Tuesday

Shirley and I went to Sanibel, Florida to celebrate Kay and Ellen's  birthdays. Kay and Parvis picked us up in Fort Meyers and in no time we were out on their beach with drinks enjoying the first of many spectacular sunsets.

Then Parvis grilled some salmon for us.

Wednesday

Early in the morning we went to Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge shortly after it opened for some great bird watching.

We placed Sadie in a kennel to see how she liked it. It turns out she loved it.

With Sadie safely in the kennel, we spent the afternoon on the two-mile boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp in Naples.

Another great sunset and dinner rounded out the day.

Thursday

Thursday started out quiet. We had some downtime preparing ourselves for Ellen's arrival.

Another great sunset and dinner at a new restaurant, RedFish BlueFish.

Friday

Most of the day Friday was spent on an excursion to Useppa Island, including lunch there at the Collier Inn. The one-hour boat trips to and from Useppa aboard the Lady Chadwick were on a par with the visit to the island itself.

The day ended with another sunset, of course, a meal, and the infamous birthday cake.

Saturday

The day started with another early morning trip to Ding Darling. It was quite a bit cooler than our first visit and the tide was higher, but still plenty of birds to see.

The day ended with yet another great sunset and meal.

Sunday

We rented a double kayak and canoe and headed off toward through the red mangroves.

Our final sunset and final dinner ended the day. We didn't quite fill the flower pot.

Monday

Having had a wonderful gathering, Kay, Shirley and I depart for the airport with Ellen, who is driving back to her parents' place in West Palm Beach. Ellen dropped Kay (going to see Leyla) and us (going home) at the Fort Myers airport and our trip ends.