We had a very late breakfast and at 1:00, Burt and Pat arrived because Ken and I planned to show them some of our favorite places in the Venice area - things they have not done previously! So, we had an "agenda list" so we would remember to go to all the places we were excited for them to see.
Our 1st stop was Detwiler's Market for fresh fruit and produce. The place was "crazy busy", but I think they enjoyed their visit. Then it was on to Caspersen Beach where we parked in the back and walked out to the Venetian Waterway Trail, which they had not been on before. We walked about 1/2 mile to where we feed the Florida Scrub Jays and they were waiting for us when we arrived. It was definitely the quickest time they have ever appeared when we held up our peanuts and they "stuck around" until we ran out of food for them. They gave Burt and Pat (and bike riders going by) quite a show! So much fun!!!
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| They liked Burt's hat! |
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| They liked spending time with Pat too! |
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| They really didn't play favorites! |
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| The red-headed woodpecker wanted to join in the fun, but he was too afraid! |
Next we drove to the park beside Sharky's and walked on the beach and pier. By then it was 3:45 and time to go for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Briandi's. This authentic Italian Restaurant is quaint and small, so you have to get there when it opens, 4:00, to get a seat. It is also Happy Hour and Early Bird, a double whammy! Their food is all homemade, including the bread and Minestrone Soup. We all had different entrees from the Early Bird special menus and each one was absolutely delicious.
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| A very nice fishing pier that had to be partially rebuilt several years ago after one of the hurricanes! |
After dinner, we decided to see what was happening at the South Jetty in Venice! We realized there would not be a nice sunset, it was rather chilly, and there were no boats going in and out. But, we did see 2 dolphins and enjoyed watching the pelicans. On the way back to the car I found 4 shark's teeth at different locations in the parking lot - crazy!
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| The end of the pier at the South Jetty! |
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| The skyline was very beautiful! |
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| We saw 2 dolphins but it is so difficult to get a good photo! |
So, we headed on to The Rookery to see all the birds that had flown in to nest for the evening on the tiny island. There were so many heron, egrets, ibis, and commerants.
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| The white heron were showing off their beautiful plumage! |
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| Some ibis and heron! |
We were back to Wilbur by 6:45 and we finished the last two rounds of Hand and Foot from a previous game and the men won by a large margin. What a delightful day and we loved sharing these places with Burt and Pat. They were thankful for their "tour guides"!
After they left, I had a phone chat with Cindy and things are going well with their 6 week old pug puppy, Bugsy! He cries and whines a bit at night when they 1st put him in his cage, but then he settles down for the night. Doing pretty well with the "potty training" too!
We were in bed by 9:45, did some reading, and off to dreamland!
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