Another Full Day In Venice!

After a quick breakfast, the 4 of us left at 8 for the pickleball courts at the local park.  The 3 main courts were full, so we played on the tennis courts that are also lined for pickleball.

It was a very hot and humid morning and after about 1 1/4 hours of playing we were all hot and tired.  We had some great games and good points, but the heat really zapped our energy.

We headed back to the CG, changed, and the 4 of us were off again, but this time riding our bikes.  We are able to leave the CG riding and go about 1/2 mile to The Legacy Trail.  We rode the paved bike trail to downtown Venice because scones were calling our names!!!!!  So, we sat on the bench eating blueberry scones and Chuck chose a blueberry muffin.  Of course, we had to get the Devenshire cream to put on them.  Wow, what a treat.

It is a beautiful paved trail that goes from Caspersan Beach
to close to Sarasota!

It really is a gorgeous trail.....

... on the bridge over Dona Bay.....

.....can't believe they built these bridges just for the walkers
and bike riders!

This is the bridge over Roberts Bay

Several years ago they built this bridge over
Route 41/Tamaimi so you don't have to ride over the drawbridge
that goes into downtown Venice.  That was the way  we previously
had to travel to get to downtown Venice on a bike, and it was an
extremely busy highway!

You can see how busy that highway is, so the bridge over it
is much safer than trying to cross the traffic!

That is the drawbridge we used to ride over on our bikes!

Love this town....

,,,,and the Upper Crust Scones!

This is like a kid in a candy store, only Melissa is outside.
I think her mouth was watering for some of that caramel and fudge!

We were going to head right back to the CG, but Ken decided it would be better to ride down towards Caspersen Beach and cross over the Intracoastal Waterway on the second bridge instead of the one right in town.  As we rode (he thought it was just a short distance to the bridge, but wrong!!!) he thought maybe we should go the whole way to Casperson.  I voted that down quickly before he mentioned it to Chuck and Melissa.  We ended up riding about 10 miles when we arrived back at the CG, and it was still HOT!

This is leaving Venice and ending along the Intracoastal
Waterway, but in the opposite direction of the CG!

These murals depict different highlights for the city of Venice!
The middle one shows pictures of the Ringling Brothers
Barnum Bailey Circus that had their winter headquarters here!

We relaxed for about 1 1/2 hours and then at 3 drove to Nokomis Beach to walk a little, relax, and then watch the beautiful sunset. 

Another day is coming to a close!

The sun is about to vanish!

As it dropped, it created what looked like a city silhouette
or a mountain range!

It was breathtaking!

The colors were spectacular!

Looks like a peaceful way to enjoy the sunset!

We got back to the CG at 6:15, made dinner, cleaned-up, and then spent the evening at Gregory's RV playing Spades and Pinochle.  It was a winning night for the men.

We were in bed by 10:15, tired but happy!!!!