Friends, Relatives, Fun - Siesta Key, Venice, Sarasota, Florida

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Leaving Turtle Beach would have been hard if we hadn't know how wonderful our next stop - Sun n Fun - a few miles to the east of Sarsota would be. Our neighbors at Turtle Beach tooted (blared) as the sun went down each evening by blowing conchs. We drove the jeep down to Venice to see friends and friends of friends for lunch and came away with impressive insights about low rise condo communities (Bird Bay) a bit away from the beach with tons of ammenities - par 3 golf, pools, tennis, etc. We also were directed to the Jette, a picturesque (even on this foggy day) area we hadn't know about prior. Venice has some awesome thrift shops; I came away with a great pair of purple suede pumps for $3. We had a relaxing beach picnic with Zita and George and then all went up to St. Armand's Circle (we never tire of the place) for ice cream. Wes and I had a snack at the Salty Dog near the Longboat Key Bridge and watched the sun slip down. The Saturday Farmers' Market (7am - 1pm) in downtown Sarasota inspired Wes into thoughts of a new career - running a breakfast/lunch cart at festivals in Florida - long ago his grandfather and grandmother ran a diner called the Lunch Cart. It sounds like a fun endeavor to keep us active when we get older. But for now, it's still GE and DeVoe Associates.

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Photos

Ann & Joanne at the Jetty, Venice
It was fun to catch up with Anne and Doug in Venice.

Best Re-use of Your Old Boat. Make a Bar!
At the Old Salty Dog across from the Mote Acquarium near the Lido / Longboat Draw Bridge

Saratota Saturday Morning Farmers'
This is a lively market with Gulf shrimp, local produce, cheeses, baked goods, pastas, landscaping plants, flowers, crafts, prepared foods and more! Downtown Sarasota Saturdays from 7am - 1pm.

New Career - Farmers' Market Caterer
Wes can see himself flipping burgers and making sausage sandwiches for an appreciative crowd in his next career.

Conch Conkin' at the Sunset
Two of our neighbors at Turtle Beach cut the ends off large conch shells and blew them like bugles as the sun set. Quite a conch

Valentine's Day Turtle Bay Restaurant
We ran into one of Wes's former bosses from GE here having dinner with her niece and nephew on Valentine's Day. The niece took the picture of us. It is such a small world. Dinner was wonderful.