Saturday – We stayed in the boat most of the day, enjoying the air conditioning as the temperature outside along with humidity hit a “feels like 110 degrees”. Long ago, we each adopted our own places to sit while we’re hangin out. Kenny sits on the aft couch, and I sit at the dinette couch.
As I was sitting in “my spot”, I could hear an osprey talking incessantly outside. Then I remembered…. Pink Shell has a webcam mounted on their local osprey nest! Looking out the window, I could see the nest, so I checked the webcam. Here is the link. [ https://www.pinkshell.com/live-webcams ]
There is also one for the beach and one for the main pool, so I checked them all. Oh! It looks like they’re setting up for a wedding on the beach! Wow that’s gonna be a HOT one!! And the osprey looks unhappy, with one wing kinda sticking out in the wind looking pitiful. Hmmm. Here’s a screen shot. I wonder what it’s really complaining about ALL day long? Maybe Audri and Ollie Osprey had a fight and the one who didn’t fly out wants to tell the world about it. (I watched all day, and it did fly away and return, and continue to complain.)
So my only plan for the whole day was to go to dinner and take the trolley to town….and go early to avoid the main Saturday evening dinner rush. It’s about a mile to the main hub of Ft Myers Beach, where there are lots of restaurants, t-shirt shops, etc. My choice for dinner was Nervous Nellie’s. I’ve read good reviews for it, it has a huge menu, and we’ve never been there before. It’s always good to try new stuff, right?
It’s on the water along the chanel that goes behind Estero Island (Matanzas Pass), almost right under the bridge that goes to the main land. Here’s a map:
And an overview from their website. This looks like a fun place!
So off to catch the trolley at about 4:45. It’s 75 cents to ride each time you board the trolley, regardless of how far you ride. But when the trolley stopped, the driver did not open the front door, but only the side back door, so there was no way to pay. I suppose to help protect the driver from Covid? OK! We’ll take a free ride to town. 😁
The trolley stop for us to disembark was right in the main bend in the road, so we walked a couple of blocks toward the bridge. Wow – it was REALLY quiet here! There was hardly anyone on the sidewalks. And this is Saturday! 😮. Very unusual for this beach town!!
This is the place! What a cheerful fun looking establishment! And it is bigger than it looks.
They had seating available outside, or we could wait for an inside spot. We’ll wait for an inside table, thank you! So we went into the bar to wait. This was our view, so we decided to just stay in this spot for our dinner.
Their menu IS huge, and it was hard to decide. I ordered a coconut grouper, and it was really delicious. Kenny ordered the ”clawbstah grilled cheese sandwich”. It was oooey goooey dipping with melted cheese and filled with lobster and more cheese. He said it was awesome. And coconut onion rings!
While we were there, more and more people showed up, but the place was only running at about 50% capacity due to Covid. The whole upstairs was closed, and it was apparent that tables were spaced out farther than usual. It was fun watching boats come and go from the dock. And funny to see people come in wearing their swimsuits! I guess the locals know what’s acceptable attire here at Nervous Nellie’s. 👙
When we finished dinner, we still had about a half hour until the trolley came, and we weren’t exactly sure where to catch it close-by. We knew it would stop at 7-11 on it’s northbound route, so we headed there. Still, the sidewalks were really deserted for a Saturday evening! When we got to 7-11, we decided to just keep walking. We were both so full from dinner, that a one mile walk would probably do us some good. It was hot, but not unbearable. We definitely enjoyed the cool a/c on Island Girl when we got home! But then I noticed that we might actually get a sunset, since there weren’t a bunch of thunderclouds to the west. So back outside I went, and I strolled over to the beach. Many of the chairs and umbrellas had already been packed up for the evening, but there were still a few out, so I found myself a spot to sit back, relax, and watch the show.
There actually was a bit of coolness to the breeze, which was fabulous. When I got closer to the water, the warmer it was… like the heat rising from a hot tub! I watched the sun as it slowly moved it way closer to the Sanibel bridge. We are starting to experience and see part of the giant Saharan Sand Dust that traveled across the Atlantic to the Gulf coast on the horizon! There was clear sky above me, but very hazy to the west.
I watched the pirate ship make it’s evening journey in a big loop around the waters off the shores of Estero Island. It made kind of a neat picture as it slowly made it’s way back to it’s port inside Matanzas Pass.
And as the sun was swallowed by the dust, I was surprised at how little color was displayed. I thought this airborne sand was supposed to give us some magnificent sunsets. It was a very pleasant evening at the beach. Young adults were enjoying their music and beverages, children were laughing and enjoying the warm water, families and couples were taking selfies at sunset. I do love being at the beach!
We have just one more day before we head back home. We really enjoy life on the boat, but we have other places to go this summer, and other things to do and see. Thanks for tagging along on this journey with me! I have no idea who my audience is, or who is out there that reads my ramblings. If you have any questions, or feel like saying hello, please drop me a comment! I’d love to know who you are. ☺️
