The Latest from the B's

1/21/2011  Friday
Off to Key West (KW) Stopover in Deerfield Beach and revisited Ocean's Restaurant and walked The Pier which only costs you a dollar and a popular place to fish.   If you know your fish, the catch of the day were  Barjacks.
1/22/2011  Saturday
70's partly SUNNY!!  Continued trip in KW.  Slow highways but well worth it!  Our "studio" is on the ocean and what a view!!! What a find (quiet and private yet a nice walk to downtown and the waterfront)  iff this is studio living, we are in!  Within our view is Higgs Beach and the White Street Pier.  Lots of activity in view from our newly renovated deck.  Cruise ships, a few skidoos some parasailing. ....
1/23/2011  Sunday
Mid 60's Sunny and Breezy!  We took in the sun and then ventured out later in the day for a walk downtown and we passed by the "Southernmost 0 Mile Mark" of US 1 (at this point you are only 90 miles from Cuba).  We will be taking our pics from here before our stay is over.   Took a Bicycle Cab ride back.  What a day!!
1/24/2011  Monday
We walked ALL over from Downtown-Historic-Harborfront areas.  Lots of cruise ships are in port today!
We also took in the "Conch Train Tour" which gave us a good sense of the area  and all the hightlights!
1/25/2011 Tuesday
Mid 60's early on and cloudy so we drove around and picked up some fresh oysters, shrimp, scallops and stone crabs.  We will be enjoying some of the freshest catch of the area for a few days to come!!!  The afternoon weather was nicer and we did our walk to the Harborfront (no ships today-so the streets are rather quiet but very nice) and walked Duval Street (main street).  We had our Stone Crabs on the deck for an app (so delicious) and JB made his Fettucini Alfredo.  Great day!!

Disney Update

1/19/2011  Wednesday
We spent some time in Epcot.  We all did Soarin 2 times and Tam, Dave, G did Test Track 3 times and I sat out the 3rd round.  Also did Progress Tomorrowland.  We did our usual time poolside and then we travelled over to Universal Studios for dinner at the NBA restaurant. What an experience and the Celtics game was on while we finished dinner! Tam took some great pics of Gio in and outside.  Lots to tell about our time that we spent here.  Oh yes, we did stop by Cinnabon for Cinnabuns for dessert back at our hotel!!
1/20/2011  Thursday
We revisited Hollywood Studios for another helping of Tower of Terror!  Tam, G and JB went on it twice and Tam and G went on one more time with the extra Fast Passes.  We also took  in the Drew Carey show and the Back Lot Tour. JB and I did some packing for our next move to Key West tomorrow and then we did our pool visit - although it was cloudy but 70's-still not a bad deal!!!  Dinner was at the Wildernes Lodge -one of the newer Disney resorts- and lots of fun!!!  They have interactive waitstaff that are real characters and the food is too good!!!

Disneyized!

1/17/2011 Monday
We ate an early "Grillled Steak Dinner" at our Villa and then ventured out to Hollywood Studios seeing the weather had cleared.  We did the American Idol Show (and yes we did get to vote and move a contestant to the "Front of the line" for one of the future auditions across the US).  Also We all did Toy Story III and Tam, Dad and G did the Tower of the Terror!!!!

1/18/2011  Tuesday
Magic Kingdom -full speed ahead!
Space Mountain- Awesome, Pirates of the Carribean, Buzz Lightyear, Astro Orbiter, Thunder Mountain, Tea Cups and the Carousel........  It was a great day in the Kingdom!!!!
We spent a few hours at the pool and then went over to Epcot for dinner in China.  DELICIOUS!!1

1/17/2011 Monday

Happy Birthday Anna! Our Italian villa overlooks a view of the Disney and Epcot.  We are seeing fireworks every night from our balcony!!  No WIFI yesterday-up and running today.  Sunday's weather was Partly sunny and 74!!  We visited Downtown Disney and JB, Gio and myself went up in the Character Hot Air Balloon ride.  What a view!  The three of us also rented powe-r boats at the Capt'n Jack Mariner and Gio gave me a tour of the marina and lake.  Gio had a great time doing "donuts" in the water.  We did dinner at the Cape May Buffet on the Boardwalk property.  Delicious as always!!
Slow start today-we are having a fast moving storm so we shall wait for the weather to pass before we venture out.

On the road again-destination Orlando!

1/15/2011  Saturday
We packed in most of our stuff on Friday and enjoyed our last sunset on LBK.  We had a late dinner at Moore's Snow Crab Restaurant right on LBK and it was delicious!!!  The Snow Crabs were awesome!!!!   Nothing fancy-just great food and a waterview!!!
We shall hit the road after lunch to join Dave, Tam and Gio in Orlando later today!  Only a three hour drive or less to Olando so we are planning to take in some of the sites on our drive over.

Wednesday 1/12/2011

We found a Macy's at the Westfield Town Square Mall and I was able to purchase some "cooler weather" clothing "just in case" it is still cool in Orlando when we meet up with Tammy, Dave and Gio.  We ate a late lunch at an outdoor restaurant on Ocean Blvd in Siesta Key that had a heat lamp which was perfect and had a delicious  "grouper sandwich".  We made a phone call and connected with the Ranone's (neighbors of Tam, Dave in Gio in North Providence) who have a beautifull condo on Beach Rd in Siesta Key overlooking Siesta Key Beach!!!!   We planned to only stop in and say "hi".  Well, they are great entertainers and we didnt leave their home until 3 hours later after watchng a beautiful sunset from their lanai!!!  What a treat!

1/13/2011 Thursday

The highlight of our day was a "sunset walk on LBK Beach" and we finished it sitting outside of the Club House on the raised deck bench watching the sun set!  What a beauty!!

Monday 1/10/11 & Tuesday 1/11/11

Monday low 70's, sunny and very breezy.  We did venture out to do our walk and also some "good housekeeping".  We shall connect with a realtor to view some poperties in Naples on Tuesday.

Tuesday mid 60's Sarasota and sunny.  Naples (1 1/2 hours south) mid to high 70's and sunny!! Whew this was the hottest weather we have experienced with no complaints here!  We viewed some very nice communities and condos that we will keep in "our future search" file to consider for the down the road.

1/9/2011 Sunday

We ventured down the coast to Gasparilla Island to an area called Boca Grande.  We had to cross over a causeway and paid a $5 toll to see an area that had the feel of the Bahamas but VERY secluded! Oh did I mention we were offered a map of the island and as it turned out it was a good thing we took one.  We were able to find the Eagle Grille at the Charlotte Harbor and we were two of six people who were in the restaurant. JB talked to the host who mentioned that the owners of the Cafe Zelda on Thames Street in Newport were very involved with setting up the new format for the restaurant.  What are the chances of picking a place to eat that we would have something in common with one of the waitstaff? Well,we can cross off our "must see" list.  Very nice scenery but not much going on-at least not during this time of the year.  For you Seinfeld fans we did have a siteing of Boca Vista on our drive to Boca Grande-it is alive and well!

1/8/2011 Saturday

Another VBD!! Our usual am with a few hours on the beach!  We checked out "Thunder on the Bay" which  turned out to be a very mini Daytona bike event downtown but worth taking a look.  Lots of bikes!!!! 

1//6/11 Thursday

Another VBD!  We walked the beach, 65 - light wind-full sun so we spent 3 hours on the beach, drove up to Anna Marie at the end of LBK and ended the day on the deck with another colorful sunset!!!   Also saw Ginny's dolphins just after the sun set!  Thunder on the Bay this weekend-Sarasota's version of Bike Week.  Hmmm?

Catching Up Tuesday 1/4, Wednesday 1/5 and Thursday (today) 1/6

Tues-Too cool and cloudy for the Beach.  We packed a lunch and headed over the Causeway bridge that leads into Sarasota.  We sat and ate our lunch with a great waterview and then walked over the scenic bridge.  We drove into Sarasota and enjoyed a cocktail outside at Marina Jack's (yes turning into a favoirte spot right on the Bay) Another great sunset and an "Eat In Dinner of Rock Lobster Tails and Shrimp"!
Wed-  Definitely looking like a beach day!!!We did our am routine (breakfast, walk on the beach, JB's swim in the heated pool) and then it was lunch and 3 hours of sun on LBK beach about 73 and no breeze!!!  Cocktails, sunset and dinner at home base.
Thurs- Rainy start so we took care of some emails, phone calls and made a reservation for Deerfield Bch to stay overnight when we travel to Key West on the 21st after our stay with Tammy, Dave and Gio in Orlando.  We made contact with our realtor in Naples and plan to look at some properties there in the next few days.  We ventured over to St. Armands Circle for coffee at Kilwin's (a great spot to get the best ice cream, fudge and other goodies).  As usual we couldnt pass Publix (the local grocery store) without stopping in.  We enjoyed another colorful sunset (weather cleared out just in time).

1/2/2011 Sunday and 1/3/2011 Monday

We wanted to share this beautiful sunset from Lee's balcony!!!!
Yesterday (Sunday) we went to Mass at "our church" right across the street from Lee's condo.  It was kind of windy (not a sit on the beach day) so we went to St. Armands Circle and picked up a coffee and watched all the sites which is always fun.  We ate burgers at "Coconuts" then took a ride out to Siesta Key.  The beaches in this area are like powder (white and really soft sand).  We toured around a little then met up with a realtor and made some plans to see a few properties today.  Still looking for "the place" that will be best for us to settle.  We did our beach/street walk and had dinner on the balcony and watched a rather cloudy sunset in 70 degree temps!  All in all today was another nice day in FLA.

New Years Eve and New Year's Day

We spent our New Year's Eve in Sarasota with dinner at Mattison's (an ALL outdoor restaurant} and 75 degree weather!!!  Downtown was doing a "Dropping of the Pineapple" and a New Year's Eve Block Party that started at 2pm and was ending at 2am. This event drew about 20,000 visitors and was lots of  fun including music, food and dancing in the streets!  We made a lot of new friends who coindently were transplants from MA and RI.  A good time was had by all and we even hung in to see the "pineapple drop"!BIG NIGHT OUT!!!
So how was your New Years Eve?  HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!!!