Another almost perfect, beautiful morning greeted me as I sat outside on my own for an hour while Karen slept on, as usual.
I caught up with news from home and dealt with so much of life’s admin that carries on whether you are travelling or not. You can escape to Florida, but apparently you cannot escape emails, bills and all the other mundane things that insist on following you around.
Eventually, Karen joined me and we sat in comfortable bliss, watching whatever birds were getting on with their daily lives on the lake. Some of them seemed large enough to carry off small children. There is also supposedly a gator in the lake, but that has remained elusive. Incidentally, we haven’t seen any children around us. I wonder if the things are connected.
Our plan involved having an early lunch at the villa before heading off to Manasota Key. I had a tin of corned beef hash with an egg, and it was blooming lovely. Sometimes the simplest meals are the best, and I would suggest that Michelin-starred restaurantsmight take notice.
Just after noon we set off. I had found a Starbucks en route, so we stopped in Englewood for the compulsory Karen caffeine fix. I got a table outside and waited for Karen to return. Today she was much quicker and had managed to get drinks for both of us. She was still not happy with the customer service, saying that the staff simply don’t listen to what customers are asking for, as they have headsets on and are trying to deal with drive-through orders at the same time.
After a while, we drove on to Manasota Key. This was the place we had visited last year in the aftermath of being hit by two hurricanes within days of each other. Last year it looked like a war zone. This time it was totally different. Everything had been cleared and the place was open for business again. It was good to see how much progress had been made.
We drove back to Stump Pass State Park Preserve (or, as I kept referring to it, Stump Cross). Fortunately, we managed to get one of the last parking spaces and paid the $3 flat car park fee.
As soon as we walked down to the beach, the heat reflecting off the sand and sea absolutely hit us. Even though the sand was not quite as pristine white as it had been on Gasparilla Island, it was still glorious.
Karen soon resorted to getting an umbrella out to try to shade herself from the sun. After a while, though, walking on the beach was just too much for her, so she decided to sit down for a while. I went for a little wander on my own, looking at the millions of shells along the shoreline. My perennial search for an elusive, complete sand dollar remained unfulfilled. I did, however, come across some interesting, complete jellyfish that had been left behind by the tide. What strange, mystical and potentially painful creatures they are. I was careful not to get too close. There are some things that are best admired from a safe distance.
Leaving the beach, we shared a cold drink we had brought with us on a bench in the shade as the temperature tipped over 30°C.
We decided to drive up to the top of the Key, passing many flipping enormous houses and mansions backing onto the beaches. Despite looking longingly as we drove past, nobody ran out to invite us in. I thought this was rather poor hospitality, particularly as we were clearly admiring their properties.
Eventually, we parked at Chadwick Park and, after some uncertainty, determined that the parking was free. We walked along the beach, bemoaning the lack of shade, benches or cafés.
American beaches and resorts are so different from ours. When Americans come to the beach, they come properly prepared, with gazebos, chairs, coolers and everything they might possibly need, all pulled along on multiple trolleys. They seem to be setting up camp for a fortnight rather than spending a few hours by the sea. We, on the other hand, had nothing other than a rain umbrella. Clearly, we had not done our homework.
So we left the beach and found some shaded benches in a park next to it. Karen spotted a supermarket about 100 yards away across the main road, and I was despatched with the instruction, ‘I would love a Magnum ice cream.’
Amazingly, they had one, and I returned triumphant with that and an iced coffee. I was beginning to feel that my role on this holiday was less travel companion and more personal shopper.
By now, suitably frazzled by the heat, we decided to call into Publix to get Karen some more breakfast cereal. Sadly, when we got there, it was still being ‘remodelled’, whatever that meant. So instead, we went across the road to Dollar Tree, where Karen experienced her first American Aldi. Or at least that was how I viewed it. I suspect the management might take a different view.
Back at the villa, we chilled for a while, watching the sun starting to set outside by the pool.
At 7 pm we headed out again for dinner. Our restaurant of choice tonight was Cheddar’s. Karen had salmon, while I was unsure what to order and eventually went for my first burger of the trip. We shared my Caesar salad as a starter. My burger was good, but I regretted not having the ribs, which had been my intention until a very late change of mind. Another example of me making a perfectly good decision and then changing it at the last moment, only to regret it.
Karen then wanted to check out the Target opposite, as she was after another swimming costume from there. After a 15-minute wander around separately, we met up and she was disappointed that they didn’t have the type of costume she was looking for.
Just after 9 pm we were back at the villa and Karen sat down to watch The Traitors. I started reading another book. I kept looking up at the programme, but still just don’t get it or understand what all the fuss is about. People whispering, plotting and looking suspicious about nothing seems to be the main attraction. Perhaps I’m missing something, but I would rather read about people doing something useful.
Once this was over, and while Karen was watching the 10 pm BBC News, I retired for the night.
Another lovely day in Florida. Plenty of sunshine, a beautiful beach, a successful Magnum mission and, best of all, no beetles, even if the search for the perfect sand dollar continues.
