Travel Journal: Sunset Beach

This is my last post about my trip to Florida and I'm already getting all teary missing it. Oh how lovely it would be to live on a beach all the time, but that just isn't reality for me (yet). I really loved the beach culture and seeing how the community and tourists all came together to use it.

One of the events that we popped by to see was the weekly drum circle that happens on Siesta Key Beach an hour before sunset on every Sunday.

People from far and wide bring their drums and other instruments to jam together.

Everyone was really getting into it. If they weren't watching, then they were participating.

My favorite dancer was this woman and a little girl who came up to her. The little girl just looked so free and happy, like she didn't have a care in the world except for listening to the music.

I wish I could let go and be that free sometimes. Kids really do have it lucky!

The woman would do these incredible spins and the little girl would try with all her might to mimic them.

The beat continued on and another group came into the center...

This time it was an older man dancing with a graceful and exotic young woman.

He dipped and jived, while she swayed and floated across the sand. It was mesmerizing.

After a while, my sister, brother and I decided to bike further down the beach to a more secluded area where we could watch the sunset.

It turns out that the sun takes quite a lot longer to set than we had anticipated. We took the time to create silly creative sun pictures. Here is my sister trying to toss it to my brother who is an expert suncatcher?

Working together to hold it up a little while longer.

Eventually we gave up and decided to do some yoga instead. I would love it if my daily routine included yoga on the beach at sunset.

What a great way to end another wonderful day in paradise.

Youngest. Middle. Oldest.

Three of a kind.

Thus concludes my vacation to Florida. As soon as we started driving back home I was missing it already. There is just something about all the great weather on a sunny beach that rejuvenates your spirit. Coming back to the grey dreary cold of Toronto still immersed in winter was depressing, but I know that its only a few short months before we'll start to see our own wonderful warm weather emerge.

Travel Journal: Sitting on a Dock on a Bay

It wouldn't be a trip to Florida without a little fishing, so while we were there we headed to a little place on Anna Maria Island called the Rod & Reel Pier.

At the end of that long dock is a little bar and bait shop on the ground floor and a very popular restaurant up above. It was pretty quiet in the afternoon, but once dinner time rolled around the whole pier was packed with people waiting for a table.

Walking down the pier, I noticed all these names carved into the wood.

Shark A Diem

I think that this one was my favorites :)

We grabbed the fishing rods out of the truck and bought a big bucket of shrimpies for bait.

Why do I keep saying "we"? I was not a part of the fishing. Don't get me wrong, I love fishing when I'm in the mood, but I just wasn't up for putting the bait on the hooks. And sitting in the sun and relaxing just seemed more enjoyable at the time.

My dad on the other hand got right into it. He seemed to be having a blast. While he and the siblings fished, my mom and I decided to take advantage of the other things that the pier offered...

...like a nice pitcher of cold beer. She is usually not a beer drinker, but this occasion called for it. We were on a pier, with our shoes kicked off, enjoying the sun - if there was ever a time to want something cold and refreshing, this was it.

Ahhh, sooooo relaxing.

Shadow and I spent most of our time watching the local wildlife and enjoying the sun.

These pelicans were so close you could almost touch them. Or if you're Shadow, you can almost dive for them. It would have been a real blast trying to get her out of the water if she'd fallen in.

They are such peculiar birds, but I find them so interesting. They just bobbed around in the water and every once and awhile they would fly up to swoop down and get a fish.

After a little while we were even lucky enough to see a wild dolphin swimming just off of the pier. All the fisherman grumbled about him stealing the fish, but I thought it was great to see one up close.

You could see scars on his back from where he'd had a few brushes with the local boat traffic.

It was amazing to see one so close! After a whole lifetime of never seeing a wild dolphin, it was amazing to see them twice in one trip.

In the end, nobody caught any fish, but we had a great time hanging out on the pier and enjoying the fantastic weather (and a few beers)!

Travel Journal: Siesta Key Farmers Market

Every Sunday morning, the village of Siesta Key has a Farmer's Market where you can get great local produce and products. This was such a wonderful treat when we were on vacation.

Just seeing these painted signs had my mouth watering for fresh produce. It had been months since I'd been to a farmer's market back home and it was a very welcome sight.

Walking around with everyone out in their shorts looking at all the booths was great. Despite putting on some sunscreen, I still managed to get a burn that morning. I'm just too fair skinned for my own good. But even a little sunburn couldn't take away from looking at all the fresh produce.

Crisp Apples. Juicy Oranges.

Creamy Avocados.

Zesty Limes and Lemons.

Crunchy Green Beans.

There were also great products made by locals. I loved this woman's display for Barbie-Lu's Sassy Salsa. What a fun name!

Her salsas were fantastic and reminded me that I need to get back into making fresh stuff in the summer. So often I just give in and use the jarred stuff, but its just not the same!

Another booth that I loved was set up by this herb farmer.

The rows and rows of fresh herbs were so tempting. I can't wait to start growing my own herbs again in the kitchen this summer.

He had these great pots set up that let you grow multiple plants at once. I would love to find something like this back at home!

A big fan favorite at the market is Richard's Candy Co Homemade Fudge. Everyone was popping over for a sample.

It looked so chocolaty and tempting! If I didn't have this dang nut allergy, I would have been right with them.

Its always great meeting a proprietor who really loved what they do. Richard chatted with every one of his customers and happily discussed how he made his delectable treats.

Another smell that lured me through the market were these buckets full of wonderful soaps. I must have been in a vacation state of mind because all the tropical flavours were calling to me.

We ended up grabbing some great fruit and veggies to take back to the rental house with us. I can't wait for a couple more months when we'll have our farmer's market back in my neighbourhood. Bring on Spring!

For more about my vacation in Siesta Key, Florida, take a look at my recaps of spending time on the beach and my trip to the Mote Marine Laboratory.

Travel Journal: Mote Marine Laboratory

While we were in Siesta Key, Florida, there is no way that I could miss going to the Mote Marine Laboratory. They are on the forefront of marine research and have one of the best aquariums I've every been to. They let you explore the local and continental marine life through touch pools, high-tech interactive exhibits and even lets you view working labs. I highly recommend going if you're ever in Sarasota County.

We saw plenty of amazing animals:

Sharks

Manatees

Lion Fish

Sea Turtles

When we arrived we made it just in time to see the shark feeding.

I've always had a huge fear of sharks, so I was prepared for the worst.

The second I saw the sharks circling the tanks, I had visions of my childhood fears - that they were in every ocean, lake, public swimming pool that I went to. Yes, it was irrational, but childhood fears are not usually filled with reason.

Then I realized that they weren't as big as I thought they were.

And it wasn't the "feeding frenzy" that I pictured at all. The trainers put in signs with "x"s on them and the sharks knew to swim to their corresponding "x". Then the trainers put food on an extendable arm and fed the fish directly it to each shark.

The swam around and around until they each made it to their proper marker.

Some of the them, like this nurse shark, knew right away where to go to get their meal ticket.

dun dun...... dun dun....... dun dun dun dun dun

I have to admit that as contained as they are in the tank, I still go the heebie jeebies.

There were plenty of other fish in the aquarium too.

Even a few stingrays were in there.

Every once in awhile they would come to the top and "wave" their fins, splashing people on the sides.

To let people get up and close with the sting rays and skates, there was an touch station.

As they circled around the tank, you could reach in and give them a gentle touch.

Some of them blended into the sand so well that I could hardly see them.

I really liked that they did this and made it easier to kids to see what they are like.

There were many more touch stations with various small marine life, including one of my favorites:

 

star fish!

As we moved farther into the aquarium we saw these incredible jelly fish displays. Their graceful movements are almost haunting. I could watch them for ages as they carefully float up and down with the quietest of movements.

There was a great lab set up with baby seahorses that were being monitored by the staff. I've always found these to be such a fascinating animal and I can see why they were in mythology so frequently.

I loved seeing all the schools of fish living together in the tanks. Watching their behaviour and how they interacted with other animals was really interesting.

They were actually in the same tank ad a group of young hammerhead sharks.

One of my favorite exhibits was these lion fish. They are so beautiful, but very poisonous to humans.

This little guy was friendly and kept coming up to the front of the tank.

Just look at that beautiful display of shapes and colours. Nature truly is amazing.

Can you spot Nemo?

I think that every little kid (and big kid too) immediately looked at this clown fish and said "Nemo!"

There was a "Dory" there too.

One of the big attractions at the facility is their Dolphin and Whale Hospital. This is where injured animals can come for rehabilitation and let the researchers learn more about these incredible species.

We were lucky enough to get their in time to see them doing some training with a couple of dolphins.

It was really impressive seeing them doing different tasks, like matching coloured balls and going to a specific person.

Next up was the slow and sleepy manatees.

Something about these guys just looks so cuddly...although I am sure that they are not.

This little guy was drifting off asleep in the tank and wasn't really watching where he was going...

...which led to a little collision with the wall. Don't worry, he bounced back okay and continued his slumber. I just couldn't help taking a picture, it was just too funny.

In the same tank were these beautiful sea turtles.

The staff was in the middle of feeding these guys with lettuce and it was fun watching them dart around the tank. I can only imagine how much lettuce that Mote has to order every week!

The best part of the day was getting to share it with these two clowns. My sister almost worked there last summer, researching animal behavior, so it was great to share this with her and learn more about it as we walked through the exhibits together.

For more recaps of my trip to Siesta Key, look at what we did at the beach. Next up, is one of my favorite weekend activity: a Farmers Market!