Vacation Aaaahs



One month ago, we left on vacation, flying to Florida for a nine day stay, visiting old friends, our favorite island and our younger son.  After a cold winter of record snow in many parts of our great Northeast, we were oh so happy to escape to the sun, sand and aquamarine sea of Anna Maria Island.

The two photos below, side by side, are of the Anna Maria Pier at different times of the day.  The first is early dawn, a fisherman in silhouette, heading to the end of the pier to throw a line.  The right photo is dusk when lights go on and day is done.  It's the loveliest little pier.

 

 



The next two photos were taken at a gorgeous dinner arranged for us by the kids at the Turtle Club on Vanderbilt Beach, Naples.  My son and his GF spent time with us on AMI before returning to their apt on Vanderbilt Island.  She works at the Turtle Club which is lovely, right on the beach, awesome food and very chic.  We dressed up beach style and had a blast, evidenced by the happy faces. 



Sunset from our ringside table looks like this...

  



Just a snap but I love the look on my son's face here.

Now for a typical day at the beach.  The water is Caribbean blue; clear, clean, gorgeous.   

 


Beach equipment.  Where's the umbrella?



My favorite beach



 

Shark Watch





Yes, a baby hammerhead, swimming along the shore line.  Yikes!




    



 

  

 

A friend of mine is on his way down to AMI today.  He has ten days of this.  It is so awesome.  I cannnot ask for more.  

 

Goin' On Vaca

Headed back to our new favorite spot, Anna Maria Island.  Will definitely write about it and publish new photos the spousal unit takes.  Can't wait to see my younger son.  He's been down there since September. 

Love you guys!

Theme Thursday: Sand

My earliest memories of sand are from Laguna Beach, Ca.  It is there my family spent each summer for twenty three summers of my life.  It is there I built sand castles with my father who took great delight in teaching us the easiest way to create water & sand designs by letting the sand drip from the index and thumb into a lovely magical shape, helping us move on to more sophisticated creations when we could wield a bucket, shovel and other paraphanalia.


 

Above & right:

Holmes Beach, Anna Maria Island 2009 

Sand was part of my life as a child.  Summers were spent going to the beach with our folks or our friends, on church outings or school field trips.  Sand would get in our clothes, our socks, our shoes, our hair, under our nails.  We tracked it everywhere:  the car, the house, the beach house we'd rent.  Our parents fruitlessly tried to eliminate as much sand from our bodies as possible before allowing us in the house.  Outside showers, hoses, towel wipe downs, stamping of feet were typical presumptive sand terminators.  It never worked well because if we'd been swimming in the sea, our bathing suits were invariably full to the brim with sand and it was always in the crotch.  I remember getting in the shower and taking off  my bathing suit and tons of sand would come pouring out of the crotch.  This may have been caused by the excessive amounts of sand in the Pacific Ocean or from rafting the waves, later body surfing and/or sitting in the sand to make castles, dig a hole, bury someone, etc.  I have never really found out.

The greatest feeling in the world is that first step onto a beach, when you remove your shoes and let your toes wiggle in the sand or let the water wash over your feet, leaving sand in its stead.  Ahhhhh.

Sand is a great exfoliator, is a forgiving jogging surface, and cleans the feet up as it downsizes callouses. 

Sand is one of my favorite, most looked forward to substances.  It always means the beach.  I am not a desert person!