Day Three: Rain and More Rain

Anniversary Day!

Our anniversary started off with a fantastic breakfast of eggs benedict at First Watch, my first visit to Whole Foods, and some shopping in downtown Sarasota - used books for J and special anniversary earrings for me - our tradition. :-) We drove through St. Armand's Circle, but it wasn't as easy to appreciate it's bevy of beauty through the torrential downpour. We circled through, pointed out all the things we would have liked to see and do, and turned back toward Sarasota. After an enjoyable and extended pitstop at Borders, we left with a sack full of books and got soaked outside once again. A light lunch at The Hub/Baja Grille with draft beer, salad, chips & queso was just what we needed as we waited the rain out, and now we are back to the room where I am ready to hit the beach despite the little rumble of thunder that just sneaked through our hotel walls.

Just like the day before, the clouds parted by late afternoon, and I spent the rest of the day soaking up the sun until it was time for it to depart. I lounged on the beach for hours, walked with J to the rocky point at the end of the shore and collected more shells until he grew jealous of my seashell obsession (indeed, it's a new favorite thing of mine!!) and retreated inside to clean up for dinner and read books. I stayed outside a bit longer, checked out the pool for a few laps, then showered up for our nightly ritual of cocktails and sunset appreciation before dinner. The clouds that had rolled in parted briefly for some final pink sun rays and then the hazy and lazy neon-glow gave way to the gorgeous full moon that accompanied our entire trip, and we made our way back to St. Armand's to dine al fresco at The Columbia, which never fails to wow. We split a famous "1905 salad" with the mythically tasty crusty cuban bread, tapas for two, and a side of Valencia rice. This "light" alternative to full entrees was far more than enough food for two people, and we made a pact then and there to share more food since it's often wasted with the gigantic portion sizes that are the unfortunate norm. We strolled the circle and stopped in at Kilwin's for a cone of banana-fudge-pie ice cream that rocked my world before heading back for one final night at our beloved little beach resort. This area of Florida intrigues me - we've run into families today from both England and Germany, and our hotel neighbors have interesting European accents that I can't quite place. And I thought our drive was a long one... :-)