Road Trip--A Sunday Drive....

Starting to feel a little housebound....Sort of a letdown from no more traveling or having any travel plans since we bought the house....decided to get out and see our local beaches today...They sure are beautiful!  We stopped at this little bay park to sit under the tiki hut for awhile....Watched the boats come to the sand bar and throw down anchors to visit with each other...A whole other lifestyle, to be sure, to be an owner of a power boat and cruise out on the waterways on the weekends....

There was an interesting tree off to the side of the tiki shelter. It was called a clusia rosea--the "autograph tree", or pitch apple tree. I thought maybe people had scratched their name into the bark, so the botanical society that planted it gave up with the sign and basically said, "Here you go, folks, have at it!" Nope--it really is known for being able to scratch your name in a LEAF and it will remain on the leaf for YEARS! Had I known that, I MIGHT have been tempted to scratch out, "Where's Eldo?", the name of our travel blog on one of them. :-)

Stopped at Marina Jack's for a snack....We split a sandwich which wasn't much to write home about, but we have heard that Marina Jack's has a nice dinner sunset cruise..There are two restaurants down on the harbor front. One is Marina Jack's and then there is O'Leary's Tiki Bar and Grill. Of the two, Marina Jacks is more expensive, we think. We might do the sunset boat cruise some time with Marina Jacks. We've heard it's very nice...This little guy, at the restaurant, had fiery red hair that was in such contrast to the ocean blues and blue of his shirt, I just had to snap a photo! Rare to see a redhead these days....

We visited Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island, one of the prettiest beaches in the area in my opinion. We didn't bring our beach supplies or suits today. We were just looking... It was 94 degrees out, and the only way you'd get me to come back to the beach on a day like today, would be if I was well protected from the sun....The temperature of the Gulf of Mexico right now here is 86-87 degrees....almost like bath water! We're going to do a beach day soon, today we were just wondering how crowded it would be on the weekend. Actually, quite crowded!

I love seeing little kids having fun at the beach. This little guy was having a ball, running towards the water, then falling down either intentionally, or unintentionally. He was laughing the whole time. He sure was tan! I always worry about kids wearing sunscreen and hats everywhere I go. As I get older, it's so hard for me NOT to say something when I see little babies with no hats, and hot, and getting sunburned. No wonder there are fussy babies out and about in the summertime!

We love Coquina Beach for the shady, wide boardwalk and lovely multiple picnic areas. Plenty of shade to escape from the oppressive summer heat, and then, you've got the ocean calling you for a swim right across the way.

Down to the Sarasota Bayfront Park we went.....Love this entrance to the harbor, to the park--fountains, yachts, to TWO restaurants-- O'Leary's Tiki Bar and Grill, and Marina Jacks. Bayfront Park is on an island peninsula right on the waters of Sarasota Bay. There is a huge playground area for kids, benches and swings, the harbor is filled with all sizes of yachts and boats, there are sidewalks that traverse all the way around the park.  It's a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. You can also rent all kinds of boats there to go exploring Lido Key and Longboat Key. And hey---FREE parking while you're exploring! That's always a plus.

Time to come back home and enjoy the rest of the day in the COOL of blessed air conditioning!