Anna Maria Island, February 20, 2009

We left Orlando about 10 a.m. after picking up my friend Patti. We made good time to Bradenton, which is on the west coast...and from there we hit a lot of traffic heading over to the beaches. That was despite the fact the weather was only to hit the mid-sixties. BUT, it was a gorgeous bright sunny day.

Our lunch spot...great food!

We drove north once we got to Anna Maria Island--we were basically just there to scout out the island, but, Rod had a list of things to look for and I had one too. My hiker friend, Crystal, is getting married here in September so I wanted to see her wedding pavilion. When my parents mentioned they have friends who winter here (and a neighbor who vacationed here when their kids were young) we decided to check it out. They took down some rental phone numbers just in case they need a place next year--if Annie's isn't available.

We enjoyed looking at the beach houses and when we found a place to pull off and look some more, we found the Rod and Reel Pier...a great place to bring your rod and fish for a couple hours...except on a day like today. LOL We put our name in to eat lunch--the wait was 45 minutes. There were lots of people out and even one wind surfer out in water.

We stopped at the public beach and were surprised to find a few hardy souls out sunning. Someone had left a couple of sand sculptures--a turtle, a dolphin and a big octopus. No one was in the water, but, lots of people were out walking in the sunshine. We shopped for a bit in the beach store and hit the bathrooms before braving the wind again.

Once we left the beach we headed south towards the Lido Key/Sarasota area where we discovered the St Armands Circle shopping area. We will definitely be back to check this out--WITHOUT the guys who limited Mom and Patti's shopping stops to the bare minimum! Honestly, I was kinda grateful for that too! Those two can shop, shop, shop...

We were cold and . . .

. . .

. . .

. . .even the birds were cold!