An Ice Cream a Day is the Moreton Way! - Day 12 Orlando to Anna Maria Island (AMI)

[LLKJDisney]

DAY 12 – LEAVE ORLANDO FOR ANNA MARIA ISLAND
TUESDAY 4TH JUNE 2019

As we had done almost all of the packing it was just a case of making sure the Villa was clean and tidy and packing up the car. We had breakfast in the Villa and what we hadn’t eaten we put in the car to take with us for the next couple of days. We put the pool cover on as best we could, why do they never fit perfectly? The boys were sad as they knew they didn’t have their own pool in Anna Maria, I did tell them they would have a whole ocean across the road for them to play in.

We took the final pictures outside the Villa before we began the journey, we had enjoyed our stay in this lovely home and were a little sad to be leaving it behind, including the boys.

Having done the journey to Anna Maria before we know it’s not the most exciting drive there is in America but the final destination is worth it.

On our way there we decided to drop in on Ellenton Premium Outlets which are about 30 minutes out from AMI. We had a little mooch around but didn’t really find many bargains. A few Yankee candles and the usual Tshirts, Jacob was still hunting for the perfect pair of football boots, which I was starting to think did not exist! He never found them at Ellenton either! So we pressed on towards Anna Maria.

Once we arrived on the island we found the apartment without any problem however we were too early to check in, so having spotted Joes Ice Cream parlour just up the road we decided to go for an ice cream as we weren’t hungry enough for lunch. I had read about Joes Place, before coming out and was looking forward to trying it out. Parking is limited but there are tight spaces underneath the café itself. Every establishment had signs up saying parking was for customers only, roadside parking is not practical so sometimes you have to wait a bit for space. Joes was quite quiet but there was still a few messy tables and the service was very slow. Despite this we enjoyed our ice cream and it wasted a bit of time.

I received a text from the owner saying the apartment was now ready. I had booked it through Air BnB and was a little bit sceptical as there was no key and the instructions on the email just said that the door would be open!

Despite my worries Everything was fine and the cleaner had left the door open. We unloaded the car and looked around (which didn’t take too long), it was only a small 2 bedroomed apartment with a small kitchen and living room but it was perfect for 2 days and we only planned to use it to sleep in and shower in after being on the beach. I had found places to have breakfast on the Island so it was very doubtful that we would even eat in there.

Being 50 yards from the beach there was only one thing to do, hit the beach! It was very warm so I took the umbrella that was in the apartment to try and stay in the shade. The sand was boiling and it was impossible to walk on it for too long. We had a lovely afternoon playing on the beach and splashing around in the water.

The temperature of the water is so nice at Anna Maria it really is like a warm bath. After a few hours our bellies began to rumble so we packed up and headed back to the apartment to shower and change.

We decided to head to the nearby Bob Evans for dinner, unfortunately none of us are big seafood fans and a lot of the restaurants on the island are seafood restaurants (obviously), I know that this wouldn’t be everyones choice but with the kids too we decided to stick with what we knew. It took us about 15 minutes to drive to Bob Evans which when we arrived was only a quarter full. It was an uneventful meal; both the service and food were very good.

We all by now had very red faces, although we had put sun cream on, we still looked like four tomato heads. Across the road from Bob Evans was a Bed, bath and Beyond store and I always love a little mooch around here so we popped in. I bought a lovely quote frame about life at the beach and a Florida chopping board, which now has pride of place in my kitchen!

We headed back towards the main island and drove to our favourite place on the island ‘2 Scoops’ ice cream shop.

This is probably the best ice cream shop we have ever been to; they have all kinds of flavours and they sell shakes, sundaes and anything else that’s made with ice cream. They also sell Tees and other clothing bits all branded with 2 scoops! I had my eye on one of these.

We then had a stroll along the beach up to the ‘rod ‘n’ reel’ pier where we watched the local’s fish for a bit. We didn’t see anybody catch anything but we enjoy talking to the locals about life on the island. We also spotted dolphins in the distance but couldn’t get a close enough view of them, I wished they had come closer.

Lee took a picture of this house he would like to buy one day.

We also spotted this protected turtle nest.

It had been a lovely day and Anna Maria was as beautiful as ever, we love it here, we are not the type of family to have beach holidays but spending 2 or 3 days here at the end of the holiday is now almost a must for us.

When back at the apartment we watched a bit of tv before going to bed. Tomorrow is our last full day, thankfully the forecast was good so most of it could be spent on the beach.

[smithlane]

Ah my favourite place in Florida! Your apartment looks perfect, was it near Bridge Street?
We also went to Joes Place for ice cream but your right they're no where near as good as Two Scoops.
Ending the evening by Rod and Reel is just perfect, such a lovely photo of the 4 of you

[LLKJDisney]

Originally Posted by smithlane

Ah my favourite place in Florida! Your apartment looks perfect, was it near Bridge Street?
We also went to Joes Place for ice cream but your right they're no where near as good as Two Scoops.
Ending the evening by Rod and Reel is just perfect, such a lovely photo of the 4 of you

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I think i remember Bridge Street being close by yes!
I just love Two Scoops the people are so friendly and the area is lovely.

Thanks for reading