Sunday 10/29/17
-Slept until 9am.
-Windy, mostly cloudy. Big waves on the gulf. birds grounded.
-Golfed 18 holes, teed off at 1 finished by 4pm. Really windy, sun started to peak out. Nick and Michael helped us.
-Happy Hour
-New tea pot, coffee maker
-Dinner at Sunshine Seafood. Really good. Key lime pie
-Watched World Series Went to bed LA leading 7-4. Woke-up: Houston won 13-12 in the tennth
-Slept in closest. Really bad sneezing fit. Clariton didn’t help much

Monday 10/30/17
-Cool! In the 50s. Clear skys. Lighter wind, but not good for kayaking
-Ding-Darling. Lots of people (surprise) and good selection of birdies: White Pelican, Reddish Egret, Blue Egret, Great Egret
–Aligators in two different places
–Saw flocks of White pelicans flying in
-Picnic at Baily Track. Saw turtles
-Stopped at CVS. I have a bad cold
-Played 9 holes at 3pm
-Took a nap
-Happy hour at 6pm
-Dinner at Muck Duck.
–Same outdoor performer
–Some empty tables. Got seated right away
–Key Lime pie was frozen. Slightly different than last year
-Star Gazing. The moon was pretty bright

Tuesday 10/31/17
-Cool, calm, clear weather.
-Sailed with Mick up to Cabbage Key
–Sailed about 5mph North, into a North wind.
–A little rough, but no sea sickness
–Lunch at the famous Cheeseburgur place
–Dollar bills and turtles
-Sailed back, slowly
–No wind
–Less than 3mph
–very relaxing. We got warm; took off our jackets
–one hour before sunset we motored in
–It was dark when we got off the boat
–We were happy. He took pictures
-Dinner at RC Otters
-Watched world series and did photos

Wednesday 11/1/17
-Slept until 9
-clear, calm and a little warmer
-Kayaked Buck Key
–Angel and Josh
–I used a new open-cockpit style kayak, green. Better. Loon by Old Town.
–Went around the far side of Buck Key, south toward Blind Pass, then back up Roosevelt Channel
–Bald Eagle hiding in the tree
–Lots of Osprey
–Far side of Buck Key was a little choppy but not bad
–Ian and Leslie tried out their new paddles

We went to our favorite Adventure Sea Kayak at Tween waters inn. We talked to Brian on the phone. Josh and Angel
helped up get launched. For a change, I picked the Old Town Loon Kayak. It had an semi open cockpit with a large
backrest. It was very comfortable. We kayaked around Buck Key in a clockwise fashion. The big event was seeing the
Bald Eagle on the far side of Buck Key.

-Lunch at Condo. Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich
-Golf from 3-5. A little crowded. Really good kid played through us.
-Dinner at Mad Hatter
-Fell asleep to the Astros beating the Dodgers for the World Series

Thursday 11/2/17
-Clear, Warmer, Got up before light.
-Just after 8am, left for marina to rent boat
-Boat up to Cayo Costa
–Followed Intercoastal
–Mostly went 20mph
–Smooth water
–Lots of white pelicans; water too shallow to approach closely
–Picnic on the beat of Cayo Costa State Park
–Nice person gave us a ride back and forth to the gulf side beach
–Water a little cool, but very relaxing. Could have stayed much longer
–Went upto 30mph back
–Captiva Watersports / Beach Bum Boat Rentals
–23ft Ebbtide
–VHF Channel 4
–Very happy to be back before 2pm due time
–ice cream sandwiches
-Straight to the golf course
-Jack took a nap
-Happy Hour
-Simple dinner at RC Otters
-Stayed up a little late to work on photos

Friday 11/3/17
-Slightly cloudy, low 80s, a little wind
-Kayaking at 10am
–Did Buck Key counterclockwise
–Down Roosevelt Channel, back up the far side of Buck Key
–cut through the mangrove trail and back
–Beautiful Bald Eagle, juvenile, being chased by Osprey
–Surprised by a manatee right at the marina, cool!
We launched from the usual spot at Tween Waters Inn Marina and paddled a course counterclockwise around Buck Key.
The first thing we ran into was a dolphin playing with a fish. We couldn’t get any pictures but it was fun to watch,
right in front of us. Then we paddled down the length of Roosevelt Channel and heading North along the far side of Buck Key.
The water was a little choppy. The first big patch of birds were Ibis and Little Blue Herons sitting together.
A whole bunch of them. Next about 2/3 of the way up the key, we saw a jeuvenille Bald Eagle being harrased by some
Osprey. Really cool. We then made our way upto the Mangrove Trail, we worked our way through it and headed back.
At the marina, a manatee swam right up to me, cool! It was a great day on the water!
-Quick lunch, peanut butter and jelly
-Golfing from 2-3:30. Cloudy, a hint of drizzle, some sun peaking through, windy, but not bad
-Roberto picked up our clubs for shipping
-United flight 1189 7:45am to 11:34am, upgraded. All on time.
-Met Ian and Leslie at airport. Big fishing boat, only one engine
-Wendy’s drive through
-Rented really big Tacoma SUV
-Filled back with luggage, barely
-Stopped at Jerry’s. Got lots of groceries
-3BR that we reserved was not available. Rented two 2BR for same price
-1663. Thanks to Bill for helping us.
-1661 and ours are tied together through the back doors. Worked out really well for us.
-Wine and cheese on patio
-Pleated Woodpecker
-Little fat bunnies
-Too late to pickup bikes too late to drop off clubs
-Late dinner at Lazy Flamingo. Watched Cubs game.
-Drove back to condo, watched end of the Cub game. They beat LA 5-0 and win NLCS!! Lots of celebration. W flag. VERY HAPPYT
–Go Cubs Go! Fly The W!

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Our kayak trips here are something we look forward to: always lots of nature!!

Day 1. For our first trip, we started by going straight for the Northern tip of Buck Key. We paddled South along the Pine Island Sound (far) side, following the edge of the island all the way to the bottom tip. We then looped back North along the Roosevelt Channel (near) side of Buck Key, all the way back to the launch point.

Along the way, we saw alot of wildlife: Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Anhinga, Little Blue Herson, Green Heron, Osprey, and the feature of the day: Bald Eagles!!

Along the return loop, a couple of Eagles started circling above us. We knew something was different because the nearby osprey all started cheeping. They got really low and landed on the channle marker right next to us. The channel marker isn’t that big, and to see both of them on the marker at the same time was pretty cool. The pair of eagles stayed for just a minute, and then flew away.

This was really cool!

Day 2. For our second kayaking trip of our Captiva vacation, we repeated the loop we did yesterday. We paddled around Buck Key. The water was very still, very flat. Nice.

We hoped to see the same Eagles we saw the day before. And indeed we did. On the far side of Buck Key, we saw an Eagle nicely perched on the top of a Mangrove tree. It was nice to see a Bald Eagle two days in a row.

Also on our kayaking trip we saw: Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Egrets, Osprey, Green Heron and lots of fish jumping out of the water. It was nice to see a Roseate Spoonbill. Usually they are over at Ding Darlling Nature Refuge.

We rented from Barb and Greg’s Captiva Kayak, http://www.captivakayaks.com/, on McCarthy Marina. They start renting about 10am in the morning or so. It is good to call first in case the weather is iffy. For today’s paddle, we waited for a rain storm to blow through.

Last Day. For our last day of our Captiva weekend, we went paddling around Buck Key for the 3rd time. Our thoughts were on the Eagles. We wanted to see them one more time.

For this morning, we were scared off a little. The winds were really heavy and the water had white caps… too much chop for us. We decided to wait until after lunch. Indeed, the water was calm when we launched at 1pm.

The water was running out of Pine Island Sound. Low tide was at 2pm and the more we paddled the more we were challenged to find pathes through the sound that were deep enough for our kayaks.

Again, about half the way around Buck Key, we found hidden in the tall trees our pair of Eagles. They were just hanging. We had seen them flying around earlier and knew they were taking their afternoon break.

Where there was water in our previous kayaks, there were exposed sand bars, with flocks of brids grazing. We paddled toward a group of them; we were excited to see a small group of Wood Storks. What a treat!

As we finished our trip, while we were waiting our turn to land at the McCarthy Marina, we saw a Mom and Baby Manatee splashing around in the marina. Again, a wonderful wildlife treat!!

Thanks. Each day we rented really nice sea kayaks from Captiva Kayak http://www.captivakayaks.com). The kayaks are big a comforatble, well suited for the sometimes choppy Pine Island Sound. We said good-bye to Greg and Barb, and promised to see them again next season.
Captiva Kayak Buck Key Last Day Eagles Osprey at EveryTrail

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We haven’t been on a Captiva vacation with him since 2010. We are back to the South Seas Resort. We are staying in a Lands End two bedroom condo, 1611, on the North tip of Captiva located right on Redfish Pass.

Room with a view. We saw dolphin, osprey, great blue heron, great egret, snowy egret, pelican, and ibis. We spent many hours on our balcony just watching nature. It is so good to be back. And, we were so lucky to return with really nice, not too warm, weather.

Out to eat. For this short weekend, we only had time to go to the familiar local restaurants for dinner: Mucky Duck, Lazy Flamingo, Mad Hatter, and Green Flash. Mucky Duck has a new menu; the exterior had been nicely maintained, but the charm and the beach view are still unchanged. Just me and Cathie went to dinner at the Green Flash; this was a belated 30th wedding anniversary dinner. For years, our family vacation used to be in mid-June to match up with our real wedding anniversary date and the Green Flash was our special place.

Kayaking. We kayaked every day but one. We rented from Barb and Greg at Captiva Kayak on McCarthy Marina and each day we went for a 2 hour paddle around the island called Buck Key. From experience last year, we know that Eagles live near Buck Key, so it was our mission to find the Eagles. We know they hide in the tall leafy trees (in contrast to the osprey who perch on dead mangrove tree branches.)

Eagles. Indeed we did see Eagles!! On the first day, they circled us and landed on a channel marker right next to us. I don’t they were even paying attention to us — we were really close. What a thrill!! They only stayed a couple of minutes then flew away. Eagles are really big! They make osprey look like little song birds tweet-tweet .

More Eagles. On the other two kayaking trips we saw Eagles again, but only hiding in the trees. We also saw a flock of about 40 white pelicans migrate into the area. They just started to fly in. Also, during a low tide we saw 6 Wood Storks grazing in a marsh area — we don’t usually get to see these bird. Nice!

We also spent alot of time at the beach and the pool. One afternoon, we saw an Eagle steal a fish from an Osprey; the Eagle flew away being chased by three (really mad!) Osprey. Mike and I went golfing a couple of times. We drove through Ding Darling twice, seeing the usual abundant number of birds with Roseate Spoonbills and Wood Storks being the stars of the show. We saw two beach weddings; beautiful!

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We went kayaking the first day of our Captiva vacation.  We launched at McCarthy Marina, renting boats from Barb and Greg’s Captiva Kayak rental service.  The water was very calm and smooth today.  We remember our visit in Feb-2011, when the seasonal winds put a big chop in the Pine Island Sound water.

Today we chose to paddle around Buck Key.  We went South along the far side of the island, then returned, going North along the side of the Island along Roosevelt Channel.  Half the way up Roosevelt Channel, two Bald Eagles started circling above us.

They were churping away at each other, then came really low and one at a time landed on the channel marker right next to our boats.  They stayed for just a minute, enough time for just a couple of pictures, then took off.

We’ve never seen Bald Eagles in the wild, this close.  Wow, what a thrill!

Just so you know, we knew something was up, when we heard the four or five nearby Ospreys squawking (really the cheep).  Earlier in the day we saw a pair (maybe the same pair?) sitting atop some mangrove trees.

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Cathie wasn’t able to go, but Molly was.  She noticed right away that the tickets were for a practice round.  At first I was disappointed, then we learned that we could bring our cameras and attend the opening ceremonies.  This was going to be ok.

When we got to Medinah, the players were already on the course and we quickly found Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy.

As the day progressed we saw Davis Love, Jason Dufner, Jim Furyk, Distin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Bubba Watson, Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, and Jeff Sluman. Many of the players were only visible to us on the driving range (vs on the golf course)

Also on the course, we saw the European golfers, specially we saw: José María Olazábal, Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, and others. We also met some really nice visitors from overseas. We hope they are having a good time in the Chicago area.

Overall, the players were very relaxed.  They didn’t mind camera clicking away.  The players would play sometimes two balls, or they would finis a hole, then throw some balls in a green side bunker and practice some sand shots.

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The USC Gamecocks are a nationally ranked team and had no problem beating the Missouri Tigers.  However, unlike the previous year’s night game times, this year we watched the football game in the bright sun; it was really hot, but a tall ice filled cup of lemon for each of us helped us make through the game.

We took Mike and his friends to the Mello Mushroom for dinner one of the nights.  The other night Cathie and I went to Longhorns.  Both places were on the Vista, walking distance from the SpringHill Suites hotel; we haven’t stayed there before.  We like it so much we booked graduation reservations.

The weather was great and our travels were troublefree.  We were pleased when Mike submitted his first medical school application… we knew senior year was just the beginning.

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I started at the parking garage across the street from the MSEE building, walked along Northwestern Ave, turned left / West onto Stadium Ave, then left again onto Stadium Mall drive. This had me walking straight into the center of the Engineering Mall area, through which I headed back to the car.

Along the way, I stopped at the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering. He has a very popular status sitting out front. This statue had been featured on many of the recent memorial TV shows celebrating his life after his recent passing. Many of the decorations and memorial tributes had been removed from the statue and put on nice display in the lobby of the building. The students and the campus community were clearly moved by the recent events and have warmly showed their respect.

The late afternoon light also made from some nice pictures especailly of the iconic Bell Tower and Fountain.

The campus was alot of fun to visit and I don’t think I could have asked for better weather.

Purdue Campus Walk – Neil Armstrong Hall at EveryTrail

EveryTrail – Find the best Hiking in Indiana

Jalbum:

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