Friday, September 2, 2011

A Sanibel Sabbatical


Lita and I met nearly four years ago on Sanibel and she had yet to return. I wanted her to experience "my Sanibel" which included lots of shelling, bike-riding, picture-taking, a visit to my favorite antique store in the world and of course, lots and lots of eating! We had such a fun time! It was a great way to end the summer!

Our first stop was The Island Cow restaurant where we had a delicious lunch.

Lita at Island Cow
Lens: Helga Viking
Film: Ina's 1969

I ordered "Frickles" which is a version of fried pickles. They were a little salty for Lita but I gobbled them up!

A Basket of Frickles
Lens: Roboto Glitter
Film: Kodot XGrizzled

After lunch we headed out to Tarpon Bay for some shelling. It was a beautiful day with lots of gorgeous scenery! Irene had passed by just a couple of days before and she left behind some great clouds!

 Cloud at Tarpon Bay

 Ruddy Turnstone


Turtle & Wildflowers

Double Take


We then headed over to do a bit more shelling on Bowman's Beach while waiting for the sunset. We nearly missed it and we were eaten alive by mosquito's and no-see-ums. But, sunsets are always worth the bites. :)

Boardwalk to Bowman's
Lens: John S
Film: Kodot XGrizzled 

Driftwood with Shadows
Lens: John S
Film: Kodot XGrizzled

Lita and I were running to the car to grab our tripods when we realized the sun was setting quickly. My toe was killing me and I looked down and it was all bloody and skin was ripped off. I quickly put a band-aid on and we ran like the wind back to the beach to catch the sunset. This is just one of a gazillion that I took!

Sunset at Sanibel

Once the sun had set we had so much adrenaline that we just decided on the spur of the moment to take some self portraits while jumping in the sea. It's not easy to jump in the sand while waves are hitting you. Lita was having trouble figuring out my cable release for the shutter so I had to jump a whole lot more than she did! I was exhausted afterwards! :) Here are our best jumps:

 Laura

Lita (she had great form!)

Laura as an X, marks the spot. :)

Day two started with self portraits in a hammock at our hotel. We were getting bitten by no-see-ums once again so it was a quick shoot before heading out to have breakfast at Over Easy Cafe. Lita and I shared a yummy chocolate chip pancake and I had tons of coffee. After all, we were planning a bike ride in high heat and humidity. I was going to need lots of energy!
Summer 2011

Over Easy Cafe
Lens: Buckhorst H1
Film: Ina's 1969

After our yummy breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to change clothes and rent bicycles. We rode for a couple of hours, stopping whenever we found a photo op. 

Swing time!

Beach Bike
Lens: John S
Film: Cano Cafenol

Sanibel Lighthouse
Taken with the Hipstamatic
Lens: Bettie XL
Film: Float

After our bike ride, I took Lita to my favorite antique store, Island Trading. I purchased an antique fan, a book from 1907 and a large photograph from the 1950's which I will share in a future post. There were lots of fun things to take pictures with using the Hipstamatic!

Cigar Store Indian
(this makes me think of the Seinfeld episode of the same title)
Lens: Melodie
Film: Float

 Green Bottles
Lens: Matty ALN
Film: Blanko

Lifesavers
Lens: Watts
Film: Ina's 1935

Natural Point
Lens: John S
Film: AO DLX

Retro Signs
Lens: Watts
Film: Big Up

Grandma Potter
Lens: John S
Film: Kodot XGrizzled

Pop Culture Reflections
Lens: Hornbecker
Film: Big Up

We ended our day, of course, in a Barnes and Noble where I finished my weekend with a couple more Hipsta shots:

Bookstore Cafe
Lens: Tejas
Film: DreamCanvas

The Reader
Lens: Roboto Glitter
Film: AO DLX

What a wonderful way for Lita and I to end our summer together...reliving memories of the first time we met when we bonded over our love of nature and photography. Here's to another year of priceless friendship!

Nikons with Hat

7 comments:

Nichole Renee said...

Fantastic, Laura! What a great trip and such a wonderful collection of captured memories! You've started my day with a smile!!

Angie said...

Hello Laura ~ I have very much enjoyed your blog this evening! I love all the photos and varieties of processing, too. Looks and sounds like the trip was fun! Glad you had a sweet escape. Take care and have a great weekend ;)!!

Laura said...

Thanks girls! It was a fun getaway..lots of laughing which is always a healthy thing!

Destiny said...

Looks like you ladies had a full day. What a nice variety of shots. My daughter is so jealous... she wants to go to the Island Cow. She collects cows:) I am still amazed these are phone shots. I can't get an iPhone unless I change carriers.:( I'm looking at other smartphone options.

phoebe said...

Sanibel looks gorgeous. Now I want to go to the beach...maybe I'll drive down the coast, hmm...It's only 90 minutes to Va Beach. Not as pretty as Sanibel though.
You got some great pictures!

Lita said...

Oh Laura! You did an exceptional job, with your words and pics, of recapping our return visit to Sanibel ☺ All of the pics are fabulous! I think it was worth the humidity, heat and no-see-um/mosquito bites to get the one of us on the hammock, as it turned out so good! And the ones of us jumping after sunset makes me laugh with pride as I recall all the effort, especially on your part, to get it just right ;P So after seeing this entry, I have little, if any desire to process my pics, lol ;) ... and makes me all the more impatient to get my iphone! ♥

Laura said...

Thanks girls for your comments!