Ken made a great cooked breakfast and we got organized for our fun filled day on Bradenton Beach! Sam and Kathy were here by 10:30 and we loaded the bikes on Diesel and drove to the new Riverwalk Trail in downtown Bradenton. What a gorgeous 1 1/4 mile walk passed the skateboard park, volleyball area, and a great playground with an interactive waterpark for little ones!
 |
| This is the skateboard area on the Riverwalk. Impressive! |
 |
| There were cement chairs in many areas along the trail as well as wooden and metal benches. Even some swings! |
 |
| They were comfy and definitely cool! |
 |
| They spared no expense when it came to planting trees! |
 |
| This painting along the trail shows all the activities that are available in Manatee County! |
 |
| A very fun playground for the little ones! |
 |
| We never saw a water fountain for dogs and one for filling water bottles! |
 |
| Just a gorgeous place to take a walk! |
Then we drove out to the Holmes Beach area. The traffic was terrible and it took us so long to get there. When we got to the beach, there was no place to park in the large parking lot. We finally found a spot on Bradenton Beach, about 4 miles down the road. So, we spent time on that beach which is not crowded and very nice.
 |
| This is a section of Bradenton Beach. Not very crowded! |
We got on our bikes around 3:15 and rode over the bridge on Route 41 (Cortez Road) to the Star Fish Company where Ken says they serve the best grouper sandwich. One employee said he filleted 1000 lbs. of grouper on Saturday. You eat right on the dock amongst the herons, pelicans, and egrets. Quite a setting. We have told many folks about this place and all agree they haven't had better fish anywhere! Make sure you check it out if you are in the area. Rode bike back to Anna Maria Key and up to Holmes Beach. After a stop for homemade ice cream we watched the sunset on Bradenton Beach. We rode about 9 miles today and a total of 40 miles the last 5 days with Sam and Kathy.
 |
| A blue heron watching over the pelicans in the water! |
 |
| We had a prime spot for eating at the Star Fish Company. We were at the middle table on the dock. |
 |
| Ken had to take his pelican picture of the day!!! |
 |
| We rode bike to Holmes Beach after dinner. A bit more crowded than Bradenton Beach. They had live music, a food court, and sold alcoholic beverages! |
 |
| At Bradenton Beach we experienced another gorgeous sunset! |
Back to Willie by 8 where the 4 of us looked at our blog to reminisce about our 5 days together. We certainly kept busy but where able to share so many of our favorite places with Sam and Kathy. We loved having them here with us and are sad to see them leave. Special friends are a blessing!
Raining in PA...dreary doesn't even cover it! At least the wind from earlier this week is gone. It is a warm 34 degrees! Just hanging out and enjoying a quiet Saturday morning. Have fun!
ReplyDelete