Thursday, August 26, 2010

August on vacation in Florida


Yes, we live in Florida - on the east coast - Ft. Lauderdale to be exact.   When we vacation in August, we don't want to go too far away, we leave three dogs at home, and it is hurricane season.  Our favorite spot to escape to is on the west coast, and just 2.5 hours away by car.  Captiva Island - just north of Sanibel Island which is off the coast of Ft. Myers.  Another world - just sand and sea and a single lane road runs through it.

The gulf is so gentle and the sand is so white and soft - compared to the Atlantic Ocean and our reclaimed, coral based sand.  We love the contrast and feel like we are in another country!


Shells are abundant, the Sanibel stoop is a well known sight.   I love the constant search for something unusual or whole and usually find many of them! 


The sea oats are reclaiming the coastline, and they are particularly beautiful, as well as being very complex in their structure.


Sunsets are a special event every day - will there be a "green flash" - or just a spectacular show of color?  We have seen two green flashes in past visits, and this time we were rewarded with another one on our last night while dining at the lovely Old Captiva House restaurant with a westward view.



 Taken just seconds before we saw they green flash - you have to carefully watch for it, but do you see the little bit of green just starting to appear on the left of the setting sun? 

The next morning we got up early to check out our sea bird friends  - the large, reallly large, heron that was there every morning to watch my husband's early morning run on the beach.

and to say a final farewell to the very quiet beach, along with a promise that we would definitely be back next summer (if the season is quiet of course!).


    What were they chattering about, anyway??

2 comments:

  1. Nice photos. :) Do you ever use the tiny seashells in your jewelry?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not yet, but I do use lampwork glass beads that have shells and sea life on them.

    ReplyDelete

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