April 11th - Naples Botanical Garden

Enjoyed a great afternoon at the Naples Botanical Gardens and topped it off
with dinner at "Texas Tonys BBQ" - not as good as Bryants in KC, but
definitely a contender.

Florida - April 1st and 4th

Started the week off with a trip up to Sanibel and Captiva Islands. The day
started off overcast, but soon the sun came out in all of its blazing glory.


First stop was the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum on Sanibel Island. I could
not believe the colors and interesting shapes.

Next stop was to explore Captiva - this was a short visit - one would of
thought it was Disneyland, there were so many people.

After leaving the islands we stopped at the Lighthouse Restaurant and had a
nice lunch overlooking the bay.

I decided I needed to step up my shell collecting, so Wednesday I went to a
new beach, hoping for new specimens. Had some great finds, including a sand
dollar - but alas, the sand dollar did not make it home in one piece. I
guess I will just have to continue the search.

Today we all went out boating. Captain Ryan (my cousin's son-in-law) did a
great job, and provided a fantastic tour of some of the lovely homes along
the canals. Finished the day off with a great picnic lunch aboard while
watching the dolphins play.

Great day!