Yesterday (Thurs) was a long day, so I didn't get chance to do my update last night.
Early start and on the road to Anna Maria Island before breakfast. Got there in just under two hours and drove up to the north of the island.
Parked up near the city pier and then walked around for a little while and then went along to the Rod and Reel pier to have a late breakfast. Just after we ordered, the waitress pointed to the water and told us a manatee was swimming towards the pier.
I managed to get it on video. It swam right under the pier boardwalk, right below us. We were so pleased, as we'd never seen one in the wild before.
Breakfast was really good, too. As we were eating it, DH spotted a dolphin in the sea not far away from us. It swam around for a while as we watched it.
We then had a walk along the sea front and then across to the other side of the town, where the beach was wider. The beaches on the island have sand that is almost pure white. The sea was turquoise and the sky was bright blue - with not a cloud. It was perfect. And rather hot too.
Anna Maria Island has none of the fast food chains, nor any high rise buildings. It's a bit like going back in time - although it is more bulit-up than we had expected.
We spent a while at a seafront restaurant later. And shared a club sandwich before strolling back across to city pier. We couldn't believe our luck. Just after we started walking along the pier, we spotted another manatee! As the other one had done at the other pier, it swam right under the boardwalk as we stood on it. I managed to video it again on my Playbook.
We sat for a while at the end of the pier, chatting to some people, and then (reluctantly) had to start the drive back.
Dinner was at Manny's, again, and we decided to get a bit of Disney magic by going to the Contemporary and watching Wishes from the 4th floor 'balcony'.
A wonderful day.