Showing posts with label anna maria island. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Our Florida Trip

Last Tuesday Mom, Dad, and Charlie dropped us off at the airport for a quick trip to Florida to visit Dynamo's family!

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Dynamo's parents live in the Bradenton/Sarasota area of Florida! It's really a lovely place with lots of exciting things to see and do! The first task on the list was to hit the beach at The Point on Anna Maria Island!

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The weather was hot, but it's always a nice little breeze on the beach! Just enough to make it comfortable to hunt shells!

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This time I had to be selective though! There's only so many we can haul back on the plane! Of course I had to snap a few family pics when we first got there!

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Here's Dynamo with his folks!

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Here's his beautiful mom!



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They've been married a really long time! Such an inspiration!

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And here we are! Mr. C did a good job snapping this pic! It's nice to have a real pic versus a selfie!

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The beaches are beautiful there! The Gulf is so clear and warm!

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Not many shells this time though! Just sea creatures missing their shell! Anyone know what this is? I think it's a conch without his conch shell! We threw him back in hoping he could find his shell!

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The next day we decided to head to Venice. We had always heard about all of the shark's teeth you could find there!

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We headed to Caspersen Beach after a lunch in town! It was a little rocky and had some dark sand. The water was a little rougher, but people were busy looking for treasures with their sand sifters! That's one tool we need to get!

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We found a few teeth...

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Not bad for just looking through the shells that had washed up!

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While visiting we also hit Lido Beach, which is near St. Armand's Circle.

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Each beach is a little different, but they are all gorgeous!

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Not many finds there either!



Our last day there we hit the Sarasota Farmers Market!

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It was bustling with people as usual!

Cookies...

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Olives...

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Fruit...

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Soaps...

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If you ask me if I bought soap, the answer is yes! Always! Support all local handmade!



Wall to wall people enjoying the warm sunshine!

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Of course when I saw this bumper sticker in the parking lot I had to snap a pic! 3 feet please, people!

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After the market we relaxed a little before hitting the beach at The Point one last time!

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These little birds were neat!

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Dynamo ventured way out into the water (it was low low tide) and he found a starfish!

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Yes, we threw it back!

The water was warm, over 80 degrees! It was a lovely week for the beach!

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Before we left we did get to meet up with Dynamo's brother, Michael, for dinner!

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It's always so nice to see family!

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What a great trip! We enjoyed our time with Dynamo's parents! We hadn't seen them since our Thanksgiving trip so it was great to get a few days to visit!

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When we got back into Richmond, my parents and Charlie were there waiting with some of our most favorite donuts ever!!!

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Now it's back to soap making, yard work, and life! Hope your Memorial Day holiday was great! It is a time to stop and be grateful to those men, women, (and dogs too) who have served our country!



Monday, December 9, 2013

Thanksgiving Adventures Part I

It seems like it was so long ago now, but not really! I apologize for the delay in posting details about our Thanksgiving adventures!

The week before Thanksgiving we had Turkey dinner at the nursing home with my Grams (now 94)...

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...and her roommate, Ms. Freddie!

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What a lovely experience to share a meal with my Aunt and Uncle,

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my parents, and Ms. Freddie's family! Ms. Freddie has been a great roommate for my Grams. She watches out for her and keeps us straight! And, she loves Charlie!

The day after our family dinner we headed out for Florida to visit with Dynamo's parents and brothers! The route was long from VA to FL, but a fun adventure with my parents. We did have a few stops to eat and stretch our legs! The little man enjoyed seeing all of the people!

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The first thing we did Saturday morning after waking up was visiting the Sarasota Farmers' Market!

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Talk about a bustling place! It's tradition to visit the market when we're there! Our dads hang out!

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While we shop!

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Here's the crew!

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All kinds of neat stuff!

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Lots of dogs, families, and food! And, elbow room only!

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Mom noticed this fountain in town that we hadn't seen before!

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It was called the "Good Heart Place"! What a lovely name!

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Charlie, of course, wanted to take a dip!

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Group shot!

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The market is fantastic!

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Displays are lovely! The weather is great! And, good eats!

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I always stop and buy soap from the Sunny Day Soap Company! Yes, I know I make soap! I still love to try others and support other small business people like myself!

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Charlie had a big time exploring!

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It's also good practice for him to be in busy settings!

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You see all sorts of fun stuff!

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And fun animals!

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After the market we headed to the beach, of course! We hit our favorite spot on Anna Maria Island...The Point!

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It was a glorious day for the beach! We walked and shell hunted!

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Here are our moms posing!

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This guy was quite the poser too!

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Mom and Dad are trying to ignore the camera here!

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The Point is where the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay meet!

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Just beautiful!

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Dynamo's mom and I posed before we headed back to the car!

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Back at the house, Tasha, Dynamo's parents' dog, decided she was taking over Charlie's bed! He was okay with that! He didn't want to pick a fight! I don't think Tasha fits it too well though!

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More adventures in Part II...