GOOD FRIENDS AND FOOD

December 10, 2011   Dateline: Anna Maria Island, FL USA

December 11, 2011   Dateline: Sarasota, FL USA

Having left the Vinoy Marina on the morning of the 10^th I headed off to Anna Maria Island.  The island is located at the south side of the entrance to Tampa Bay.  The owners of my friend KA-DEE-ANNA live there and they invited Rich and Carol to join them for dinner at their beach front home.  Rich told me that the dinner was great and the company even better.

The island has an ordinance that no building can be higher than 36 feet high.  That has kept it largely single family homes.  The Galati Marina there is small but it has a lot of large sport fishing boats in it.  The trip from St. Petersburg to Anna Maria Island was short, only about 17 miles, so I was there in no time.  The channel into the marina is interesting because it is very narrow with 1 foot of water on each side. 

This morning I left Anna Marie Island with visible ground on each side of the channel as the tide had gone out.  The twenty one mile trip to Sarasota was through very narrow channels.  I saw this sail boat, without a mast, that was sitting on the side of the channel with its keel stuck in the mud.  It must have been there for a while.  The trip was stressful because the channel was so narrow and just outside the channel there was 3 feet of water.  The shore line on each side of the water way was lined with fancy homes and condos.  I finally got to the Ringling Causeway Bridge, the entrance to Sarasota.

This fountain is located across from my slip and is really pretty.  At night it is lit with different colored lights.

Tomorrow I will stay in Sarasota and on Tuesday will head off to Venice.