Trip South/ Peter Donna Mary

We drove down to spend a few days on Ana Maria Island with friends Donna and Peter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Maria_Island

It is about three hours from our place in Inverness with stops and traffic. It is not uncommon to get in long lines of bumper to bumper traffic even when settled on the island. It might take 20 minutes to drive 2 miles. But seen differently, everything we did was very close to the house. Often here and at Burden Lake we spend the same amount of time driving to activities.
We visited beaches and piers, spent at day at the Shelby Botanical Garden

https://selby.org/

And we spent an hour at the Florida Maritime Museum with a great volunteer who knew his stuff.

DAY 1 WE WENT TOURING BEACHES AND PIERS

It was fine weather in spite of a cool morning and the sights were grand. We saw some dolpin and birds and visited fishermen. We even saw one catch a sheepshead.

It was a bit too rough for me to swim and keep water out of my bad eye, but I'd get my chance on Day 2

I GOT A KICK OUT OF THIS SIGN THAT DIRECTED US TO WALK THROUGH A MUD PUDDLE.

DAY 2 WE WENT FIRST TO THE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDEN

I am not educated about plants and flowers, and I don't remember much. I react to them as I do to art. It was a great visit. The Conservatory of orchids was closed, but I was more than content wandering outside in the upper 70 weather. The area was very large and the sights were like none I have ever seen. Here plants grew in the branches of trees.

One very common flower displayed everywhere was impatience. I do know that flower and have loved it. I used to save the Styrofoam cup from school lunch and then plant cuttings all winter. I'd put the results out around the house in the spring.
It was a very cheap way to have flowers at Burden Lake.
I got some a great variety of colors from another teacher who had more variety than I have ever seen. Once planted they grew and expanded during the winter indoors and I could take cuttings from my own plants.
So, when I see impatience, I remember all those years.

In one spot the impatience were displayed in a huge bed where the shape of impatience was part of the show.

Here below are air plants (a typically epiphytic, sometimes rootless, tropical American plant with grasslike or fingerlike leaves through which water and airborne or waterborne nutrients are absorbed. ) They grow without soil. Here they are suspended with a stained glass multi paned window behind them. We supposed that when the sun was right, the stained glass panel threw color on the air plants. When we were there, the sun created a pattern of colored lights on the ground.

There were a few small groves of bamboo

And a couple bananas

Donna and Elizabeth on the rope bridge

Peter on the robe bridge

Some trees were huge. Some had intricate root patterns

Banyon Tree

In one area was a pond with tiny fish, large turtles and feeding heron.

Below is a wild coffee plant

While we walked in the gardens, we were right along the water with great views.

We even had our fisheman

In between we ate great food partly because Donna and Peter have some experience in the area and now great places. At the Sand Bar restaurant we ate outside and watched a sunset. I had Amberjack over spinach. Great.

The second night we went to the beach and I went in the water. It was very cold, but I adjusted and had a good swim. The water was calm that day, so I could actually get out in deep water and swim without worrying about my eye. I was so tired before I went that I really just plopped on a bench at the end of the botanical tour, but that water woke me up for the rest of the night.
I have no photos of that beach. It was called

http://www.escape-to-sarasota.com/coquina-beach.html

The beach is named after a shellfish

http://www.eattheweeds.com/coquina-tasty-tiny-clam/

At the Swordfish Grill we did not eat coquina, but I ate 12 oysters done in three ways:

Oysters Rockefeller Broiled with spinach, cheese and bacon
Garlic Parmesan Oysters Broiled with garlic and Parmesan cheese
Bacon Jalapeno Oysters Broiled with bacon and cheddar jack cheese
It was a great meal. I had a salad as well and took the leftovers back for my breakfast.

DAY THREE WE HEADED UP TO SEE MARY IN SEMINOLE FLORIDA

On our way we stopped at the Florida Maritime Museum a perfect visit for me. It was full of sailing boats. Peter has an interest in those and listening to him talk to the volunteer I learned a good deal. Many of these were boats used for fishing, mostly net fishing that now is illegal, but in the old days was what happened on this island.

There were plenty of photos, paintings, and such of fish

These old motors reminded me of my childhood

There was also a huge tool display, since tools were used to make these working boats.

I was amazed at how many of these duplicate my grandfather's tools. They could be identical duplicates.

Finally we said good-bye to our generous hosts Peter and Donna and drove up to see Mary at her daughter Carla's house in Seminole. We had a fine visit and a good seafood meal at Crabby Bill's. They advertise local seafood and Gulf shrimp. It is so ironic that so often we find shrimp from Thailand here in Florida. And even our favorite restaurant has started to serve Swai as their whitefish. At least they tell us what it is. The popular grouper in Florida is hard to nail down. Some estimates are that 70% of what is on the menu is not grouper. I've even read of the switch being made on the fishing boats, so the restaurant knows nothing about it. Much of the grouper is not local, but imported from other countries. It is almost impossible to regulate seafood from other countries.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147399-i213-k7934148-When_it_is_not_Grouper-Providenciales_Turks_and_Caicos.html

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/08/05/Tampabay/You_order_grouper_wha.shtml

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/travel/26choice.html

Often in seafood places in Florida I am tempted to try a fish that I have not eaten. But I do it less these days because of this ciguatera fear, although I did eat Amberjack, not knowing it was one of those reef fish. This is more an issue in the Caribbean than up North here . There have been no reported cases in fish from Shelly's Fish Market. And we fish the reef when we go out in the Gulf here and have had no difficulty. Still, it is a worry. It tends to have us eating more stone crab and shrimp.

https://www.allatsea.net/ciguatera-reef-fish-eat-eat/