bengunn
Pirate Member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2001
- Messages
- 375
Day 19 Our Silver Wedding Anniversary
Previous episodes:
Prequel
Day 1 The trip to Orlando
Day 2 Animal Kingdom
Day 3 Magic Kingdom
Day 4 Typhoon Lagoon, Shopping and Illuminations Cruise
Day 5 - Islands of Adventure
Day 6 Epcot
Day 7 Seaworld
Day 8 Universal Studios
Day 9 Epcot and the Magic Kingdom
Day 10 Discovery Cove
Day 11 Kennedy Space Centre
Day 12 Disney MGM Studios
Day 13 Blizzard Beach
Day 14 Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios
Day 15 - Cypress Gardens and the move to Bradenton
Day 16 Anna Maria Island
Day 17 Siesta Key
Day 18 Sanibel Island
The Cast:
Richard (bengunn): Chief planner
Kathy : DW, just wants to go on holiday
Josie : DD 20, at Reading University, Assistant Planner, not very good at getting up
Sam : DS 17, just done AS exams, can get up very quickly when he wants to
Tuesday 3rd September
We woke fairly late today and opened our cards; some of these we had brought with us but Libby and Crissy and their families, with whom we shared an Illuminations Cruise a couple of weeks ago, had been very kind and given us cards; it was lovely to have these extra cards and really made the day seem special.
We intended to spend some time on the beach today but we were all still a bit red from Sunday, especially Josie, so we decided to do something else first and then go to the beach a bit later when the sun was not so fierce.
We bought food for a picnic and went to Sarasota Jungleland Gardens arriving at 12:00. The gardens are a combination of tropical gardens and a zoo; apparently 80% of the birds and animals have been either rescued or donated. There is a huge range of plants here including huge palms. The birds and animals include flamingos, tortoises including giant ones, alligators, emus, wallabies and parrots. With one or two exceptions, they seemed to have plenty of room; the flamingos in particular seemed to be able to go where they liked. We enjoyed the gardens and, having seen everything, we left at 14:00 and drove to Coquina beach.
Coquina Beach is at the south tip of Anna Maria Island and was very quiet. We had our picnic under some trees behind the beach, where there were both picnic tables and shade. We went on to the beach proper at 15:00 and swam and lazed about until 18:20; by this time the beach was deserted and the lifeguards were packing up.
We went back to the villa and changed and then went out for dinner at Leverocks Seafood House. This restaurant had been spotted by Josie and is on the right just as you get off the Manatee Drive bridge and on to Anna Maria Island. The restaurant was fairly quiet and we had excellent food and service; it turned out that our waiter lived just down the road from our villa. We had entrees including swordfish and stuffed shrimps and scallops finished off with Key lime pie and chocolate lava cake. The total bill for four of us was $78 which was very reasonable. We would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who stays in this area.
On the way out, we saw a racoon foraging around the dustbins; then it was back to the villa, as there is not a lot of nightlife around here.
Tomorrow: Busch Gardens
Previous episodes:
Prequel
Day 1 The trip to Orlando
Day 2 Animal Kingdom
Day 3 Magic Kingdom
Day 4 Typhoon Lagoon, Shopping and Illuminations Cruise
Day 5 - Islands of Adventure
Day 6 Epcot
Day 7 Seaworld
Day 8 Universal Studios
Day 9 Epcot and the Magic Kingdom
Day 10 Discovery Cove
Day 11 Kennedy Space Centre
Day 12 Disney MGM Studios
Day 13 Blizzard Beach
Day 14 Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios
Day 15 - Cypress Gardens and the move to Bradenton
Day 16 Anna Maria Island
Day 17 Siesta Key
Day 18 Sanibel Island
The Cast:
Richard (bengunn): Chief planner
Kathy : DW, just wants to go on holiday
Josie : DD 20, at Reading University, Assistant Planner, not very good at getting up
Sam : DS 17, just done AS exams, can get up very quickly when he wants to
Tuesday 3rd September
We woke fairly late today and opened our cards; some of these we had brought with us but Libby and Crissy and their families, with whom we shared an Illuminations Cruise a couple of weeks ago, had been very kind and given us cards; it was lovely to have these extra cards and really made the day seem special.
We intended to spend some time on the beach today but we were all still a bit red from Sunday, especially Josie, so we decided to do something else first and then go to the beach a bit later when the sun was not so fierce.
We bought food for a picnic and went to Sarasota Jungleland Gardens arriving at 12:00. The gardens are a combination of tropical gardens and a zoo; apparently 80% of the birds and animals have been either rescued or donated. There is a huge range of plants here including huge palms. The birds and animals include flamingos, tortoises including giant ones, alligators, emus, wallabies and parrots. With one or two exceptions, they seemed to have plenty of room; the flamingos in particular seemed to be able to go where they liked. We enjoyed the gardens and, having seen everything, we left at 14:00 and drove to Coquina beach.
Coquina Beach is at the south tip of Anna Maria Island and was very quiet. We had our picnic under some trees behind the beach, where there were both picnic tables and shade. We went on to the beach proper at 15:00 and swam and lazed about until 18:20; by this time the beach was deserted and the lifeguards were packing up.
We went back to the villa and changed and then went out for dinner at Leverocks Seafood House. This restaurant had been spotted by Josie and is on the right just as you get off the Manatee Drive bridge and on to Anna Maria Island. The restaurant was fairly quiet and we had excellent food and service; it turned out that our waiter lived just down the road from our villa. We had entrees including swordfish and stuffed shrimps and scallops finished off with Key lime pie and chocolate lava cake. The total bill for four of us was $78 which was very reasonable. We would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who stays in this area.
On the way out, we saw a racoon foraging around the dustbins; then it was back to the villa, as there is not a lot of nightlife around here.
Tomorrow: Busch Gardens
