two of our favorites

Over the years, we've come to love certain things on this island and make a point to visit them each at least once a trip.  Putting cows and birds into the same group would seem a stretch, but they are two of our favorites, especially on Sanibel.  A few days ago, we visited them both in the same couple of hours.

First we went to the Island Cow for an early dinner.  This place opens early and closes late, serving from breakfast through the dinner rush hour.  The best way to get a dinner table without waiting (no reservations), is to plan to arrive no later than 5:30pm.  They advertise extensively and it pays off, because the place is always packed:

The menus are delivered along with a serving of cornbread:



and soon it's time to dive in to a tasty crab burger.  At least I've been told (more than once) that they're tasty.

If you don't plan your arrival time right and have to wait, there's always the bean bag toss on the back patio to keep you entertained:

After the crab burger and my chicken salad sandwich were polished off, we went to the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge to see the birds come in for their evening meal.

One of the best deals out there is a lifetime Senior Pass (for those 62 and above), called the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass.  For a one time fee of $10, your entrance fees are "free" forever.  We've used the pass on Sanibel and at Yellowstone, among others, and it's paid for itself over and over.  You can get the pass at the entrance gate to any national park or federal recreational land:

It was low tide when we entered the "Ding" and many of the birds were feasting on the small fish that were trapped on the flats:

And as we drove along the one-way road, at the required 15 mph, we saw this anhinga in the mangroves, drying off his feathers:

We had a lovely time that evening, visiting two of our favorites, and we plan to do the exact same thing next year.