Hump Days are "BS"

With all the "BS" going on this week, things really got away from me.  So I'm going to have to lump some things together this year. 

I know for most of you, Hump Day is a good thing, but when you're on vacation it's pretty much "BS".  It signifies that point in the week when vacation is on the downhill slide.  It has been a good week, and the fact that it will be over soon is of course total "BS".  

Beach Snacks

On Wednesday, we ran into an old acquaintance on the beach.  He's a shady character, has a long list of priors, and I believe he's even a jail bird.  This dude can make off with personal items and snacks quicker than you can say  "Nacho Cheese Doritos".  He stalks you from afar and when the timing is right swoops in to commit his crime.  If you are ever down here, be on the lookout!

Did someone say "Snacks!"


Bracelets from the Sea

The shells have not been very plentiful this week.  That's the price you pay for having pleasantly calm days in the gulf.  While I love searching for shells, I also love soaking in the calm waters of the gulf.  We were out in the gulf partaking in some Salt Water Therapy and our youngest Beach Angel was pulling shells up and found a couple that had small holes in them, so she Crafted Nana and I some bracelets straight from the ocean.  A small sliver of seagrass and the perfect shell, unfortunately once the seagrass dries out the bracelet  breaks.  By the way, Taylor, even though the bracelet broke, I still got the shell!  When Taylor was much younger  in June 2015 she found an Imperial Venus shell. (they are rare to Sanibel)  You can see a picture of it by looking at an old blog of mine titled "A Special Find" When we got back home that year we put it in a little display box Taylor still has it today.  These are the priceless memories that last a lifetime.

Bracelets from the Sea by our Beach Angel

Beach and Sand Fleas

While we were working on Oliver our sand art project, I apparently found a group of Sand Fleas, or  should  I say they found me.  For you Missouri folks that are not familiar with sand fleas, let me just make this comparison.  "Chiggers x10" When God made Sand Fleas, what was he thinking??  I'm sure they must have a place in the whole circle of life, but why must they spend their time chewing on an old man's feet and ankles?  Carol is constantly telling me: "Stop scratching". ME:  "I'm not scratching, I'm rubbing!"  I also came back from the beach on Thursday and a small crab fell out of my swimming trunks.  So I got fleas and crabs all in the same week on Captiva!  No "BS".

Buck Key & Slipping through the Mangroves

On Thursday, we went on an adventure. We took Kayaks and explored Buck Key.  Buck Key is a small uninhabited Island which is just east of Captiva.  It's mainly a nature preserve, but there are 14 acres for sale if you can come up with a cool $22M.  It's supposedly deemed as one of the last buildable uninhabited island off the cost of Florida.  It was once inhabited in the late 1800's. I have attached a cool little video about the history of Buck Key.  You can click on the link at the end of my blog to check out the video. Take the time, the video is short and very well done.

I really enjoyed our kayak adventure, it was very peaceful. Only the sounds of gently splashing water as our paddles slipped below the surface of the water. We went around the key and through a mangrove water trail which cut through the island and opened up into a big lagoon.  We saw Manatees, Dolphins, and various birds while gliding peacefully through the water.  I will definitely explore more of the area by kayak in the future.  It was also good to see the Beach Angels get in touch with nature for a bit.  It's hard to get these teenagers to unplug today.

There was a group of birds (Comorants) that followed us for a good part of our adventure.  They would fly down right by the kayaks and swim alongside.  Before you knew it, they would dive under the water and catch a fish.  I really think they were used to being fed by fishermen who were out in the area fishing and were tagging along for possibly a handout.


Unplugging a teenager




Our mascots



Just swallowed a whole fish!


Osprey with lunch

Paddling through the mangrove trail


Beach and Sunset

Why are we drawn to the sunset?  There are people all over the world that take the time every day to stop for a few minutes and admire that circular ball of fire as it slips below the horizon.  It's never more apparent than when you're at the beach.  Every day in the last few minutes of daylight as you look up and down the beach they come.  Like moths drawn to a porch light, they are drawn to the sunset.  I'm not sure if we are there to pay thanks and reflect on the day, or in anticipation for the next day to come.  If not for the sun, we would not exist, so I guess in itself that's a good reason to spend a few minutes if nothing else just to admire it.  It's easy to do when you are on the beach on vacation. It gets a little harder when we get tied up in day to day living.   Remember, we are nobody without it.












Here is a neat little history of Buck Key.  Cool little video, check it out.

https://youtu.be/Z922C1Pjzjo















Comments

Jim Manahan said…
Awesome pictures! Another great memory in the book of RC adventures! Thanks for sharing!
June 20, 2022 at 8:54 AM
Shelllady said…
What a wonderful adventure and gorgeous pictures!
November 1, 2022 at 8:22 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Merica Road Trippin Chapter 5 "America the Beautiful"

Image
While spending our day in Glacier, the rain came in during the afternoon.  Not a lot but enough to muddy up the trails.  We had considered staying an extra day, but with the rain and the fact that there were some ongoing issues back home because of storms while we were gone. We thought we should push on towards our next stop.  We headed to Rapid City, SD.  Our target areas here would be Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial and the Badlands. Mt. Rushmore Birth, Growth, Development, Preservation   There is a secret room carved into the mountain behind one of the president's heads. The Hidden Hall of Records.  Do you know which president?  Who was known as the 5th face on Rushmore?   As we're walking up the Avenue of flags at Mt. Rushmore, people were of course taking pictures and chatting.  What I found interesting was once you reached the end of the flags and approached the main viewing spot for the monument, there was silence, almost like a sign of reverence. While I have seen ma
Read more

Soccer PaPa

Image
At the end of February, my life has changed.  No more 9 to 5 for me, every day is a vacation as retirement has officially kicked in!  My blog has been mainly devoted to our experiences on some small islands in southwest Florida, Sanibel and Captiva Island. While I hope to still visit and share more experiences from this magical place, I will be sharing other trips and experiences as we continue to navigate along Life's Highway.   Before, it seemed like I only wrote about the annual trip to that special place. My intentions were to share a bit of humor and to memorialize some of our precious memories and life's lessons we learned along the way.   Most recently, I have become a Soccer PaPa.  No, I don't drive a minivan, I'm not overly vocal when sitting in the stands, and I'm not jumping up to dispute the referees calls (although I have questioned the lack of a call from time to time).  My gosh, since when has soccer become wrestling at the Chase?    Two of our six gr
Read more

Sand Dollars, Starfish, Stingrays and Sandy Sanibel

Image
We're back home now and I thought I would make one last post to catch up and share some pictures from the week.  Have you ever noticed the older you get how time seems to fly by faster?  I can remember as a child summer vacations that seemed like  they went on forever.  Now a week is here and gone before you know it and a weekend goes by in the blink of an eye.  If I didn't know better I would swear the earth was turning faster.  One thing for sure when I was a kid it was a time when things were much simpler and took longer.  While technology is great, I think it will deprive some of our younger generation from some of the simpler joys in life.  Things like "kick the can" and staying out and playing all day just making sure you got home when the street lights came on. The waters have been clear and full of sea life this trip.  You can stand in the ocean chest deep and see your feet!  We were concerned about how the week was going to go because the week before we
Read more

Some of today's "BS"

Image
 Today we started our day with some "BS".   B reakfast & S trawberry Preserves Our usual opening parlay into a week of eating out and consuming adult beverages. No better place to start than the Lighthouse Cafe. The crowds seem a little lighter this year.  Not sure why but I know people are dealing with a lot of "BS".  Hopefully my "BS" this week will make you smile. Waitress comes to the table "Hi you all ready to order."  Me: "You kidding I been waiting a year for this" I could go on and on about my breakfast choice but you've heard that before.  Today we'll focus on something else that the Lighthouse does really well.  They make their own strawberry preserves and serve it in a little container.  Take that hot buttered toast and dip it in there.  OMG it's pure heaven. We can't leave Sanibel without taking a few of jars home every year.  It's kinda become a tradition. Lighthouse Cafe "Beach Angel Approved&q
Read more

Exploration beyond the beach

Image
So the theme this year is about new experiences and first for us while here on Captiva/Sanibel. Our house this year sits on the water up the channel from Blind Pass.  This is a first for us usually we are trying to get closer to the gulf but the island is narrow down by Blind Pass and it is a pretty short walk to the beach. The house is not much more than 30 foot off the water and has a dock which has led to many new discoveries for the Beach Angels.  I put together a Scavenger Hunt for the Angels this year.  They are getting older and I wanted to open their eyes to the wonderful world of nature that surrounds this island. The Scavenger hunt has about forty items.  They either need to collect or spot the items while here this week.  Lexi  and I spent quality time this evening sitting on the dock and watching nature in all its splendor.  From Rainbows, Osprey eating a fish and a alligator we got a little of everything tonight.  Best part was just sitting there sharing the time together.
Read more

Welcome to Marathon

Image
The adventure continues as we head further south, down to the keys.  Home base this week will be Marathon.  On Monday, we have a trip planned to Dry Tortuga National Park.  That is pretty much the only thing that has a time commitment to it.  We're just going to let the week play out and see what each day brings us. We drove through Fort Myers Beach on our way to an overnight stop in Bonita Springs.  I think due to the higher concentration of houses and businesses on FMB the devastation was extreme.  We stayed in a house on the south end FMB back in 2019.  Below is a picture of that house taken in March of this year.  Bottom floor blown out, and what you don't see in this picture is the whole back of the house is gone. Beach house FMB March 2023 When we drove by, all that is left is an empty lot.  Property on FMB is selling for the same dollar evaluation post hurricane Ian as it was before hurricane Ian, house or no house.  There's no doubt that the future landscape of Fort
Read more

In the Blink of an Eye

Image
It's been a rough week this week.  While I generally keep my blog on the lighter side.  My words come from my head, but my desire to write comes from my heart.  My heart this week has felt both pain and Joy some of which I'll share with you today. On Monday Nov. 20th I'm on the mends from a rough couple of days on what looks like could be a precursory strike from a future Kidney Stone.  Spent a couple of days on pain meds, telling myself I'm not going to the ER.  Carol's been battling the crud and been coughing a lot for the past week.  We get a visit from Kristine, our daughter (technically Daughter-in law) but we adopted here years ago when she moved down here from Oregon to carve out a life with our son Ryan.  In her selfless manner, she's here to deliver a spare nebulizer to her Missouri mom, who's been fighting the crud.  Why? Because that's just who she is. She didn't visit for long, and we shared a few passing comments about her not wanting to
Read more

Boogie Board Beach Angels

Image
So Sunday started off with overcast skies, a quick thank-you to the man upstairs for giving us such a beautiful place to be, and breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe.  Best seafood omelette on Sanibel hands down. When we got back we were in "Beach Mode".  Not Marshawn Lynch "Beast Mode" but Carol lets getting moving, time to go to the Beach Mode.  Since the skies were still overcast we weren't  in full Beach Mode which means we didn't take all the usual stuff.  For those of you that have been with us you know how much of the usual stuff we take! I would have to rate this as one of the best Beach Days for the Beach Angels that I can remember.  Our spot on the beach has a nice sandbar running  just out from the shore line and it made for Boogie Board heaven for the girls today. The Beach Angels 2011 The beach angels 2017 It doesn't seem like that long ago we would have to take them up after a couple hours for an afternoon nap.  Ok, that was
Read more

Branson by the Ocean a.k.a. Gulf Shores Alabama

Image
So today reality sets in and its back to the daily grind.  I still haven't told you about our last day at Gulf Shores, Alabama so here goes. We left St. George Island around 11:00 a.m. on Thursday.  Next stop, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores Alabama. We drove along the coast most of the way.  Lots of swamp logging going on in this area and somewhat unfortunate to see so many closed businesses and abandoned buildings scattered along the coast line. It was a different story when we got into Orange Beach/Gulf Shores.  I compare it to a place we have in the southern part of Missouri called Branson.  Lots of people, lots of cars, and a bunch of tourist type attractions.  So to me Gulf Shores was Branson by the Ocean. It has a higher density of people and high rise accommodations than my heart desires but we have never been here and now we know.      The slogan for Gulf shores is "Small Town, Big Beach"  The beach was wide and where we stopped there was probably 3-
Read more

"The Sequel"-Day2

Image
The Day started out at Amy's over easy on the patio.  "The Beach Angels", "The Director" and "The executive Producer" made the curtain call.  "The Handler" and "The Roadie" slept in. This is the first time we've stayed at the house we're in this year.  It sits on an acre of ground and is very secluded.  The owner "Margarethe" seems like a very nice lady we met her yesterday.  She was stopping by to check on her cleaning crew when we showed up to unload.  The house is a two bedroom that they added a third bedroom and sitting area downstairs. Today we got to play "So You Think Your Smarter Than a Third Grader"   The Handler and the Roadie took the downstairs bedroom. They were a little freaked out when we got here yesterday because they said the bathroom downstairs didn't have a door. Today one of the Beach Angels had to show "The handler" how to use a pocket door.  So NO "The Handler
Read more