Anna Maria, Florida – December 27, 2013
We had a wonderful time today. We decided to drive to the small town of Anna Maria, Florida. We wanted to see my Aunt Karen and Uncle John. We were to meet them at The Sandbar Restaurant at noon. We arrived in town around 10:00. We did that on purpose so we would have a little bit of time to look around.
After we scouted out the location of the restaurant, we went back to the main street. We stopped in at Ginny’s & Jane E’s Bakery, Cafe & Gift Store. We went in for our obligatory cup of coffee. It was by far one of the most eclectic coffee shops I have been in ever. It was a coffee shop plopped in an antique store. There was hardly one inch of unoccupied space in the entire shop.
Since we were actually in Florida on one of our R&R trips from Georgetown, Guyana, we just had to buy a painting we saw that said, “Rest & Relax the Soul.” It seemed so appropriate.
Ginny’s and Jane E’s Bakery, Cafe & Gift Store was really hopping.
After our coffee and walking through the cafe, we went into a few other local gift shops.
When we were finished shopping, we went back to the Sandbar Restaurant parking lot. Since the restaurant was not yet open, we walked around the restaurant and out onto the beach. Our route took us between the restaurant and an event area. They were setting up for a wedding. Leslie and I thought it would be a beautiful place to get married.
Tyler and Hillary spent time wading in the Gulf of Mexico, searching for seashells. They said the water was very warm in comparison to the slightly gray, chilly day.
Out the west side of The Sandbar Restaurant is the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.
Close to noon, we met Aunt Karen and Uncle John in the restaurant. We had a wonderful lunch. I had blackened grouper soft-shell tacos; they were terrific! It was very nice to enjoy a Bloody Mary, a great lunch, and spend time catching up.
In the Gulf was a dredge. John told us they had been dredging for quite some time. They were pumping the sand to beaches to replace sand that had eroded after storms.
Looking out the window during our lunch, we noticed people setting up for another wedding. We also saw some of the wedding party arriving for photographs. That prompted us to tell Karen of the other wedding we had seen being set up on the other side of the restaurant. She said it is such a beautiful island that they frequently have weddings on the beach.
After lunch, we hopped back into our rental van and headed back to Kissimmee. The traffic was a little heavy, but we got back in about two hours.