Thursday, February 14, 2008

Cheeseburger in Paradise


Bob, our friend of 43 years is visiting us here on Sanibel for this first time. His wife and one of my oldest and dearest friends, Marilyn, passed away last summer. This is his first vacation without her. We miss her terribly but have had a great time showing Bob our little piece of Paradise.

Monday, we took the Lady Chadwick from Captiva Cruises to Cabbage Key. The Lady Chadwick and the other Captiva Cruises boats used to sail out of South Seas Island Resort on Captiva. After Hurricane Charley devastated most of South Seas, the boats were moved to McCarthy's Marina on Captiva. You can imagine my surprise when we checked in at McCarthy's and were bussed to South Seas. South Seas has been pretty much closed down since the hurricane and has opened piece by piece. Apparently Captiva Cruises moved back there about 6 months ago. Since the only way you can get into South Seas is to stay there, live there, be a guest, or go on Captiva Cruises, it was great to be able to get in and see what it looks like now.


Anyway, when you go on the Lady Chadwick you can opt to go to Cabbage Key which is the setting for Jimmy Buffet's Cheeseburger in Paradise or to the Collier Hotel on Useppa. The only way you can get on Useppa is to be a member or go on Captiva Cruises. We've been to both places a couple of times but opted to go for the fun rather than the stately.




The trip to Cabbage Key takes about 1 1/2 hours so what better way to spend the time than sipping on their yummy Bloody Marys.










Of course along the way, we looked at the birds, the dolphins, the fish houses, and the scenery. Whenever someone spots a dolphin, the boat speeds up a bit and everyone starts yelling and making noise. The more noise, the more the dolphins perform. Unfortunately, we weren't a very loud crowd so they didn't stick with us very long.




Once we got to Cabbage Key, we were the first ones off the boat--I said I had been there before and I knew that first come first served!! And we were!! We all ordered Cheeseburgers. I know they have other things on the menu but when you are eating at Cheeseburger in Paradise, then you eat cheeseburgers, right?





After our yummy burgers, we walked a bit, visited the giftshop, then sat on the patio and enjoyed the view and the warm weather. Oh yeah, and an adult beverage!!

It was a great day. Today we took a trip to the Everglades. Another great day. I'll post about it soon--once I get the pictures downloaded to the computer, sorted out, reduced, etc etc etc.

2 comments:

gpc said...

Wow, I had no idea about the jimmy buffet connection! The next time I can coax my sister down to sanibel, we will surely be going for that cheeseburger! 'Can't wait to see the everglades post -- that's another trip that my sister and I have considered but so far have not taken.

Shama-Lama Mama said...

So glad to see you all together! Great that you got someone to take your picture all together. I really enjoyed that restaurant when we were there and the great walk around the "neighborhood"!

Give Uncle Bob hugs for me!