the Gulf Coast

Friday, June 11, we all piled into our rental car and headed south to Bradenton.  Aunt Fern is thinking of retiring there when she sells her condo in Tampa, and wanted to show us the retirement community she has picked out.  We went through some of the model homes, toured the amenities, and gave our stamp of approval.  :) 

Our next stop was Troyer's Dutch Heritage, and Amish restaurant in Sarasota.  The food was great, home cooking, and the company was even better.  In addition to our family, my dorm parents from high school, Jim & Mary Ann Upton, met us and had lunch with us.  It was sooo good to see Mom & Dad again!  It had been way too long since we had seen them.  They are retired and living in Sarasota.  I'm ready to go back and visit again, we had such a good time!

Jim, Mary Ann, DeeDee, Warren

Judy, DeeDee, Mary Ann, Jim, Warren, Fern, Dave

Nobody can tell a story quite like Mary Ann.  She kept us all in stitches.

enjoying the Amish rocking chairs

Mom & Dad, thank you for your many years of service to the Lord.  You have been a loving, compassionate and fun example for all of us dorm kids.  Miss ya and Love ya both!  Hugs.

After saying good-bye to Jim & Mary Ann, we drove to the beach.  It was very different here than at Daytona Beach.  There the beach had been fine sand, but here it was made up of tiny shells in the sand.  It was almost like walking on gravel, but it didn't hurt your feet.  You still had to watch where you stepped, though.  We collected lots of shells, they were just so pretty.  The water was much prettier than at Daytona - clear, not sandy, very warm and beautiful shades of turquoise blue.

the beach of shells

 Judy and Aunt Fern

checking out the shells

Aunt Fern knew the names of all the shells.

We also stopped at Anna Maria Island for a while and walked on the beach there.  I loved the Gulf Coastal areas we visited - absolutely beautiful!  I know I'm hung up on the water and beaches, but we also saw some absolutely beautiful trees and shrubs.  We saw Crepe Myrtles blooming everywhere.  They reminded us of lilacs, only on a tree instead of a shrub.  They bloom in white, pink, magenta, and lavendar colors.  

 While driving in the Sarasota/Anna Maria Island area, we saw these, but I don't know what they are.

By late afternoon we were heading back to Tampa for a home cooked meal courtesy of Aunt Fern, and a relaxing evening.