How is it almost over a month since I published the last blog - time has just flown! We have had an absolue blast with all of our close family taking in the Anna Maria Island Florida sunsets but have been saddened watching news of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene only days after we returned home from our happy place on the Gulf coast of America.
Anna Maria Island
As a family, we have visited Anna Maria Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida many times over the years when the children were younger- it was our ultimate happy place. It is situated just below Tampa and is a small barrier island, no wider than a few hundred metres and about 6 miles long.
We talk alot in our YouTube videos about travel adventures versus holidays and this was definitely a well earned holiday where we didn't hold back on food, drink and fun with the family. There were 12 of us altogether and it was wonderful having quality time catching up with everyone, cooking up big feasts and getting down to the beach.
One of the things Anna Maria island is well known for is it’s long white powdery, sandy beaches edged by the tall sea grasses and crystal blue waters. The sea on this occasion was not as great as we have seen it due to torrential storms that they have experienced for the back end of the summer leading to flood water draining into the sea from the Manatee River– but this did not put us off enjoying our time on the beaches.
One of our favourite things about the island is its stunning sunrise and sunsets where the colours of the sky change by the minute. At times it looks as though it is on fire. We spent many evenings down on the beach watching the last rays of the huge orange orb dip into the ocean.
I only made one sunrise – but it was a spectacular one! We got up and took our donut breakfast to the City Pier which is on the bay side of the island overlooking Tampa Bay with the impressive Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the background.
When we arrived in the semi darkness the pier was lit up from underneath and looked quite stunning in itself. However, as the rising sun cast a rosy hue across the morning sky and the colours reflected on the still ocean waters, my heart literally skipped a beat – it was simply beautiful. So much more calm and serene than the hustle and bustle of the beach at sunset when everybody is around.
Even more surreal on that beautiful morning was catching sight of the full harvest moon at dawn which gave an eerie glow to the waters as the fishermen bobbed around in their tiny boats.
We spent many happy hours as a family fishing on the pier. I have to admit as much as I loved the thrill of catching a fish, I loved the bargain of a $2.50 happy hour beer in the hot sun even more! Most afternoons, you could literally cast your rod in to the waters and catch a pin fish with in seconds – they appeared to like our bait of left over bbq chicken! Luke had one memorable afternoon when the mackeral were running and caught several keepers.
The City Pier is probably the best place on the island to spot dolphins and there was one family pod that came by every afternoon and put on quite the show, breaching out of the water and swimming under the wooden planks below us. This holday we saw more dolphins than ever before.
Florida is famous for its manatees which are large herbivorous sea mammals that gently drift their way up and down the coast in search of sea grasses and other aquatic plants – they are enormous but very docile. They are also known as sea cows and are pretty hard to spot. Only myself and Richard saw one in the 2 weeks and that was on the last day as she drifted underneath the wooden boards of the Rod and Reel pier.
We had a fab family trip to watch the baseball at the Tropicana Fields stadium in Tampa. We had spotted that the tickets were only $10 a person for a game between the Tampa Bay Rays v Boston Redsox. It was really entertaining both watching the baseball and people watching in the stadium and by the end of the game I think most of us even understood what was going on!!
Something I love about being in Florida is the birds and we found a spot on the south of the island where they all seemed to congregate – the fishing must have been extra good in this area for them. From the comicalness of the pelicans with their great big bills that billow when they have swooped to catch their prey to the eagle eyedness of the great blue heron who stands nearly as tall as myself – they all hung around on the dilapidated pier and signs staring out to sea.
We indulged in several American breakfasts at our favourite café ‘Ginny and Jane E’s’. We are always amazed at the sheer size of the plates and learnt to share a breakfast by the end of the week so the food did not go to waste!
Hurricane Helene Devastation
We had the most wonderful 2 weeks on the island and when we left on the Saturday morning there was no mention of a hurricane developing out on the Gulf of Mexico. But we have watched with sadness as the hurricane gained force and the island was evacuated due to a predicted storm surge of up to 8ft.
As I said previously, the island is only a few hundred metres wide and 6 miles long with a high point of no more than a few feet. The storm surge was vicious and covered the island in a deep layer of sand and water. Many homes have been severly flooded, roads washed away and those roads that were left intact had up to 3 feet of sand covering them and were impassable. Swimming pools have been deluged, shops and restaurants swamped with sand and no power and water for days.
One of my favourite places on the island - the Rod and Reel pier has been destroyed. It's hard to believe the 2 photos below were taken only 5 days apart!
The clean up operation has been going on in ernest for over 10 days and now the poor Floridians appear to be bracing themselves for the next hurricane that is due to hit the coast midweek with Anna Maria Island sadly seeming to be in the direct path.
Our hearts go out to the people who call the island their home and the business's that have been devastated and we hope they are able to battle their way through the next hurricane and get prepared for their winter high season which is rapidly approaching.
You can see more of just how wonderful the island is on our latest YouTube video on the link below:
In our next blog - we take an impromptu campervan trip to the Lake District, explore more of our local hills in the Dales and continue the saga of subsidence at Richards mum's house.
Have a great week
Jackie and Richard
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