Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Caladesi Island State Park

Caladesi Island State Park

Since July is National Parks and Recreation Month, it seemed like a good time to visit one of our favorite local parks. So on Sunday, Ron and I took the boat out to Caladesi Island.  There is something for almost everyone at Caladesi. In addition to the beach (voted America’s Best Beach by Dr. Beach in 2008), there are picnic shelters, a 3-mile nature trail, kayak rentals, and lots of wildlife. You can spot all kinds of sea birds – herons, egrets, skimmers, osprey - as well as gopher tortoises, dolphins and an occasional manatee. The beach is also an important habitat for nesting loggerhead turtles. Three nests have been built on the island this year.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Sarasota Fourth of July

We’re back from a quick trip to Sarasota. It was a fun time despite the less-than-cooperative weather. The reason for the trip was that our friends Ronnie and Jamie were going to the Super Boat Grand Prix and they invited us along. It sounded like a fun and different way to celebrate our anniversary and the 4th of July weekend so we said yes. Road trip!

We drove down Thursday morning and got to our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, at around noon. Ronnie had picked the Hyatt because it was the official host hotel for the races and would be close to all the festivities. The hotel was great! It was very contemporary with lots of white, pink and green details – even pink lemonade served in the lobby every day. Our room had a king-sized bed and a small balcony overlooking Sarasota Bay. There was also a nice pool with waterfalls and an outdoor bar and grill.

Hyatt Regency Sarasota room