In reverse order. We slept in a bit and had breakfast at the hotel before we packed up and headed to Anna Maria Island beach (about a 35 minute drive). We left early to beat traffic and it paid off, with close parking and a great spot for a few hours!
For supper we met up with the Wilkersons in Bradenton,
where they served us a great Mexican feast - so yummy!
college roommates - Adam and Steve
Our girls had fun hanging out with the "A" girls :)
All freshened up after a beach day in their new souvenir shirts!
After the beach on our way back to the hotel we stopped by the 7/11 for their first Slurpee's!
There was a nice store and restrooms and food place right on the beach - good thing since we forgot to bring our sunscreen from our other bag that we left at the hotel! Phew!
One of the girls nearby swam to a sandbar with her mom and collected tons of sand dollars and gave some to us as souvenirs! Very cool!
It was pretty funny trying to watch the girls try to clean out their sand toys!
The water felt pretty chilly at first, but it wasn't too bad.
The friend that Avery made - her mom buried them with a mermaid tail.
Steve caught this one of me - the chair was great,
but I needed something to block my face - Avery's hat. LOL!
Steve made the girls go for a quick morning run in the sand.
So glad Grandma Char offered these beach chairs to us -
100% worth hauling them all the way from IA!
We went to the north side of the island first and realized we wanted a more public beach, so we back tracked and went back to the middle of the island after this.
THIS is where we wanted to be - near the park, restrooms, volleyball courts, etc, and FRONT ROW FREE parking since we were there by 9:30!
