Sanibel For The New Year

 

After Christmas there was New Year's dinner at my moms. Then there was a weekend in Sanibel! Jerry & I and Hellen & Les left on Friday the 2nd and returned on Sunday the 4th. We stayed at the Seaside Inn again (see post from Mother's day 2014 for photos) and ate some nice meals, hung out on the beach, enjoyed the view, and relaxed. Got a couple photos. The surf was too rough for shelling.

Happy Mother's Day - Saturday

I hope you all are able to be with your mommas this Mother's day and if not that you think of her often today. Never having been a mom, it looks like an awesome but tiring job.

My mom and I are in Sanibel Island this weekend. We drove up yesterday, had seafood for lunch near the lighthouse, saw the lighthouse, checked in our beachfront room, went shelling, napped under the umbrella, went to dinner at a seafood restaurant, and sat on the screened lanai listening to the gulf breeze before retiring for the night.

Two chicks about ready to roll

My cold seafood salad at the Lighthouse café.

Historic Sanibel Island Lighthouse

There's a huge birdnest...thinking Osprey.

Arrived at our room with mini kitchen and all the needed amenities - the Seaside Inn

Mom on screen lanai looking at the view

Mom is sleeping in this morning but I was on the beach about 6:15 to walk and look for shells, which are everywhere, then I went for a dip in the pool at 7am. Now I'm back on the screen porch drying and hopefully sanding off. We have to check out in a couple of hours then it's off to Ft Meyers for a wildlife adventures cruise (to see dolphins, manatees, whatever decides to say Happy Mother's Day!)

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Pictorial

After posting my vacation photos of lighthouses in Florida, Gerogia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, I was motivated to dig out some old photos and find the photo we took of a lighthouse in Hawaii in 1987. This lighthouse is located on the island of Kauai where we were married.

Notice the binoculars on my arm and the bird book in my hand. I was there to see the red-footed boobie. The lighthouse just happened to be there, lol. (I stashed away this photo because, at the time, I thought I looked fat:)

This photo is borrowed from a wehsite here. The site has lots more information on the lighthouse, which is adjacent a Wildlife Refuge, and about Kauai.

Vacation Day Five

Before we left beautiful Savannah this morning, we took a couple photos in the lobby of our hotel, the Planters Inn at Reynolds Square.

First stop - Hunting Island, South Carolina lighthouse.

Once again, I sent Jerr up into the lighthouse to take photos and I stayed below. He said this one really seemed to narrow at the top so I made the right decision not to even try :)

The state park was a beautiful combination of pine and palms. I've never seen anything like it before. Thousands of trees, millions of mosquitos!

I thought this was a beautiful scene at the park office. What you can't see in the photo is a number of dragonflies cruising around the top of the pond. They should be pretty fat on mosquitos by now. There is also a "do not feed the alligators" sign (who has to be told that???).

We had a very good lunch of gumbo, hush puppies, and flounder sandwhich in a road side cafe. Really, really yummy. I knew the hush puppies would be good when I saw they were irregular shaped instead of a uniform ball made in a factory and frozen.

After lunch we hit the backroads and made out way into Charleston. We drove through some beautiful and historical residential areas (near the Coast guard) before arriving at our hotel, 19 Vendue Inn. Here a photo of our beautiful room.

The envelope on the bed is a welcome card. These folks are very good at hospitality and the hotel is stunning and old. The floors are amaizing. They have a beverage area where everyday there is something cold to drink. Today is was orange water. Between 4 and 5 they had wine and hor-deovoures. The crab dip was delic. Then at 9pm they have cookies and milk. Tomorrow we will attend the brakfast.

There are two restaurants: a very intimate gourmet called The Library and a more-casual larger one on the roof. This photo is of The Library with only 9 tables. Could be any prettier??

A lobby shot.

This is the wine and appatizer area. I went down to take photos but ended up with a glass of wine and a plate with crab dip/cracker, blackberry, and pineapple.

There's Jerry in the lobby. They leave the front door open all the time (probably not late at night) so it feels kinda indoor/outdoor.

We took a short walk around the waterfront then.......

....to an area called The Market. Reminded me of Pike Place Market in Seattle.

(That's the market buildings...they go on and on) Full of different vendors selling all sorts of wares. Most were closing up when we arrived shortly before 5 wso we will try to go back tomorrow. Loved this fall display - perhaps a jack-o-lantern totem?

I've seen a lot of these baskets and/orweavers in Georgia & South Carolina but nothing like at this market. They had mounds of woven products. I might have to purchase something from this woman tomorrow because she was making them right there in front of everyone and had the bundles of sea grass (or whatever it is) right there to see.

Just walking the streets before returning to clean up for dinner. Lots of fountains in Charleston. Unlike Savannah, the commercial and residential areas seem to be quite seperate.

The flower boxes on the outside of our hotel.

Dinner shots. Loved the upholstered & pillowed bankette seating.

Windown treatments were lovely too.

Beautiful chandaliers & ceiling.

Crab cake sandwiched between two fried green tomatoes.

Jerry's steak & my duck.

Dessert - cocoa crepes with a banana cream mousse filling.

While we were out strolling tonight, they came in for turndown and left something other than mints :)

Final shot for the day, Jerry reading & smoking his cigar on the pier near the inn.