The Ocean is like a box of Chocolates)

Image
The 30-day Beach Bum tour has come to an end.  Back home to reality and Day 1 had me wishing I was back at the Beach.  Why is it when you're gone from home for an extended period of time, the home has a way of reminding you that you can run, but you can't hide from the maintenance requirements of being a homeowner. The well tank decided to give me such a reminder while we were gone. The pressure relief valve decided to pop off and partially flood the basement.  Fortunately, water was contained to the unfinished side of the basement. I spent half the day yesterday troubleshooting and making repairs. A faulty pressure switch was the culprit causing the system to over pressurize, I shouldn't complain it was the original switch from when we built the house but of course it waited to fail while we were gone. Thanks to Ryan, the grass did get cut once while we were away for a month, but today I'm sure I pissed off all the local frogs. I sent them running for their life while ...
Read more

30 Day Beach Bum (Momma don't take my kodachrome Away!)

Image
The second wave of Special guest is coming towards the end.  We have been blessed with sunny days.  The rain has held off till late evenings all week so Adalynn, Riley, and Lucas have managed to get alot done on their Scavenger hunt.  We've also logged some more Beach time.   We did go back to the deeded beach access once.  Its a great spot very few people on the beach there, but the the path to the beach is a challenge. So we have spent more days down at the Fulgar Street Beach access. The unloading zone is more open and less tempting for the blood sucking welcoming committee. For those of you who know our daughter-in-law (Kristine), she was in a car accident back in 2023.  Today she is still battling issues with walking but true to the trooper she is she didn't let that stop her from experiencing the Gulf for the first time.  All we needed was a trolling motor    Mission Success-Now how we gonna get her outta there? The scavenger Hunte...
Read more

30 Day-Beach Bum 2025 version

Image
So, after being a novice Beach Bum for many years I think this year it's time to turn it up a notch and move up to Semi–Pro. Normally we only spend about a week on Captiva or Sanibel. This year we’ve rented a house on Sanibel and the plan is to spend the month of June. This will give me plenty of time to hone my Beach Bum skills. I won't be going it solo my trusty co-pilot is of course here for the fun and during the month we will feature guests appearances from some seasoned Beach Angels and we will also be qualifying some new Beach Angels who will be here on their inaugural tour.   What do you think is required to be a successful Beach Bum? Here is my checklist.  Let me know if there is anything I missed. Love for the Beach Willingness to relax Sun protection Hydration Comfortable chair Towel I read to qualify as a professional Beach Bum it requires a minimalist attitude.  Seeing the back of the Pickup bed was fully packed for the trip down here I may not meet t...
Read more

30 Day Beach Bum (Beach Angels in Training)

Image
So I found something I forgot to put on my Beach Bum requirement list!  BUG SPRAY, Don't forget the BUG SPRAY!  On  Sunday our arrival day we got a text from the rental company saying the house was ready for check in early. The office is not open on Sunday but they have an after hours key pickup.  This was great news, so as soon as we arrived on island we stopped and picked up the house keys and proceeded to the house.   One small issue with the keys, they don't open the door!  Thankfully they did have an afterhours phone number and John the maintenance man was about 1/2 hour away, he was able to get us into the house.  In the time we are waiting for John the no-see-ums proceed to snack and continues to snack on me the next day as well.  My legs look like I got measles.  Just a price a Beach Bum has to pay for paradise. Benadryl itching cooling spray is a god send, no-see-ums are not. Leg Measles!  A.K.A. No-See-Ums Our first week a...
Read more

30 Da Beach Bum (Riddle Me This)

Image
 I soar above, looking for a treat, sometimes I'll snatch what you eat. answer: For the Bold Snatched from Beach Bag and opened before you could say Do-Rit-Tos We put together a Scavenger Hunt for the girls while they were here.  Lexi and Taylor have been Beach Angel certified for a long time. They have been coming here since they were babies.  The three girls that came down with them were making their first trip.  We told them they needed to do the Scavenger hunt in order to become Beach Angel Certified by NaNa and PaPa.  The scavenger hunt was in the form of riddles much like the one I opened the blog with.  I figured it was one way to get them to pay attention to the beauty of the island instead of spending their day focused only on their phones taking selfies.  Trust me they got plenty of selfie time but they did manage to work on the scavenger hunt too! The 2025 Scavenger Hunt for the big girls Lexi and Taylor were able to help with the hunt and C...
Read more

Some Beach

Image
Posting a little later today sitting out on the lania listening to the thunder roll and having a glass of Liquid Lubrication. Strawberry/Plum wine 2008.  (It was a very good year).   As you regulars on the forum know I enjoy making homemade wine.  This one was actually made by a friend of mine.  His name is Gil.  He's the one that introduced me to the art of winemaking.  Strawberry Plum 2008   Gil is best described as one of those country boys that can survive. He's does it all from making his own deer sausage to turning various fruits into liquid lubrication he makes some good stuff!  The first time I saw him making deer sausage I was a bit perplexed he was using the camper on the back of his old Ford pickup as a smoker.  I thought the darn truck was on fire when I first saw it.  Some of the best deer sausage I ever ate. Before I get to todays agenda I should back up a bit to dinner last night....
Read more

Hey Mike,Mike,Mike Hump Days are not allowed on vacation!

Image
So I have been a little behind in posting to the blog this year.  The time is flying by way too fast.  Wednesday's plan was a day at the beach.  I started off by getting a few shots of the sunrise from the dock.  Nothing like watching the world wake up in paradise.  I was then off to Baileys for some Doughsants.  This was another first for us.  We never heard of a doughsant before but thought what the heck lets give them a try.  I kind of envisioned the light airy texture of a croissant mixed with the glazed goodness of a doughnut. The folks at Baileys are so polite.  The lady at the Bakery counter told me this batch came out smaller than normal so they gave me double the amount for the same price! The outside was like I expected but there was some sort of filling inside a little like a cream cheese but with some sort of flavoring that was not sweet.  Sorry not a big fan of the doughsant...
Read more

The Road

Image
 It's been awhile since I posted on the blog. I usually only post when we're on a trip.  No trips recently, just navigating down this road we call retirement. I do however have some thoughts to share with you if you care to listen. This past Sunday looked like it was going to be one of the last warmer days for a while as we drift into the colder months towards winter. We decided to fire up the grill and partake in one last summer ritual with some barbecued ribs. As I'm out on the deck, it's late in the day the sun is falling and there's this warm glow off the horizon. The silhouette of a lone squirrel is jumping the treetops, making its way to settle down in its den for the evening. The evening is peaceful, there is a hoot owl in the distance calling to its mate. I walk over to the window, which is directly in front of the kitchen sink.  There she is head down hard at work washing dishes.  She doesn't detect my presence, so I press my nose up against the window,...
Read more

Paradise Found!

Image
Ok we made it.  Got into Fort Meyers around 1:15 yesterday.  Stopped at Bahama Breeze for  lunch and a spicy Mango Mojito (Got to start putting this vacation in the right frame of mind). After lunch a quick stop at Wally World to pick up some things we'll need for the week then its windows down and proceed with our search for Paradise. It doesn't take long and you can smell it,  the salt air from the ocean paradise must be close.  Reach into your pocket and get out the best spent $6 bucks of the week.   Our home base this week is once again on Laika Lane.  Captiva Cutie is colorful beach themed ground level cottage.   It takes the beach angels about 10 minutes to get on swimming suits and head for the pool.  The first 5 minutes was spent checking out the lizard that was awaiting our arrival on the front porch.     We broke from our normal routine and hit the pool for awhile....
Read more

Time

Image
Time, no matter how much we will it to change, it's the one thing in life that is constant.  We watch it pass us day by day.  Sometimes it feels like time is something we are loosing.  I sit here today watching my firstborn grandchild transition into adulthood.  I feel like it was only yesterday I held her in my arms for the first time. I was there for Baby Einstein, Barbies, and Dora the Explorer.  Then there were sled rides, Power Wheels, Go karts and more.  From Crayons and Cartoons to Cars and Cosmetics, wait time, you've gone too fast. You were my first original Beach Angel, and I still remember our time experiencing the beach together. I watched you run and chase the surf with squeals of excitement, I watched the fading sunset shimmer through your long curly hair as you looked out towards the ocean in amazement at the vast world that was before you.   I was there when you showed your sister the beach for the first time, your little hands gra...
Read more