Last few days on Anna Marie Island

We enjoyed our last couple of days on Anna Marie Island.  We went out for dinner at the Sandbar, and had a few too many cocktails.  The kids loved walking home on the beach

I think this holiday really did show that we are beach people.  Well, just holiday people.  We certainly work to live, and not live to work.  We loved the beach here, it was so beautiful, and the water was always warm.

The kids got really into swimming in the pool.  I am so pleased that they can now all swim without any type of flotation device.  Granted, Isaac swims best when he is snorkeling, and Sebastian does a bobbing type of swim, but thats cos he loves being under water.

After last years crazy holiday, and the trips to the UK that followed it, it was nice to go and relax as a family.  I loved being able to spend time with my husband and my boys.  We have built such a close family unit.  Yes, we have our issues, but who doesn't?  We are learning to work together as a team, and are constantly refining our techniques and strategies of dealing with the boys.  As they grow, we learn......

See, water babies!

OF course, we had to get some souvenirs. I was advised by a girl in the bakery to head up to Holmes Beach area, as there is a huge shop that sold every kind of souvenir you could wish for.  She wasn't wrong.  The kids loved these delightful pirates out the front.

And then, we had to leave.  No one wanted to go home.  We left on a saturday, and managed to be out the door by 7.30am.  We should probably have left earlier.  We hit dreadful weather around Tampa, with a massive thunderstorm, where we had to drive at 35 mph.  We then got stuck in traffic on I75 due to the Interstate being closed.  A man shot at a highway patrol officer who had stopped to assist a disabled vehicle (more details here).  We ended up being stuck on the interstate for about 3 hours, barely moving.  We even had to pull over and do the wee at the side of the road thing for the boys.  We eventually reached an area where we could do a U-turn through the median.  Once we were off the interstate, all the roads in the area were choca-block, due to it closure.  Absolute nightmare! 

But we did see a cool Army convoy.  

All in, it took us about 14 hours to get home.  Given how long we were stuck on the Interstate, and the fact we stopped for lunch and dinner, this was not too bad.  

We are absolutely in love with Florida.  It is still fairly wild, yet touristy enough to cater for what we want. Anna Marie Island, and Tampa area in general are heavenly.  I would quite like to go back there, possibly while we are still living here, or I would be more than happy to make that flight from the UK.....

Anna Marie - Beach, pool, beach, pool

Most of the posts from here in will likely be photo drops.  So here goes.

This was our yard.   The pool was a good size.  Adequate for 3 small boys.  The house had a sitting area outside, as well as 3 loungers.  Most of our time for the first 5 days was spent between the beach and the pool, with some thunderstorms thrown in for good measure.  There was also a very good grill, which we used at least every other day.

We found this guy in the pool the first morning.  It is a ghost crab.  We had never seen one before.  

We let him go in the yard, but he quickly made his way back into the pool.  We ended up taking him to the beach to release him.

This was one of the sitting areas in the house.  We liked sitting here in the evening, with the doors open, as they had bug screens over the doors.  And good job, cos I got bitten a LOT

There was also tones of lizards around.  You could barely move outside without one running by you.

We ate out at The Sandbar twice, once for lunch and once for dinner.  Once outside, on the beach, and once inside, in the evening.  A nice restaurant.  Busy in the evening, not too bad at lunch.

The beach was awesome. The waves varied from day to day, but we did end up buying another boogie board, so all the boys had one.  There were some awesome looking fish, and we think we may have seen something a little bigger.....  When a guy fishing in the water pegs it out, it is highly likely he spotted something with a grey fin, and a tool shaped head.....

But it was so beautiful.  And quiet too.  We were a short walk from the Sandbar restaurant along the beach, and as you looked south, you could see how much busier the beaches  became. We were very fortunate to have chosen the quieter end of the island. 

Anna Marie Island - The beginning

We booked this holiday way back in february.  You know me, i like my holidays.  This place was recommended by a lot of people, and after my own research, we went for it.  I started my search on VRBO as usual, but couldn't find anything I liked.  But I did find Anna Marie Island Vacation Rentals.  This company rocks,  they look after the majority of the rentals on the island.

We made the effort to leave early, so we were on the road by 4.45am.  This was a good idea, as there was very little on the road at the time.  I had been to Krispy Kreme the night before and got some donuts, so we had those as breakfast at the road.

Leaving early was an excellent idea, as we got to Savannah, Georgia for breakfast at 8.30.  We were over a third of the way there already.

We continued on our journey and made excellent time.  Anna Marie Island is over 600 miles from here.  It is so far.... It was supposed to take 10 hours, and it pretty much did. We got to the rental company to pick up our keys at 2.45.  The place was like a mad house!!!

Unfortunately, some plonker (me) had told them we would not be there till late.  That was before we decided to leave extra early......  The gentleman got straight on with arranging for the house to be ready, and advised us of a few places to go for lunch.

We headed to the Waterfront restaurant, and were able to get a seat outside, overlooking the road and the bay.  Man, it was hot, but there was a storm brewing, and plenty of fans blowing the air around.  The food was delicious, as was the ambiance, or it would have been without 3 monkeys.

After lunch we went for a little walk down Anna Marie Island City Pier.  I purposefully picked the north end of the island, as everything is pretty near each other, so walking any where was fairly easy. The pier was lovely, with plenty of people fishing off it, and a little restaurant at the end.  There was loads of signs around telling you not to hassle the dolphins....  And a couple of areas on the shore cordoned off where turtles had already nested.

We headed back to the rental offices, and the place was just being finished off being cleaned.  We headed round, and waited for them to finish. We settled in, and gave the boys a snack type dinner, before heading down to the beach.

Part of the reason for picking this particular property was its proximity to the beach. Less than a block.....  It was stunning.  Typically the kids went in the water with their clothes on, but the water was sooooo warm....

This was the first time we have ever been to the Gulf of Mexico.  It is stunning.  

We spent about 45 minutes on the beach.  The kids had a great time, and it was so warm.....  They went to bed a little late, in preparation for the rest of the holiday