December 01st, 2021

Happy December 1st!     It's so pretty here today, 62 and sunshiney with windows open all over the house, it's hard to believe that in other places it's freezing and snowy.  Brrrrrrr.  I remember those days very well and no thank you!   It would have been impossible to imagine back when we lived in any of the many snowy and cold places, being this close to Christmas and not
bundled to my nose in layers!  Makes me shiver just thinking about it.

Which  may be why this past Sunday, Tim and I did a beach day.  Four Beaches in one day!  It was awesome!

We started off with our own beach of course.  It's quick and easy to get there, just a few blocks away and of course you've seen a zillion or so pictures of it here on my blog.  It wasn't very crowded, which is always nice.  Unfortunately, we saw no dolphins or manatees but there were loads of birds and boats.  The water was very smooth and well, it was just beautiful.  But then, it always is.

Eventually we had our fill (for the moment) and moved on up the coast a few miles to Casey Key.  Casey Key is a narrow strip of land that has ocean on one side and the bay on the other.  It's lined with amazing and beautiful (and primarily very large) homes.  Some lucky folks have what they call "Gulf to Bay" homes, that is views  of the Gulf of Mexico out of the front windows and views of the bay out the back windows.  Nice.  It's a pretty drive right along the water.  Sometimes there are houses on both sides affording the travelers only peek-a-boo views, other times the houses are just along one side of the road with a full water view beside us as we drove.  BUT, unless you are a resident, there is no beach access. So those photos were taken from the car.

Next stop was Siesta Key. Siesta Key has been voted best beach many years in a row by whatever the group is that votes on such things.  It's a very nice beach and  the streets are lined with cute little shops and restaurants and the visitors to fill them.  There are a lot of rental homes and condos and some big beautiful non-rental homes too.  The place is pretty much chokablok with one kind of structure or another.  Parking comes at a premium and while we drove past a few beach parking lots, we did not stop (which means paying to park) at any of them. Sooo sorry but no picture of mine from Siesta Key.  Let me see if I can find any on line.  It really is a great place to vacation, but I wouldn't want to live there.  Ok here you go, these are NOT my photos. Just making sure credit goes where it belongs:

Last stop and the place we spent the longest was Lido Beach up in Sarasota.  It's up in the St Armand's Circle area and you actually can find free parking up there (well usually).  It's a nice deep beach with sugar sand, a concession stand, clean bathrooms (always a plus with me) and so much space to spread out.   There were a lot of people there but we still didn't feel crowded, which is so nice.  And while it's walking distance to shops and restaurants I couldn't see any of them from the beach. I like that.  

It was beautiful of course.   There is something so relaxing and peaceful and rejuvenating about any time spent by the sea. 

Perhaps because we live by the ocean, we take our own beach for granted and other town's beaches feel more exotic? More like a vacation?  They are definitely each completely different.  
And I know that sounds very weird doesn't it.  I mean the components are the same:  Sand, water, birds, boats, shops, restaurants, houses, it's all the same stuff.  But every beach town feels distinctively it's own  and every beach is unique.  And every single one of them is wonderful!  

Because we are now heading into what in other parts of the world is the cold, snowy, icey weather, where people avoid being outside,  this is our tourist season.  People come here from places far away to enjoy the  sunny days, the warm sand and the beautiful blue sea.  It makes perfect sense.  

Happy December, beach appreciation month!