A Barrier Island Down South

It was very hot today, Ya’ll! Autumn pretended to be settled in for the duration but apparently decided to mess with our minds and let Summer come back for an encore. “Good-bye” windows open to nature. “Hello” sad, over-worked air-conditioner about to keel over.....hang in there wee thing, you’ll catch a break in a month or two. The bright side is, I still get to use the pool!

Back in September, my husband had a conference down in St Pete so we tacked on a couple of days for a getaway. We spent four days on Siesta Key, a small barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, snugged between the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay. I know surfers and boogie board fanatics love the Atlantic for the waves but I really enjoy the Gulf beaches, many of which have powdery, white sand, turquoise water and nice trees but all have a front row seat to amazing sunsets. That’s something we just don’t get here. One weird thing about the Gulf of Mexico though is it’s quietness. No roar of the ocean surf like back home, just gentle, lapping wavelets. It’s fun to float and relax in and the color of the water is beautiful. 

Naturally, the most gorgeous sunset was the very first night’s. We checked in and quickly chucked our gear into the tiny rental “villa” before hurrying to the beach for the show. Thunderheads and storm clouds moving inland, illuminated by the setting sun, made for a spectacular site and we sat in awe. So much in awe, that it did not occur to either of us to go back to the villa for our camera to take a photograph. Or, hey, the iPhone in the man's pocket even. Dang. We consoled ourselves with the thought that surely there would be another phenomenal sunset that we could capture on film in the next 4 days, right? Uh, no. Beautiful, yes, but not as spectacular. One of these days I’m going to learn to be attached at the hip to my DSLR so as not to miss photo opportunities. Like the Great Blue Heron standing 10 feet away from us! 

I cheated on the order of the pix, the first shot is actually the last one taken, after the sun had completely set.  We thought the next two looked like a pirate's ship and a whale. Maybe a pirate ship pursuing a whale?

One of the many mystery series I enjoy reading is set on the key so it was a lot of fun looking for local landmarks. On one of our drive arounds I actually remembered to bring the camera! I really loved this wavy, brick wall. Something about the contrast between the stodgy brick and playful shape spoke to me. Can you imagine how much work it took to build this?

And this view was behind that nifty wall.........

Over the weekend, we spent a day at the extremely popular, Siesta Key Beach. These people are serious about cooking out and beach volleyball. There was an amazing forest of pines that made the perfect, cool, shady tent to grill out under, safe from the unrelenting heat. Evan was happy to see the four sand volleyball courts.

He had a blast and was able to play for a few hours. Meanwhile, I sat in the shade of an enormous pine tree and tried to read, cheer my man on and dodge the biting ants. I would have liked to have sat by the water but it was scorching hot out and the sand seemed to stretch for about a quarter of a mile. Not really, but it was crazy how far away the water was! I’ve never seen anything like it.

I’ll have to share in another post about an AMAZING restaurant on neighboring Anna Maria Island the, “Beach Bistro”. Right on the beach with incredible views, especially at sunset. I don’t even have the words to describe the food - it’s an exceptional experience.

We really enjoyed our stay on Siesta Key and plan to go back. Excuse me while I drool over the Beach Bistro’s menu and decide what I’m ordering next visit. Oh, and take a gander at the view from their beach cam, especially around sunset.