A walk on the beach

Friday October 21
Our flight to Tampa, Florida left at 8.30 am, so that meant an early start, leaving the house at about 5.40. We took off about on time and arrived in Tampa a little ahead of schedule. We picked up our rental car, and then drove about an hour down to Sarasota/Bradenton airport, where Jen and Laura were flying into, Jen from Atlanta, and Laura from Minneapolis, about 45 minutes apart. Having picked them both up, we went to a Cuban place for some lunch, before driving to our rental house on Anna Maria Island. Since this trip is a celebration of my special Birthday on Sunday we went a bit up market for our accommodation, and it is a lovely 3 bedroom house with a pool - not a big one, but very attractive and tempting nonetheless! It’s not on the beach, but only a couple of blocks away. We came to Florida because our son Philip lives nearby and has the least flexibility with his work, and won’t be able to join us until Saturday night. We have always avoided coming to Florida in the Fall before, since it is hurricane season, but we decided to take the chance, though we did take out holiday insurance. Fortunately Hurricane Ian, whilst originally taking aim at the Tampa area, changed direction and headed further south, hitting another favourite spot of ours, Sanibel Island, which we have visited several times over the years, so we are devastated for them and Fort Myers Beach. Once on the island, on the way to the house, we made a slight detour to a florist, where Jen and Laura had ordered a flower arrangement and balloons for me!
Having checked out our accommodation and taken our suitcases in, we went for a walk on the beautiful white sand beach, enjoying the bird life and a couple of fun sand creations. Early evening we had dinner out at a casual fish restaurant just across the bridge on the mainland, right on the water, and we ate outside enjoying a beautiful sunset (see extra). On the way back we stopped to pick up groceries. The girls said they have got the next two breakfasts and dinner tomorrow night planned, so it seems I shall be enjoying a lovely lazy weekend!
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