Siesta Key Beach 3

We got up early again and off we went to Siesta Key Beach for the final time, we will be leaving next Tuesday. We arrived just after 8am and went for a run down the beach, went in the opposite direction we did last time. It just amazes us how many people are out walking, running and looking for sea shells this early in the day. They drag the beach every morning, they do it with tractors pulling a rake device and they do it in the same manner that we do on our ice rinks. They keep the beach very clean and most everyone there is very deligent in not littering. The water was up to 74oF and so I spent most of the rest of the morning in the surf, yep there were little waves so I had some fun in the sun. Janet just continued on her tan while reading her book. By the time we left (11:30) it was getting very hot and humid and the beach had really filled up. Parking lot was full and people were circling to find a spot. Going to Ruby Tuesday's for supper tonight and looking forward to heading home soon and seeing the family, although not looking forward to the weather that awaits us, will try and drag the warm weather home along with us.

Siesta Key Beach (Part 2)

Brian has written below a synopsis of our morning at the beach and I have uploaded the pictures.  As Brian said below, Guelph was being hit with a snowstorm as we were enjoying 80 degree weather!  I am so going to miss this lovely weather when we get home next week!  Here are some of the most recent pictures:

Brian enjoying the beach although notice the clouds that came across.  They soon blew over and we were left with beautiful sunny skies!

Here I am texting David to see how the weather was at home and he was NOT too impressed that we were sitting on the beach and that he struggled driving to work in the snowy weather!  Sorry David……..I really wish you and Jenn could be here with us!

Yoga class on the beach!  I would have joined in but I was too exhausted after our run earlier on the beach and just wanted to relax!

The sky is clearing of the clouds and the beach was getting pretty full by this time.  It was a really nice way to enjoy the morning though.  We left shortly after this for lunch and a much needed coffee which we both missed this morning due to running on the beach.  I think we may have to go back again on Friday…..I don’t think I will hear any arguments from Brian about that. 

Siesta Key Beach

Knowing parking is at a premium in Siesta Key Beach, we got up early and were at the beach just before 8:30am. We got a good spot to park (the parking lot was half full) and went for a run on the beach. You wouldn't believe the number of people who were already set up on the beach and either walking or running along the coast. The sand by the water is packed down and so it makes for great running or walking. We finished our run and went back to the van and got our chairs, towels and umbrella for some relaxing time by the water. Got a great spot close to the water and got all set up and then it got cloudy. Farther out over the Gulf you could see the blue sky so soon it was sunny and getting hot. By 10:30 the beach was filling up and there was getting to be less and less space close to the water (lots of space further back, the beach is probably 300 metres wide and white and powdery). Lots of kids were with their parents or grandparents, Janet and I both said we would love to get Annika and Selena down here as they would just love this beach (the sand when you make it wet is perfect for building things), gotta let Selena age a bit to enjoy but Annika would have a great time. There was a "Yoga Class" being held on the beach and there were probably 100 people involved and they worked out for about an hour and a half. The water was fairly warm (70o F), I went in for a swim and Janet got wet but felt it was a little to cool for her liking. The other cool thing going on was "ParaSailing", there were at least four boats pulling the "parachute sails" with one or two people strapped in below them. It was really neat to see and reminded me of the time Ken Myer and I did it down in Barbados'. Janet wasn't to keen when I suggested we might try it. Turned out to be another great day and when Janet BM'd David on her BackBerry and found out it was snowing heavily back in Guelph we were even more pleased. Janet sent David a pic of the beach and what we were doing and to say the least he was not impressed and I won't repeat the comment he made. Got to enjoy it while we are here as the time to leave is quickly approaching.

We went for supper with Allan and Linda Motley last night, Linda is the daughter of Ivey (Sid's ladyfriend from England). They have a trailer in Bradenton which is just north of Sarasota. We had a nice dinner and then went back to their trailer for a beer. Janet had been in contact with Linda before via the internet and e-mails, so it was nice to finally put a face to past coversations. On leaving their place we were able to see the "Super Moon", all the media down here had been telling everyone that we had to see the moon tonight because it was the closest to earth in years and would appear 15% larger, it was pretty but it didn't look any bigger to me, we were

wondering if it got the same hype back in Ontario?

Got up this morning and went for breakfast at IHOP, Janet had the healthy yogart and fruit breakfast while I just went with the normal greasey bacon and eggs (their hash browns are great).

After getting home, we had to burn off some calories so Janet did her WiiFit excercises and I went for a bike ride on the Legacy Trail. Probably going down to the complex pool this afternoon as the weather is staying hot (80oF) and the pool temp is about 75oF (yes Janet is even going in)

The Beach

We got up this morning and decided it was "Beach Day", no clouds and temp going up to near 80oF We headed off just after 10am figuring that we could get a good parking spot at Siesta Key Beach (again the best in Florida). There wouldn't be a problem leaving at that time right!!!!! NOT????? We got over the draw bridge and there was instantly a back up of cars, we are still about 2kms away from the beach parking area (which has limited parking), there is another beach (Turtle Beach) which is south on the same Key, I decide I will try that route, but half the cars in front of me get the same idea and move over to the south turning lane. Even Janet agrees this was going to be hopeless, so I do a U turn and head back and decide to try Nokomis Beach (the one we had seen yesterday on our bikes). Thank goodness we had discovered this yesterday and were able to get a parking space and had a great few hours on the beach and in the water (still cool, around 68o F) Not many in the water but Janet and I got in with what I expect were the other 10 Canadians'. It was another beautiful day and just love this area. Obviously March Break is in operation and so many people are down here and all head to The Beach early in the morning. We will try Siesta Key Beach another day, we figure we will have to load up the van and sleep in it over night in the parking area so we are sure to get to the beach!!!!!!

Bike Ride to Anita’s Restaurant for breakfast

On our travelling back and forth to Venice to visit with Barb and Jon, we had noticed a restaurant called Anita’s and we thought it might be a nice place to try breakfast.  So today, we decided to go go for our long bike ride and headed down Legacy Trail and got off at Colonia Road to head to Anita’s Restaurant.  It took us about an hour to get there and we were both so looking forward to coffee and breakfast.  Anita’s turns out to be a 50’s style restaurant with “home cooked” meals!  It was great!  I had a veggie omelet and Brian had eggs and bacon.  Their home fried potatoes were totally awesome too!

 

 

Inside the restaurant, they had cut a “57 Chevy” in half and it was up on the wall:

Brian took the following picture especially for Ryan Neil as he is such an avid fisherman!

When leaving Anita’s, I noticed a sign that pointed to “Nokomis Beach”, so I suggested to Brian that we do a bit of exploring and head that way and maybe ride our bikes up toward Siesta Key.  It was a really great ride, Nokomis Beach is nice but the sand is not like it is at Siesta Key; the sand here was more like we see at our beaches in Ontario.  We couldn’t figure out why the sand is different there than the Siesta Key beach which is a few miles up the road.  The following are pictures we took along the way and riding down through Casey Key.  Take note of the houses we saw; a lot of them for sale as well but I think way out of our price range! 

 

 

We stopped to take a picture of this Azalea bush but the picture doesn’t do it justice. It was absolutely georgeous and very bright red in colour.   

Georgeous blue water but see how the sand is a lot coarser than the white powdery sand at Siesta Key.

Riding bikes is the best way to explore in this area, so much easier than trying to drive plus we get a lot more exercise to burn off that breakfast we ate!  We were out for about 4 hours and covered 40 kilometers!  It was an awesome day! 

Venice Theatre

Our friends, Barb and Jon, are staying in Venice Florida for a couple of weeks and since that it is really close to Sarasota, we arranged to get together and today went to the Venice Theatre to watch the King and I production and then out to Cafe Venice for dinner.  The King and I production was not quite Brian’s cup of tea but he he did well sitting through considering it was quite a long play. I don’t think I heard him “sigh” although I did look over once and he seemed to have his eyes closed!  I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed it!  We then went to a nice restaurant had had great conversation and a very enjoyable meal.  It was really nice to meet up with Barb and Jon for the afternoon.  Barb and I had already been together on Friday doing a bit of shopping at Kohls, where I went a little crazy buying some clothes – but they weren’t all for me – some for David, Brian and of course another little dress that I could not resist for Annika.  I think that is about 5 now that I have bought since we have been here and that doesn’t include the ones I bought in January when we were here for a week.  I love having little granddaughters to buy for!  Annika will have plenty of summer dresses for the summer now and then Selena can wear them all a couple of years down the road!

We have not done much in the lat week, I have spent my time getting a lot more exercise than I have in a long time and also putting in time working while Brian has been doing his training. He is really happy to be back swimming, running and biking again.

I won’t tell Breanne that on Saturday night we went to the Olive Garden for dinner which is one of Breanne’s favorite restaurants!

This coming week we plan on doing much the same but are planning on another long bike ride to a restaurant we saw near Venice advertising home-cook meals, so we are going to ride our bikes on Legacy Trail and head toward that restaurant  which isn’t too far off the trail for breakfast one morning this week.  We also plan on making it to the beach this week sometime as well.  We didn’t attempt to go to the beach this past week since it is March break here in Sarasota and we thought the beach would be too crowded. 

That’s about it for now; we can’t believe we have been gone almost a month now and only have a little over 2 weeks left.  We will probably head out of here by the 30th and by then we are hoping all the snowstorms at home are done for the season! 

Chocolate Eclair and Key Lime Square!!!!!!!

Janet and I went for another bike ride to Venice this morning to have coffee at "The Upper Crust Cafe' & Bakery". We decided to try some of their sweets instead of the scones which we had last Saturday. We both got our coffee's and Janet got a Lemon Square, I had to get a Chocolate Eclair but because it looked rather small I also got a Key Lime Square, I figured I needed it because of the long bike ride; my brain often does this but my stomach quickly told me this was a mistake, I got a stomach ache and of course I got no sympathy from Janet, just a smirk and a shaking of her head. It was still a fun bike ride.

Shopping!!!!

Went for a swim this morning, but skipped the run and bike. Janet had other plans for me. "SHOPPING". She laid out the route as there were more then one store to envade, first was Michaels (she had lost her needle for her needle point project, a pillow case for Annika embroided with butterfly's). I stayed in the car for this one and read my book. Janet didn't take too long and off we went to the next stop "Lululemon's" this is a sports wear for women, suggested by Breanne. Janet had photo copies of what Bre wanted and knew what she wanted, I went up and looked around but quickly left and went for a walk, I was back in a half hour and Janet had spent more then I want to mention (I guess you get what you pay for) I must admit she looked pretty good when modeling them when we got home. Next stop "Kohl's (Janet and Bre's favourite store). We got lost on the way there as Janet insisted on using her phone for directions (it has a built in mapping device, so it claims) we drove miles out of our way and finally the phone said "I have no idea where we are". I got out my trusty Garmin and we finally arrived at Kohl's, Janet seemed to be in heaven and went on her shopping spree, Annika and Selena will be very happy and me I was just tired. Finnally finished and ate at a nice deli. On the drive home I started to recover even though the traffic was horrendous (I think all the retirees live in Sarasota and drive so slow I probably could have run home faster). Anyways I suggested we go to the movies and went and saw "Hall Pass" with Owen Wilson, very funny movie and worth seeing. On the way out from the movies I found a great Cookie/Fudge store and bought our dessert, which I surely deserved after this harrowing day. Tomorrow we are off for our bike ride to Venice for "coffee and scones". Better then "SHOPPING"

Bonefish Grill

Yesterday was Janet's birthday so I told her to pick a restaurant to go to and she picked the Bonefish Grill. We started with wine for Janet and a beer for me and an appetizer "BangBang Shrimp". For the main course Janet choose the "Chilean Seabass" and I had "Sea Scallops and Shrimp", both were excellent and of course we got to taste each others. Earlier I got her "EA Active 2" for her Wii system. It is a strength and aerobic workout and she loves it, does her workout every morning along with Wii Fit!

Siesta Key Beach

We haven’t done too much over the last few of days as I had to work and yesterday was my last official day as a Team Lead for Accentus.  This is the official start of my semi-retirement and it feels great!  I can now work when I want with no set hours!  Brian has been really getting into his training mode again and I can tell he is loving it….I’m still working out with my Wii Fit (don’t laugh James!) which I brought with me, my running/walking and biking the Legacy Trail. 

Today we decided to head over to Siesta Key Beach figuring it wouldn’t be too crowded in the middle of the week….wrong!!!!!!!!!  We almost gave up looking for a parking spot and decided to do one more round and someone finally pulled out and we pulled right in.  Siesta Key beach is voted as the #1 beach in Florida and I can see why.  It is just beautiful there with a powdery soft white sand; when the sun shines on it, it is almost blinding.  I took a video you can see below.  We only stayed for a couple of hours as we didn’t have an umbrella for shade and I don’t want to burn; I’m just working on my tan a little bit at a time! 

Siesta Key Beach

Brian testing out the water.  Janet is not as brave but I did get my feet wet!

Seagulls gathering for a meeting…..

Taking a picture of ourselves on the beach.  The water was just behind us but we didn’t quite get that in the picture!