I have always loved the beach and Longboat and Siesta keys
are two of the prettiest that I have ever visited – both are located in the
Sarasota area.
Longboat Key is one of three barrier islands (Anna Marie
Island to the north, Lido Key to the south) and joined together by bridges and
causeways. Siesta Key, south of
Lido Key, is accessed from Bee Ridge Road or Clark Road.
Beach Place is one of many attractive condominium complexes
on the island located between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The island’s resorts accommodate a
broad range of family budgets.
Longboat Key beach is fairly long, very pretty, and relatively
quiet. In January of 2017, I and a
few other people daily had the beach all to ourselves.
The sea breezes make walking the beach very comfortable and
enjoyable
One of the great pleasures of the west coast of Florida is
the sunsets.
Each afternoon we took in the gorgeous sunsets with a glass
of wine, various fish spreads and shrimp and crackers – nice.
St. Armand’s Circle is where the people of Longboat Key
often go to shop, eat, drink or listen to music. The many smart looking shops sell everything from basics to
exotic gifts, the restaurants are varied and quite good, and the area is also
the cultural hub of the island. John
Ringling commissioned seven statues – The Seven Virtues of Sarasota – that are
placed in the circle or other parts of the island.
The weekend of Jan. 27 – 28, 2017 featured the most upscale
and attractive arts and crafts festival that I have ever been too. Highly desirable paintings, sculpture,
jewelry, crafts and some furniture were for sale and at high prices too. These two cat sculptures caught my eye
though I apologize to the artist whose name I do not remember and for taking
the picture – private photos are not encouraged by the vendors.
Siesta Key
Siesta Key is the deepest beach that I have ever witnessed –
it is also pretty and has friendly people and some good seafood restaurants.
Observe the width and white sands of this extraordinary
beach.
My friend Dr. Warren Melamed fell in love with the area five
years ago and has returned to Longboat each winter. We spent the week eating and drinking our way across
Sarasota and environs. From the
smiles on our faces, it’s apparent that we enjoyed ourselves immensely.
Perhaps my greatest pleasure in life is traveling and in
recent years making web pages of the places I visited. If you are interested, please access my
other web pages on Oregon and Washington State road trips; also St. Simons and
Jekyll Island, Georgia and Iceland and South Africa – the latter two are
described through the Five Themes of Geography format. I promise many more travel pages before
I leave this planet.