Cocktails at Oasis Bar & Grille, 'Tween Waters Inn Resort & Spa, Captiva Island, FloridaOur first tough decision: the pool or the beach? The pool won by dint of its Oasis Pool Bar & Grille, where we toasted our escape with a Pirate’s Punch and frosty Rum Runner.

We had decided that just because our son has moved out of the house, it doesn’t mean we should deprive ourselves of the “quickie” romantic getaways we used to take. That’s how we ended up in the Mangrove building at ‘Tween Waters Inn Island Resort & Spa. A perfect love nest, our Mangrove suite, and its screened balcony, overlooked the marina.

After the Oasis, we relaxed on that balcony, watching the marina’s activity and a pair of love-bird ospreys swaying with precarious talon-holds on a tall coconut palm at our eye level.

The one-bedroom suite, like all of ‘Tween Waters Inn’s accommodations, recently underwent a facelift that turned it into a spacious luxury unit with a limited kitchen, granite counter seating, and an enviable bathroom.

Ospreys' love nest at 'Tween Waters Marina, Captiva Island

After 30-plus years of marriage, we tend to like our together time with lots of space. So we appreciated features like his and her sinks, a huge tiled shower, and a king-sized bed.

Our next tough decision: dinner at Captiva House or drinks and dancing at Crow’s Nest Beach Bar & Grille. Wait, why choose? We did both and managed to sandwich a sunset beach walk in between. The live band at Crow’s Nest covered our favorite classic tunes for a sweep-down-memory-lane finale to a glowing day at ‘Tween Waters Inn.