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Old 13 Nov 16, 09:37 AM  
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karalma
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From the Beach to the Wilderness Day 4 Messing About on the Water

23.10.16
My day started at 2.30am, when I woke feeling unwell. I read and wrote my trip report for a couple of hours unitl I fell asleep again. Darren woke me with a cuppa at 7 as we needed to collect the boat at 8. Fortunately I felt fine when I woke but I decided to take it a little slower getting ready and I waited with Alix while the boys went for the boat. As we had a dock at our cottage they were going to come back and collect us. Alix and I got ready and waited... and waited... and waited. I didn't mind too much as I savoured just being there and feeling the warm sun, listening to the rustle of the trees and gurgling pool and watching the gentle flowing river, that was only disturbed occasionally by a jumping fish. It was still breezy but not as strong today.







I was just starting to wonder wether I should be concerned about the boys when I received a text saying they were 10 minutes away but half an hour later there was still no sign. Eventually, just after 10 Darren called to say they couldn't reach us as the water was too choppy near us and could we meet them at Bradenton Marina.

So Alix and I set off at a brisk pace to catch the free trolley that I knew was arriving soon. We made it just in time and enjoyed a pleasant ride to Bridge Street Pier where Darren met us. He was full of tales of how much they loved the boat and how they had seen manatees which made Alix quite excited, as well as their adventures of getting lost, getting stuck on a sand bank, in reeds and in choppy water which threw them about a bit. When we arrived at the marina I could tell by Matt's face how much he was enjoying it.





I had been confident that the boys would love their first time on the water but wasn't sure about Alix as she hates her hair blowing or getting wet but I took one look at her as we sped away and knew she loved the exhilaration of bouncing along the water. We stayed in the intracoastal waters as I wasn't too keen on having the kind of adventures the boys had had, although I would have liked to see manatees. I loved the beautiful views, camaraderie of waving to people on the other boats and gently floating along. I even enjoyed the speed when the boys raced away. However, I like my boats to be touching the water and not flying through the air so I didn't like it when we went so fast we were bouncing along or when we hit choppy water from another boat's wake or got stuck in shallow water.















The highlight though was spotting 3 dolphins. For some reason I had never expected this so it was a fantastic surprise. They were so playful and so close to us. We kept gently circling for about 20 minutes just watching them play and dance. We all loved it.













After a couple of hours fun we decided it was time for lunch so headed for Bridge Street Pier where I had seen a notice for public docking. We couldn't find a space to dock so sailed to the Marina.



After a little struggle the boys managed to dock it safely and off we went. Until we were stopped by a lady from the Marina office asking if she could take our name. Darren explained that we were just docking for lunch and she explained that we needed to pay if we weren't owners at the Marina but she was lovely and explained we could go back to the public docking at the pier. We decided to just pay the $19 rather than struggle to dock it again. That was the second day in a row we had somebody chasing us for money. Oops, hope Darren isn't making a habit of this.

The first restaurant we arrived at was Oma's pizza so we popped in there. We ordered a chicken Parmesan sandwich for Matt, a small cheese pizza for Alix and a large ham and mushroom pizza for Darren and I to share. We weren't expecting this:



The pizzas were so large they wouldn't both fit on the table.



The food was all delicious but we hardly made a dent in it so we asked to take the rest with us. Unfortunately, we never did finish it. Over lunch I decided not to go back to the boat. I had really enjoyed the couple of hours but I knew the others wanted to go faster than I liked and wanted to leave the gentle intracoastal waters to look for manatees. I also wanted to explore more of the island so we said our goodbyes and they headed back to the Marina and I headed for Bridge Strret shops.

I don't like mall shopping but I love browsing gift shops. In the first shop I bought a small shell wind chime to add to my collection at home. Last year I had become obsessed with wind chimes while sitting on the lanai in our villa listening to the wind chimes from next door. I bought my first one in AMI last year and have added a couple to the collection since. A little further along I couldn't resist another one that I spotted in a little outdoor side shop. This one is very colourful but much bigger so I hope I can fit it in the suitcase. Next was a short walk along a very hot beach



before I hopped on the trolley and headed to Manatee Beach. The trolley driver on here was great, giving everybody a tour of the island as he pointed out things of interest along the way.

I browsed more shops at Manatee Beach and took another short stroll along the beach before sitting and watching the world go by with a deliciously ice cold, freshly squeezed lemonade.




I then jumped back on the trolley to head back to the city pier. The trolley is great for cyclists too as bikes just fit onto the front of it. I took a stroll along a refreshingly breezy pier which was lovely after the hot beaches. A guy passing me commented that he had never seen a pier without sides before and I replied that I was pleased it wasn't windier.





Here I admired the fishermen - the feathered kind,





before I took a short stroll home, arriving back around 4.30. I then spent a peaceful hour in the screened area, eating ice cream and reading, before the others arrived home, very tired but very happy. Unfortunately they hadn't spotted any more manatees but Alix was happy with her dolphin sightings as they had seen more the second time.

It was time to cool down in the pool, which was very cool. I am pleased to say that both kids joined me but Darren declined as he was extremely tired and didn't fancy the cold water. I had done quite a bit of walking but who knew that messing around on the water was so tiring? Darren said it was the concentration needed that was mentally exhausting. Alix doesn't usually come in the pool but she decided that as her hair was already full of salt water a bit more wouldn't hurt.

The plan for this evening was to catch the trolley to one of the many beach restaurants and watch the sun set. But we were so tired and so enjoying the cottage that we decided to eat in again and cooked chicken on the barbecue. We all enjoyed sharing our experiences of the day and Matt said this holiday felt more natural than the manufactured Disney holiday.









Alix had not enjoyed AMI last year but this year she said she woukd like to come back. Matt finished last night's sea salt caramel and pretzel ice cream, declaring it the best ice cream ever. We had had an amazing day and were all crashed out and in bed by 8.00pm.
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Old 13 Nov 16, 10:19 AM  
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GALE88
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Fab dolphin pictures!
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Old 13 Nov 16, 06:02 PM  
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Hi ur day sounds fab. Can anyone hire a boat or do u need proof of experience or something? Can u please tell me how much it cost and where u rented it from? We are spending 3 days on AMI next April for the first time and this could be something we might do but we have no experience with boats. X
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March/April 2017 - 19 days at Port Orleans Riverside, Rosen Inn at Pointe & AMI
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Old 13 Nov 16, 09:35 PM  
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karalma
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Originally Posted by GALE88 View Post
Fab dolphin pictures!
I had heard people say how special it is to see Dolphins in the wild but had no idea how different it is. It was amazing.

Originally Posted by Jaynew View Post
Hi ur day sounds fab. Can anyone hire a boat or do u need proof of experience or something? Can u please tell me how much it cost and where u rented it from? We are spending 3 days on AMI next April for the first time and this could be something we might do but we have no experience with boats. X
We hired it from Cannon's Marina at Longboat Key as we didn't want to stay in the intracoastal waters but Bradenton Marina is closer and you stay in the intracoastal waters which I felt was safer. It cost us $460 including fuel for the full day. That might sound expensive but you can get up to 10 people on so the more people there are the better value. It was a highlight of our holiday so we felt it was well worth it.
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