Captivating Captiva!

We reached our anchorage at Tween Waters around 11.15 and settled in for the next few days thankful for the stunning weather and calm seas that we have been gifted with.

After a little research we decided to have lunch at The Green Flash which has a drive up dock. They allowed us to leave our dinghy tied up there after a lovely meal there and walked into the color filled little beach town which is so quaint with a laid back vibe.

We bought a floaty and walked over to the west side of the island to have a swim and walk on the beautiful pristine beaches. It is one of the most luscious islands we have every seen. It is thick with vegetation, bumper to bumper palm trees and everything seems to be perfectly manicured. It has a slower pace, a relaxed feel, and has esteemed white beaches teeming with shells.

Captiva is just north of Sanibel Island. It is rumored that Jose Gaspar (the infamous pirate) buried his treasure on Sanibel and held female captives (hence Captiva) for ransom on the small island. We came back to our Happy wife for the sunset and dinner In the morning we thought we would a paddle on our boards, but it was a little too windy. We changed plans and decided to have brunch instead at the Keylime Bistro. Delicious food and at great prices too. We docked our dinghy at Jensen's Marina and because this all a private resort, they charge $35 to do so.

We went to the beach for a few hours and collected shells. I made 2 bracelets with the shells we found that had naturally occurring holes in them.

In the afternoon we walked over to The Bubble Room which is the islands landmark and a must see. Decorated with tacky Christmas decorations and such, it provides a fun atmosphere for sure! Originally a family residence, The Bubble Room is definitely unique. Creatively named menus with freshly baked breads, HUGE decadent cakes and delicious cocktails and coffees. It is decorated with moving trains, photos of musicians, stars plus over 3000 antiques. We had huge slices of cake with boozy coffees.

We visited the quaint little Chapel By the Sea and graveyard to walk off some that cake!! We took half of it home as it was impossible to finish.

Took a dinghy ride down the channel to the top of bottom of Captiva and the top of Sanibel passing gorgeous waterside homes and saw dolphins and plenty of bird life. We had a charcuterie for dinner on helm and because the weather was just perfect we decided to sleep u there under the stars. That was a first for us.

On Sunday we decided to stay on board. We both had some work to attend to. We worked out for an hour on the bow, had breakfast and got things done. After lunch we took a little break and went for a dinghy ride around the top of the island just to get out a bit. We got Happy Wife ready for us to leave in the morning

Of course as any boater knows and expects...there are always repairs in exotic places. Our generator suddenly stopped producing enough voltage. We need it to pull our anchor up (we can can do it by hand but figure we need to sort this out before we go any further on our trip) so we decided to stay put for now. Shaun spent the morning trying to figure things out over the phone with technicians for our Northern lights. After a few hours it was determined that the motherboard had burnt out. With all the dead sea grass in the area after the red tide epidemic, it clogged the filter and overheated the generator which burnt it out with that power surge. So...part could arrive in 2 days or, we could drive over to the other coast the next day and pick it up. We opted to drive because we have to be in Marco Island by Friday in order to drive back to Tampa for our grandsons 5th birthday party on the weekend. We kept everything off, grilled our dinner and ate under the setting sun. It was beautiful and warm. We had a hot night of tossing and turning and switching beds but woe to another gorgeous day.

We took a taxi from the dock at the Green Flash Restaurant (where they very kindly let us keep our dinghy for the day) to Hertz. Rented a car and drove the 21/2 hours to Deerfield on the other coast to pick up our valuable part. Turns out it was well worth the trip after talking to the manufacturers and dealers. They were extremely helpful and we were so grateful. We had lunch at Legends and made the trek back. Back at Sanibel, we took a drive down to the historic lighthouse at the and of the island. Took a walk in the ocean and collected a few shells. Sanibel is one of the best locations in the world for shelling so we had to partake. Our taxi dropped us back the Green Flash and we came back to install our part. Shaun did that in about 30 mins and we were back in business. We just laugh at each other and shake our heads at the adventure that every day brings. Life is never boring, that's for sure!