Advertisement
Published: December 10th 2012
The Crow's Nest
This is nicely located on the Jetty. Fine dining upstairs at night, pub menu downstairs. The Encore RV Park, Royal Coachman in Nokomis, is beautiful and the people seem friendly (but not overly) and nice. We could hardly wait to get the campsite set up and take a dip in the (comfortably heated) pool.
On Friday night we went to "sunset" at the South Jetty and had a casual dinner (downstairs) at the nearby Crow's Nest in Venice. The resort had a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning without us but I hied myself over to the craft show in the club house and found some great hand crafted items. Lucky you if you're on our Christmas list and get the basket made out of clothesline (how's that for irony for those of you who know me and my clothesline collection)!
Low key on Saturday at the pool with our books, noodles and exercise dumbbells all afternoon and steak dinner, a collaborative J&W effort, at home (motor home) Saturday night! Glad we had a service guy show up to fix the cable as there were two TV treats on Saturday night - a live broadcast of the Sarasota Lighted Boat Parades on local SNN TV
Caspersen Beach
This amazing beach is new to us. It's an ADA - American Disability Act - approved project. The entrances are well ramped by design. For the beach itself balloon tires on strollers or wheel chairs would make the sand easier to roll on; but you can get there without stairs using the SAME entry point as everyone else. and Sarah Brightman, Michael Crawford and the original cast of Phantom on PBS.
Sunday was just about perfect - the weather and our itinerary exceeded expectations. We've breezed through Venice before; this is the first time that we are staying here and we think we're going to like it. On the previous trips we had lunch at TJ Carney's twice, strolled downtown, and paid brief visits to the South Jetty, Venice Pier and Sharky's.
We jeeped over to South Casey Key and the North Jetty which we had in our view on Friday night from the South Jetty. We both remarked about a wonderful characteristic of the Venice area - no fee for parking - not downtown, not near the piers, not in the parks, and not at the beaches. Very friendly of Venice!
Two other beaches were on our Sunday agenda. Venice Beach and Caspersen Beach. We shared a nice lunch at Sharky's a fun and obviously tourista spot with a great view, wonderful beach and pier access at Venice Beach. Sharky's is being remodeled and we hope the "new" Sharky's has
Shark Tooth Hunt
Colendars, strainers, screened boxes on long poles, and even my Altoids box are the implements of the shark tooth hung. Everyone got into the act. at Caspersen Beach!
the roof top outdoor lounge that we had enjoyed on our prior trip.
Further south on South Harbor Drive got us to Caspersen. Caspersen is new to us and could easily become our favorite beach in the Venice area. It's wilder than the others, the sand is softer, AND it is an ADA - American Disability Act - facility. The design is so thoughtful for people using strollers, walkers or wheelchairs. So often people with certain challenges can't get close to the water except in very urban areas; but this beach is accessible (you might want to opt for balloon tires on the sand) for all. Accessible rest rooms too! This is the beach for hunting sharks' teeth. People of all ages were engaged in the hunt. Also, it's studded with very interesting rocks. So not a good spot for skimmer boards or surf boards; but otherwise wonderful! We skipped the Venice Municipal Beach and Pier this time.
Our next stop is Pine Island on Wednesday!
Details Royal Coachman RV Resort, Nokomis, Florida --- Daily rates range from $40 - $75 while we were there in December. Rates kick
Fish Camp
Let the Fin Begin!
up to $62- $85/night during January, February & March which is about par for the course during the "season." Full hookups, cable TV and decent wireless connectivity for both my AT&T and Wes's Verizon.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.437s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 31; qc: 112; dbt: 0.1678s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
OffOurRocker
Charlie & Kerry
Thoroughly enjoying your blog and pics. Will you continue south and end up in the Keys? We'll be down in the Keys starting mid-January.