So the great thing about travelling there was how easy it was - we left from the airport that is literally 10 minutes down the street, the flight was one hour, and both airports were pretty small, so there were no headaches. I have never had such stress-free travel!
We got in at about 3 PM, picked up our keys, and headed to the house. Grady was immediately in love with the pool/hot tub (which we could control and didn't keep very hot).
an aerial shot, from one of the balconies
We mostly just swam in the pool, took a walk down to the beach (about 2 blocks away) where we found tons of shells, and waited for the grandparents to arrive. We grilled some dinner that night.
The next day (Sunday) was sort of cool and cloudy in the AM, so we headed to the Mote Aquarium, which was super cool. They had 2 different touch tanks, a huge shark tank, dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, lots of jellyfish (G loves jellyfish), and tons more.
Before heading to the aquarium we took a morning swim. We basically fit in a swim whenever possible.
waiting to get in to the aquarium
hard to get a good picture, but the beautiful jellyfish were mesmerizing
The first touch tank - crabs, urchins, and sea snails
The second touch tank - sting rays that were so friendly! We have them at our science center and they often won't come too close, but these ones would come right at you!
They had a special sea horse area too - they basically had a hatchery where there were babies only 3 days old! This was outside that area
The best part - manatees! They were enormous, and I think they were the only animal there that I had never seen before, which was cool.
This was so cute - measuring up to a manatee
Then we saw the dolphins. They don't do shows or anything because they are really more about rescuing animals and not training them. But the dolphins were still just playing.
On the way home we stopped at "Joe's Eats and Sweets" (a popular place in Anna Maria) for lunch and dessert. Grady loved his chocolate-covered banana
That evening we went to visit Eric's Aunt Barbara and Uncle Ed, who have a house in Bradenton. Grady got to meet his cousin Arno (Eric's cousin Steve's son) who is only 9 months younger. They became good friends over the course of the trip. On the way home we ate at Sharky's. I was impressed that Grady ate tortellini in red sauce and also enjoyed my tortellini in cream sauce. By that evening we were all exhausted though!
Monday morning we got up, went for a swim in the pool, and then headed to the beach for the morning.
Think he loves the water much?
The beach!
After the beach we headed home for a nap and then went out to ride the free trolley around the island...
Grady flagged it down
We rode it to the same ice cream place we went the day before because that area was so cute. This time he got ice cream. This was his first real ice cream cone, and he loved it, of course.
The lovely view from our table at the ice cream place
my cute boys
We walked around the historic Bridge Street area, which had lots of shops and restaurants as well as an old fishing pier. We saw jellyfish in the water and pelicans.
Here I am - getting large!
The next morning (Tuesday) we rented a boat for 4 hours and took it all around Anna Maria Sound. It was such a great experience, Grady loved it, and we just all had such fun!
Here he is - ready for boating!
pretending to drive
The whole crew (minus me)
My cute husband driving the boat - he is a very good boater! He's been driving boats since he was about Grady's age.
actually driving with Dada
and with Grandpa
the water was a beautiful color
We stopped at this little hidden beach with tons of shells. Grady loved that we actually got to use the anchor (for some reason he has been obsessed with anchors lately).
he looks shipwrecked
Showing me some treasure
Then we rode around some and docked at a nice restaurant for lunch. It's called the Mar Vista - it's pretty famous in that area. It was a really cool setting and they had great food! Grady ate tons of fish there!
But first he had to climb their tree
Great view from our table
Checking out the water after lunch
Back on the boat with Grandpa
That afternoon we headed over to Eric's Uncle John's house for a pool party and cookout. Grady especially had fun because his cousin Arno was there. He was so proud too because they kept saying how he taught his cousin to swim. Arno had the same floatie as Grady but wouldn't wear it. Once he saw how Grady could just float around and swim by himself in it, he wanted to do it too.
You can see an aligator lounging in the grass in the background (to the right of the sign)
The boys swimming together (with Aunt Karen and Dada)
Grady ate a big dinner there (that was a theme for him over vacation - trying lots of new things and eating a ton) and then we headed back to our house for bedtime.
To be continued...
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