Florida: AMI to Sarasota

Day 185
NM Today: 18
NM Total: 3529

When we got off the boat this morning to make our final morning trek to this marina's washroom facilities, we disturbed a flock of turkey buzzards scavenging food from dead fish beached by low tide. The number of birds that flew out of the jungle next to the boat and their squawking made me quite nervous. There must have been twenty of them that all emerged from the brush together and then swooped around waiting for us to depart the area. I was quite uncomfortable walking around beneath them.

Turkey Buzzards
swooping through the air around our boat

Besides a large number of turkey buzzards, we saw dozens of pelicans holding convention and then later spread out over the water near the marina.

First the Pelicans convene

And then they spread out to cover as much territory as possible

We left Anna Maria Island at 11:30 as we said a final farewell to the jungle and its inhabitants next to the boat. Two hours later we pulled into dock at Marina Jack in Sarasota.

Marina Jack in Sarasota, FL

The move from resort town (AMI) to city (Sarasota) presented a somewhat drastic change in scenery though Sarasota offers a mixed bag from tall skyscrapers to lush green parks. We went for a long walk through the city to see what we could find.

View from the boat

At the marina

Me walking up to the office to check in

 Walking around the city ...

War Memorial Park

Banyan Tree in Park

Yet another park

Walking through Historic Downtown

Jungle-like foliage in city

Bayfront Park at Sunset

Dolphin Fountain at Sunset

Bayfront Park

We watched the pelicans diving for fish. They were amazingly successful in coming up with dinner on each dive! The pelican in Clark's videos really enjoys his meal!

Bayfront Park

Sunset Selfie

Friend's boat "Harmony" with sunset in background

As we walked back towards the boat, we came across our looper friends Donnadee and Wayne from Always Home. They are staying in Sarasota at Marina Jack for two full months. We chatted for a while as we walked. Clark convinced Donnadee to take our picture under a big tree with character.

Sitting under the Banyan Tree

 We arrived back at the marina in time to capture a sunset picture from the docks.

View from marina at sunset

Long before we got back to the marina my Fitbit counted out my day's quota of 10,000 steps, but we still had a lot further to go before the end of the day. Our walk through Sarasota took us numerous blocks to arrive at our destination, the Publix, to buy some milk, eggs, and a few other items I needed. While there Clark pointed out that they had laundry baskets for sale.

Since I have been unable to find a "normal" one in places like Walmart, where they are all shapes and sizes except normal, I bought it. With several blocks to walk back to the boat, Clark asked me if I was sure I wanted to haul it all the way back, and I said, "Yes!!" As we walked, Clark took one handle and I took the other making it a bit more convenient to carry it around with us.

When we got to the places where Clark wanted to take pictures, I carried the basket. I enjoyed strange looks from folks as I walked around with my empty laundry basket. At one point I sat in the park with it by my side and a woman came up to me to ask if I was doing my wash. Finally, when I came across Donnadee, she asked me why I was carrying around my laundry basket, and I said I was just enjoying getting odd looks and comments from folks. She said, "It sure makes a good conversation piece."

After dropping off our groceries and my new laundry basket at the boat, we headed right back out again. Clark offered to buy me NY-style Pizza at a restaurant we passed on our tour. I was not about to pass that up! As Clark was looking at Google Maps while we walked, he stumbled across a Whole Foods grocery store. We agreed that after we finished our pizza, we would head to Whole Foods to pick up some cookies.

All the cookies we can find in regular food stores have partially-hydrogenated oils in them, and Clark has sworn off eating foods with that particular ingredient. We found a variety of cookies at Whole Foods with all natural ingredients, so we bought one of each of the types we like - Fig Newmans, all-natural Ginger Snaps, and Vanilla Sandwich cookies. Hopefully theses will keep us well-stocked and healthy for a while.

We walked past an ice cream store after our trek to Whole Foods. The flavor list was visible from the window, so we did not go in but read the list from outside the store. I saw no flavors that beckoned me. Since we had each eaten quite a bit of pizza, we decided to pass on dessert. I could not comfortably accommodate any more food in my belly!

When we got back to the boat after dinner, my Fitbit read 17,220 steps for the day or 7.6 miles. I was very happy that I changed to sneakers with good arch support before we went out exploring! The sneakers I bought before our trip have totally lost all the foot support they ever offered. I have worn them out and I need to retire them to protect my feet from injury.