We stayed at an adorable place called the Wicker Inn right on the beach in Longboat Key. It couldn't have been more perfect...
The beach was so quiet and sea turtle nesting season has just begun so all beachside properties are required to have their lights off at night so that the hatching babies can find the water by the light of the moon.
Every morning volunteers walk the beach and mark any new nests - this one was just outside our room...
We woke up early on the first day and enjoyed a lovely walk together...
There were tons of bird photo opportunities to try out my fabulous new camera - I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying my new hobby!
And of course I can take such pretty pictures of her...
...with him...:)
Mike and Maddy bought some fancy new snorkeling gear and had a blast playing around in the water as usual :)
In the evenings the sunsets were so beautiful...
It wouldn't be an Early trip if we didn't sneak off for some offbeat tourist sight seeing too. We found out about Sarasota Jungle Gardens on the Roadside America app. I got to feed flamingos!
And we saw this 79-year old cockatoo ride the very same unicycle as he had on the Ed Sullivan show back in the 70s!
We also found the 'Unconditional Surrender' statue in downtown Sarasota...
And got a round of applause from a crowd of strangers for this shot :)
And we couldn't resist a trip to the Amish/Mennonite community of Pinecraft. 3,000 people vacation here every year from Ohio/Pennysylvania and it was really interesting to see their community and get a feel for how they live. We ate at Yoder's restaurant, made famous by their appearance on Man vs.Food (clip here!)
The food was amazing :).
It was a completely perfect weekend and just what we needed. I feel so grateful for my family and this amazing place that we live in. And on this Memorial Day, I feel especially grateful for the service and sacrifice of those that have safeguarded our freedom. Life is good:)
