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Old 14 Sep 21, 05:40 PM  
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Mqt
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Join Date: Jan 15
AMI After a 15 Night Layover, Day 2, 4th September-Shopping (Again!) and The Boat Ramp

Oh dear. I feel I’m starting with another apology! Today is a boring day again but I promise it will get better. After 2 weeks in Jamaica where Mr Mqt actually had (mostly) a holiday and didn’t work too much (courtesy of the grandchildren being there), he has a lot of catching up to do and I’m enjoying just chilling and pottering around.

As we are here for a good while, we don’t need to rush to fit things in. Equally, as we are (usually!) here regularly, we don’t always do all the touristy things but tend to visit some less well-known places, which I’ll show you as the report moves on.

So, as far as today goes, Mr M worked all day (UK time) and I spent the first part of the day reading and ordering some more ‘stuff’

First I made breakfast. The ‘healthy’ eating regime (not!) saw me making some rather suspect-looking blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and cream. I promise they tasted better than they looked!
Oh dear…..


I then faffed about half-heartedly doing some Pilates and press-ups for half an hour (note to self-I must find the motivation so I can ensure I maintain some level of fitness whilst lounging about and eating all the stuff I don’t normally touch )

I then ordered a new fridge. The one we have was in the house when we bought it and works fine but looks dated. We always intended to replace it at some stage and the Labour Day sales proved to be the ideal time. This was ordered for delivery on the 15th and I spent the next couple of hours on FaceTime with my lovely family. As soon as one call ended, someone else rang. I also had a good chat with my best friend who I’ve known since childhood.

We’d decided that with it being Labour Day weekend, the restaurants might be fairly busy and as the time came for us to leave the house, it was peak time and we didn’t want to wait around for a table as we wanted to walk to our nearby public boat ramp before sunset.

So, with the healthy eating regime in mind, we ordered 2 large Dominos between the two of us! Once we’d polished those off, we set off.

There are 4 public boat ramps on Anna Maria and as the name suggests, anyone can take their boats (or kayaks) and easily launch them into the water. The one near to us is in a great spot and is very quiet, with some seating and shade. It’s also the home of the Fire Rescue Boat. We’d decided to wander down to see if we could spot any dolphins or manatees.

As we arrived, a fire engine roared up and the crew ran out and jumped onto the Rescue Boat. They were about to head off to ‘rescue’ a young couple who had somehow got stranded in the gulf with their paddle boards. They quickly got it lowered and were beavering away, starting the engines and untying it from the dock. There was a palpable air of excitement amongst the crew, with one of the younger ones saying this was his first proper ‘rescue’. However, this was short-lived as they received a call from Base stating the couple were now safe. Undoubtedly pleased that the couple were fine, they were so disappointed that they weren’t taking the boat out! I don’t think the fire station sees much action on Anna Maria so this would have been a chance to put their training into action. So, with shoulders slumped, they trudged back to the fire engine.

Fire Rescue Boat


Side of the boat ramp which leads out to the bay and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico


Sadly no dolphins or manatees tonight but lots of fish and a splendid heron.


We stayed and watched the colours changing at sunset and wandered home for an ice cream and a glass of wine, just delighted to be back and enjoying ‘the little things’ which often make for a great holiday.

Edited at 06:33 PM.
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