Sarasota/Siesta Key, FL

Thanks to a gift from our friends Mark and Laurie Stafford, we had a wonderful two weeks at Calini Beach Club on Siesta Key/Sarasota (#1 beach in the USA). Cori, Andy, Logan, and Jordan flew down and stayed with us at the condo for the first week we were there.

Logan really likes high-adventure, so we went parasailing and paddle boarding, but the 6 mph boat ride at Myaka River State park put a few of us to sleep!

We enjoyed the pool at the condo, but everyone loved the beach and time playing in the ocean. We looked for and found some real treasures during our evening walks on the beach. We saw lots of live conchs, some crab, starfish, and Jordan’s favorite were the little slimy thingys 😳.

We ate out a couple of times, but mainly I let Cori do all the cooking 😋. Andy was the main grill man (I think he cooked about three dozen hotdogs!). One night, Cori & Andy, Logan & Jordan introduced us to the Subzero Icecream place. While we waited in line, something got into Kenny and he decided we should have a little fun. It started with Cori having to repeat her name a couple of times to the worker who took her order. Then it was Andy’s turn. He placed his order and gave his name. I was next and followed Kenny’s instructions. I gave my order and said, “My name is Andi, with an ‘I’. I got a funny look and there were some giggles, but then Kenny placed his order and said his name was Ande with an ‘E’. Of course, Cori and Andy, Logan, and Jordan had no idea what we were up to, and were looking at us like we had lost it, but the best part was when the workers had to call out our names! Oh, and the ice cream was so good that Kenny and I went back the next week (without our aliases).

Cori was the group event planner, and as such she had her hands full getting group consensus on everything… Where to eat, what to do, where to go… She did a great job, except for the boat rides… The Myaka River boat ride was interesting, but slow. It was later reported that at least a couple of us took a nap on the boat. Afterwards, we had lunch there and both Logan and Andy tried the alligator bites 😳. As for me, I had the chicken nuggets… Or at least I think that’s what they were!

A few days later, our event coordinator (aka Cori) planned another boat ride for us. This time, we were on our own with a “fun boat” (pontoon without the pontoons) and after a brief training session Captain Andy (with a Y) went full throttle from the dock and headed for the opposite bank! I’m not sure, but I think everyone in the boat and even some people on the dock were giving Andy way too much advice at that moment, but finally everyone calmed down and Andy got us out to the Intercoastal Waterway just fine. We saw lots of beautiful homes along both shores and some great boats on the water, and I really liked the interesting bird nests on sign posts, but I rediscovered something that I had forgotten over the last 20 years… I don’t like boat rides. So, when we docked halfway through our journey for a bio-break, I got off the boat with a migraine and went back to the condo. After another brief delay, the others went back out. I don’t think it was our cup of tea, but we sure did give it a try, and kudos to Captain Andy (with a Y) for taking on a job that no one else wanted!

Sadly the next afternoon, Cori and her family left us and flew back to St. Louis. We missed them instantly, but by Sunday we were back on the beach soaking up the sun, which is pretty much how we spent the rest of the week there.

In closing, thanks again to Mark and Laurie for the extra nice retirement gift! And, to everyone reading our RV travel blog, remember to be kind to one another and enjoy each day as it comes.