Venice, Florida Rookery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What We're Up To

We had dinner on Anna Maria Island at the Sandbar Restaurant yesterday.

Our rental car is a Toyota Avalon.  We wouldn't mind owning one.

Jackets felt good at the Sandbar while we waited to be seated.

Jared found this Florida Horse Conch when we were snorkeling early in the week before it got too windy.

That's me trying to swim.  It's awkward because the wetsuit makes me so buoyant.

After these photos, Jared returned the conch to where he found it.

Underwater plants...

More sea plants...

Coral colored rock...

Tennis, Sand, Fishing and Sharky's

On the sand...

Tennis anyone?  We hadn't played for years but had fun anyway.

Back on the sand...

Jared with his fishing pole and tackle on his way to Point of Rocks to try his luck. 

We were told we'd have to wait two hours to be seated for dinner at Sharky's.  Sitting in the sun kept us comfortable on a cool and windy evening. 

Waiting isn't a problem with lots to look at.



The pier at Sharky's...



Sharky's is always a must place for us to visit.

Sharky's is in Venice, FL.

The pier emptied as the sun went down and the cool air took over.

Our view as we relaxed...

My photos aren't exactly in order as I'd like.  Putting them on my blog can be challenging.  Aargh!  Downloading them gives me fits!

We actually only had to wait one hour to eat.  It was definitely worth that.

Birds and Banyan Tree on SK

We came across this pair on the gulf side deck.

We haven't identified this fellow yet.  I love my zoom camera.  Without it I could never have gotten this close.

Here's a view of the public beach that I took from the fourth floor just outside the condo we stay in.

On a walk to CB's, we passed this banyan tree.

 

As we step outside the condo on the fourth floor, we see this view when we look toward Midnight Pass Road.

Vacations Are Food for the Soul

It's late afternoon on Monday.  We're enjoying a drink while we play Yahtzee before going out for dinner.  This has become a pleasant, daily habit when we vacation here on SK. 

We only played one game yesterday and Lon was the winner.  Honestly, nobody loses because we're all relaxing and enjoying the day. 

Jared spotted this red-bellied woodpecker as we were getting in our rental car to go for dinner.   

After I got the picture of the woodpecker, Jared pointed out this mockingbird to me.  This is definitely the best of the photos I snapped of it.  

 

We waited outside for a table at Stonewood Grill, enjoying the nice weather.  Jared and Lon were perfectly content to wait after watching a spring training game earlier in the day.  Of course, I was thrilled as always when I'm not cooking.    

Lon's a blurr.  You know how it is.  A hungry man can't stop chewing for a silly photo!!

 

After dinner, we came back to the condo.  An evening walk is another habit we've gotten into and a wonderful way to close the day.

 

I love the magical look of the lights.



Good night, 'til next time.

 

We Like Black Coffee with a Splash of SK

Although this is December's photo, it accurately shows you what we're seeing and what we're doing now in March.

As always, we enjoy our coffee from the balcony and then take a walk along the sidewalks you see in the photo.  Some of our favorite moments are spent right here.

We've been snorkeling down the beach at Point of Rocks twice.  Our wetsuits, snorkels and goggles are working well.  All we're missing now is some fish to watch and swim along with!!!  I saw a couple of sheepshead the first time out and Jared found a Florida Horse Conch the second time.  It's fun seeing the coral rock, the seashells and sea grasses up close while breathing underwater.  The water is 64 degrees so the wetsuits are invaluable.

I've taken some underwater photos which I'll post here eventually.

Bye for now!

    

Thank You, Angela

My co-worker and friend, Angela, lent me her oversize purse to use as my personal item on our flight to Siesta Key yesterday.  My tiny purse fit nicely into one corner of Angela's so I had lots of room for other items.

Angela also let me borrow her water shoes to wear snorkeling.  They worked beautifully this afternoon.

Thank you, thank you, dear friend.

(I planned to post photos from this trip here on my blog.  Unfortunately, I think I forgot to pack the USB cable that allows me to transfer photos from my camera to my laptop, but I'll keep looking for it or buy one.  The photo above was taken in December).