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August 18, 2006
Our Vacation in Pictures
During the first week of August, Melissa and I spent a much-needed vacation (our last one before the baby comes) on Lido Key on the southwest Florida coast. Lido Key is adjacent to Sarasota, Longboat Key, Siesta Key and St. Armand's Key.
(Click on each photo for a larger view.)
After exhaustive Internet research at the beginning of the summer, we booked a room at the Helmsley Sandcastle. While the hotel is in need of a wholesale updating, it was clean, not at all crowded, and located directly on a private beach.
The hotel also had two pools and a REALLY good restaurant. We ate breakfast there every day, out on the porch amongst the birds that call the hotel home. The funniest moment of the trip happened when a crow swooped down onto a neighboring table, stole a jelly packet, and flew away with it.
Just down the street was St. Armand's circle, an upscale shopping/dining area on St. Armand's Key. We became quite fond of the neighborhood pizza place, which was manned with guys with New England accents and tasted like Naples back home. Good stuff.
In the center of St. Armand's Circle is a green area bordered my monuments to circus performers and personnel. Circus magnate John Ringling originally developed the area.
We decided to rent a car for the trip. We got a good deal on the car -- a Suzuki Forenza -- and it got great gas mileage. Though the air conditioning left a lot to be desired.
Food was a big part of our vacation. We ate very well. Here, Melissa smiles upon receiving a lobster roll at the Lobster Pot in Siesta Key. I had the clam strips. Both were phenomenal. We will be back.
We spent a few hours at the Mote Marine Laboratory up the street. It's as much a hospital as an aquarium, and it was interesting to watch a manta ray get its shots. In addition to sharks, dolphins and a wide variety of fish, sea turtles and manatees were also on hand. Ever since a manatee swam up to me at Fort Pierce a couple of summers ago, I've really dug manatees.
Here's a fun fact about manatees:
After leaving the hotel on Friday, we met Melissa's parents at a hotel about 45 minutes from Tampa so that we could go to the Red Sox/Devil Rays game (the only one the Sox won in the series) that night. The Red Sox got Javy Lopez that day, and he caught Curt Schilling, who had a steallr outing. David Ortiz hit two home runs, and Gabe Kapler made a KILLER play right in front of us in right field, cutting down a guy trying to stretch a single into a double. Red Sox fans far outnumbered Devil Rays fans, so cowbells were given out to folks sporting Rays gear. The Sox fans were still louder, however.
We spent our last day of vacation at Melissa's folks' house, where they threw us a surprise baby shower upon our arrival. While we still have a long way to go in the baby supply department, we got lots of great stuff.
So, there you have it. Our vacation. In pictures.
Family News | By colrus | 12:11 AM
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