After breakfast we headed out to the beach at South Seas to soak up some rays and take in the sounds of the crashing waves. 
We went for a walk on the beach and collected shells to bring back to Orlando to remind us of our special time in Captiva on our honeymoon.
While at the beach, we also saw a pod of about six dolphins. We think they were hunting fish because they were extremely active and were splashing and jumping around. Everyone on the beach loved watching them frolic.
Once we had enough of the sand, we changed and walked back to our car.
As we passed through the marina we saw a bunch of manatees! 
They looked like they were having a blast, slowing swimming and eating.
We then hopped in Ryan’s car to begin our next adventure!
We paid a visit to Ding Darling national wildlife refuge in hopes of seeing some alligators.
Unfortunately the gators were feeling shy yesterday, but we did see a bunch of birds and fish. 
I almost freaked out when this little guy went flying by my face. 
Doesn’t it look like a mini lobster bug or something?
We hiked around a short trail within the refuge before heading out for a late lunch.
Lunch
We stumbled upon Gramma Dot’s on the Sanibel Marina which I vaguely remembered from my past trips to Sanibel. My memory told me I liked it before, so we ventured inside for some grub.
Ryan and I shared a blackened snapper sandwich with homemade chips and peel and eat shrimp.
Both dishes were packed with the flavors of the sea. Yum!
We then headed outside to sit on a bench among the boats to split a piece of coconut cake that we picked up from The Bubble Room on our way out of Captiva.
I almost forgot to snap a picture. It disappeared very quickly.
After lunch and dessert, we piled back into the car and hit the road for Sarasota to spend a couple of hours at Ryan’s mom’s house before heading to my parents’ house for dinner.
Now we’re in a mad dash to get out the door and board our cruise! Woohooooo!
I have some wedding related posts coming up for you guys while I’m cruisin’, assuming my mom can figure out how to get ‘em up for you guys.
Stay tuned! 😀
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The manatees are so cute (as are you and Ryan, of course!)! I hope your cruise is amazing! Definitely looking forward to your wedding posts. Have a blast! 🙂
Fresh chips are the best 🙂
Oh and manatees are so awesome! I remember my first time seeing some in Florida, they have this sort of awkward cuteness… you know? 😛
That picture of you two is so cute (especially your bling in the picture). 🙂 Have a great time on your cruise! Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Have fun on your cruise! I can’t wait to read your wedding posts!
Love the Sanibel/Captiva recap–wish I would have known you were “here”, I would have crashed the honeymoon 😉 Enjoy your cruise!!
Julie!! Your honeymoon mirrors my vacation last year exactly! My family goes every year and we ate dinner at Gramma Dot’s so many times. The food is amazing and the view is incredible! I saw a gator once at Ding Darling but they are hard to spot. Have a wonderful rest of your honeymoon!! 🙂
Have fun on your cruise! Can’t wait to see wedding pics….I adore weddings!! 🙂
Love manatees..they are so huge and gentle and dopey!
Have a glorious time on your cruise!
Have a great time on your cruise!! I love that you picked up dessert to go 🙂
What a nice honeymoon!!! Wishing you guys all the best, and a blast of a time kicking off your marriage! 🙂
What a fun honeymoon you must be having! You are making me want to hightail it to the ocean 🙂
have fun!!
Aw! What’s the meaning behind the little Tigger in the cupholder? Too cute!
So glad you got to explore Ding Darling, it’s so neat! And yum, Grandma Dots is always a hit… especially their coconut shrimp! Did you by chance ever stop at the icecream spot just down the road from Grandma Dots called Pinocchio’s? It’s on the way to the lighthouse, and has all kinds of delicious flavors!
yes!!! love that place!