An Ice Cream a Day is the Moreton Way! - Day 13 Anna Maria Island

[LLKJDisney]

DAY 13 – ANNA MARIA ISLAND
Wednesday 5th June 2019

It was the final full day of the holiday and these were the wonderful views we were waking up to from our apartment.

We didn’t have a great deal planned but we wanted to explore more of the island. We knew that sitting on the beach all day was not an option unless we wanted to go home looking like lobsters.


Although the beds in the apartment were nowhere near as comfortable as the ones in the villa, we still managed a decent night’s sleep. The plan was always to go to Ginny and Janie’s for breakfast. I had wanted to go here last time we visited Anna Maria but we never made it. I knew it was very popular and that we may have to wait for a table. After a few tries we eventually found a place to park the car and we joined the long queue of people waiting to order. There system is that you queue up and order your food, they then give you a number and then you have to find a table. However, finding a table is not easy and you are basically waiting for people to take their last mouthful of food before trying to jump in their seats. It took us about 15 minutes but we got seated just before our food arrived. The food was excellent and very filling. There was a shop inside the restaurant that sold a lot of arts and crafts that were made by local artists. Some of it was very nice but a little on the expensive side for us.

We took a little drive around the island, seeing the old jail house and the local school. I could definitely see myself living on Anna Maria Island. We parked up and just strolled along the beach, it was nice not to have to rush about and just go at our own pace.

Once our breakfast had gone down, we decided to hit the beach just for a couple of hours, the boys were desperate to get back in the water and play. After plastering ourselves in sun cream including our feet, we walked across the road and set up camp. We were straight in the water splashing around. We spotted a group of lads jumping off the end of the jetty into the ocean, they were having great fun. Lee decided he wanted a piece of the action and went for it. The end of the Jetty is probably about 80 metres from the beach.

So, Lee took the plunge (literally) and belly flopped into the ocean and then for reason only known to himself he thought it would a good idea to swim the 80 metres back to shore rather than the 10 metres back to the side of the jetty and climb out. After about 40 metres I think the penny dropped for Lee that swimming back was not a great idea. After shouting at me to help him a few times, he realised that swimming to the side would be the best option. I am many things, but Pamela Anderson is not one of them 😊

After Lee had recovered from his near-death experience (that’s how he tells it), we relaxed a little bit before going back to the apartment. Despite the sun cream we were all very red and surprisingly tired. We took it turns to shower and attempt to remove sand from every nook and cranny on our body. We watched a bit of tv and took advantage of the wi-fi. Thoughts quickly turned to dinner and we left it up to the boys to choose and they went for Chilli’s, mainly because they have table top games that they can play. The nearest one was about 12 miles away. After missing a couple of turns we made it to Chilli’s which was nearly empty. Although there was a group of 6 staff going through their induction day. I can’t for the life of me remember what we had but if I were a betting woman, I would say I had the Fajitas as I always have these at Chilis.


Once back on the island, we parked up near the Rod ‘n’ Reel pier again and took our favourite walk up to the beach for the final time.

Once on the pier, Lucas continued to give us heart failure, there are no sides to the pier so it would be quite easy for an inquisitive 7-year-old to fall in the ocean from about 10 feet. Thankfully he stayed dry and I was spared my Pamela Anderson tribute act for the 2nd time in the day.

We watched people fish again, and then we spotted everybody looking over to the left and then suddenly 3 dolphins popped up no more than 5 metres away from the edge of the pier. It was amazing and a site I had dreamed about.

Photo isnt great - sorry

There were people in the water who were also really close to them. The played for ages sometimes together sometimes on their own. It was as if they knew people were watching them and taking photos. It was amazing to see them free and just doing what they wanted. There were also some pretty big pelican birds swooping down every so often and trying to grab the fish in the water.
We sat on the Pier and watched the sunset for the final time on this years holiday. A warm but sad feeling in our hearts to be leaving tomorrow, and one of the most beautiful sunsets i have seen!

It was a perfect last evening, we really do love it here and probably wished we had more than 2 nights here. If you haven’t been to AMI, I highly recommend it. Just like last night we finished off the day with The Moreton tradition of an ice cream a day from Two scoops, in fact I think I had a milkshake. I also purchased a Two scoops t-shirt and fridge magnet which I love, and a lovely reminder of one of our favourite places on earth!

We had a little bit of packing to do, the apartment was fairly tidy as we had hardly been in there, we did have to try and remove a lot of the sand that we bought back with us from the beach. We were happy but sad at the same time, we knew tomorrow was a horrible day and that our 2019 adventure would be over, but it had been the perfect way to spend our last full day in Florida.

[Tinkermom]

We love Anna Maria, it’s truly a piece of heaven on Earth. We’re spending 10 nights there this summer, can’t wait. Thanks for sharing

[SnowWhite]

What a lovely trip report; thank you so much for sharing Jakes Mom
I really must make the effort and write one when we're there in October.
We're being greedy this year and have already spent 17 days at Anna Maria, in fact we only got back to cold and dreary Kent 11 days ago and have already booked for 8 days in October lol
Although we've been to Anna Maria many, many times, we only discovered what is now our 'must have' AMI accommodation in 2018 - It's in Holmes Beach, just steps away from the beach, owned by a fabulous couple who truly go the extra mile to make our visits the best! October will be our 3rd time in the same apartment... cannot wait to be back there

[walt4it]

What a lovely way to enjoy your final day of the holiday - despite Lee's "near death" experience.
Anna Maria Island is simply the most incredible place on earth - I'm glad you had the same thoughts that we did there - simply thinking it would be the most amazing place to live and is just the most beautiful place on earth.
Ginny and Janes is wonderful for food , but I agree that the stuff in the shop is overpriced for what it is - Floridian tat!
To see dolphins in their natural habitat coming to see you and the sunset are just more reasons that this place is beyond comparison. and possibly why you remember the hours spent there so vividly instead of the days of theme parks and the hustle of Orlando.

Beautiful pictures and so many happy memories.

[smithlane]

What a perfect way to end your holiday. We love Ginny and Jane E's, such a quirky place.
A lovely day on the beach, I'm glad you didn't have to rescue Lee . Men eh
How amazing that you got to see dolphins at the end of the day.
After spending only 3 nights on AMI in 2017 we knew we wanted longer so booked a week for the following year. It has a certain pull on you that's difficult to explain to anyone that hasn't been before.

[LLKJDisney]

Originally Posted by smithlane

What a perfect way to end your holiday. We love Ginny and Jane E's, such a quirky place.
A lovely day on the beach, I'm glad you didn't have to rescue Lee . Men eh
How amazing that you got to see dolphins at the end of the day.
After spending only 3 nights on AMI in 2017 we knew we wanted longer so booked a week for the following year. It has a certain pull on you that's difficult to explain to anyone that hasn't been before.

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I know right! bloody Men
AMI definitely has a pull, this was our 2nd trip to the island and would always look to go again in future trips xx

Originally Posted by Tinkermom

We love Anna Maria, it’s truly a piece of heaven on Earth. We’re spending 10 nights there this summer, can’t wait. Thanks for sharing

See more...

Oh I am jealous, such an amazing place on earth - thanks for reading xx

Originally Posted by SnowWhite

What a lovely trip report; thank you so much for sharing Jakes Mom
I really must make the effort and write one when we're there in October.
We're being greedy this year and have already spent 17 days at Anna Maria, in fact we only got back to cold and dreary Kent 11 days ago and have already booked for 8 days in October lol
Although we've been to Anna Maria many, many times, we only discovered what is now our 'must have' AMI accommodation in 2018 - It's in Holmes Beach, just steps away from the beach, owned by a fabulous couple who truly go the extra mile to make our visits the best! October will be our 3rd time in the same apartment... cannot wait to be back there

See more...

17 Days! WOW how lovely! We stayed at Holmes Beach last time we went - Have the most amazing time xx thanks for reading

Originally Posted by walt4it

What a lovely way to enjoy your final day of the holiday - despite Lee's "near death" experience.
Anna Maria Island is simply the most incredible place on earth - I'm glad you had the same thoughts that we did there - simply thinking it would be the most amazing place to live and is just the most beautiful place on earth.
Ginny and Janes is wonderful for food , but I agree that the stuff in the shop is overpriced for what it is - Floridian tat!
To see dolphins in their natural habitat coming to see you and the sunset are just more reasons that this place is beyond comparison. and possibly why you remember the hours spent there so vividly instead of the days of theme parks and the hustle of Orlando.

Beautiful pictures and so many happy memories.

See more...

Yes Lee is still getting over his "near death" experience - like a big drama queen! Floridian tat didnt want to say that but agree!

Thanks for reading x

[SnowWhite]

Originally Posted by Jakes Mom

17 Days! WOW how lovely! We stayed at Holmes Beach last time we went - Have the most amazing time xx thanks for reading
Thanks for reading x

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Thank you, we surely will

[Lola]

We had a day trip to Anna Maria at Christmas just the remind ourselves how good it is. A week booked in October in a house for chilling post Disney. A favourite place