Return To Sanibel Island - 2011

On the road again…

Phaedra here - back in Sanibel.   

I’m sitting under a wonderful open canopy watching crazy Zoe chasing that tennis ball. She finds people, anywhere she goes, to throw, throw, and throw for her.  I chase it, also, but I’m not OCD about it! There are so many new smells to explore, and I can’t waste my time doing the same thing over and over again.  I think there might be a bear near here.  Both Zoe and I get some strong vibes when we walk on the Fire Break Trail.  One day, when we were walking down San-Cap road, a car pulled up and a man told Papa he had just seen a Black Bear crossing the road behind us and going into the forest near our campground.  It's kind of spooky to think about it - especially at night!

 
We arrived on Friday the 16^th after Papa’s thumb got a release to travel. He still has to wear his brace but was able to drive the truck with the camper, and Mama didn’t have to yell at him toooooo much!

The other resident volunteers from Ding Darling were so happy to see me and even enjoyed Zoe a bit, too.  And, we  saw our site for the first time. Our site is huge and there is a level, cement pad to park our camper on with a cover over the top.  Papa and Mama hope that there won’t be any leaks this year.  Me, too!!! The roof of the structure must be 15 feet high.  I kind of like the white, crushed seashells all over the campground. We don’t have to worry about ants and other crawling things. Our friend, Woody has worked really hard packing it down with a roller. We really have a fancy campground.

Judy and Woody, friends from last year, came over right away and there are two other couples here this year so far.  They ALL throw balls for Zoe. Spoiled brat!!!!!!

Papa and Mama have been gone a lot. They spend all of their time out on Wildlife Drive looking for birds. They saw their first gator on the drive the second time out, too. (They never saw one last year.) They went on a sunset cruise with new friends and they saw dolphins and Magnificent Frigate Birds chasing an osprey to steal food from its talons. They were so excited.  Big deal!!!!!

They never take us anywhere. Poor puppies!

Now, the bad news.  

Nooooooossseeeeeeeums!!!!!!  With the weather being in the mid 70’s to low 80’s those little bugs are bothering all of us in the late afternoon and early evening. There was a great party Monday night to say good bye to our great friend and wonderful ball thrower, Joe, who is heading off to other exciting places.  Because of the no-seeums they kept coming back for long sleeved shirts and long pants and Repel. Serves them right for leaving us in the camper!

Oh, yeah, and then there’s The Sanibel Bean…  But, I’ll save that for next time.  Plus, maybe that time you will get to see pictures of us, too!

Hope you all have a great holiday and all of you are as happy as we are at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

Wags and kisses to y’all!

Phaedra (and my sister Zoe)