Venice Florida

[Zipper]

Lazy, I remember my sister-in-law phoning ~25 years ago saying they were staying in Tampon Springs.

I had beer squirting out my nose!

I do agree about South Florida and Ft. Lauderdale especially. It's the "promised land" for a Canadian.

[Milton]

Originally Posted by Zipper

I do agree about South Florida and Ft. Lauderdale especially. It's the "promised land" for a Canadian.

I thought that was the Turks and Caicos!

CBC News Indepth: Turks and Caicos

[calmloki]

So my skin is shedding in great sheets - turns out that extended time up to your waist in the ocean scooping shark's teeth is liable to result in a sunburn. For Oregon whitebacks anyway. Sorta amusing that the spf30 that comes as an oversized chapstick - results in weird white calligraphy on the shoulders if your honey is doing the red areas from the day before.
on the main tourist drag there is an Italian restaurant - Cassariano's - pretty ok, but the best thing is their basket of bread with artichoke/garlic/? spread. That and a glass of wine, maybe the calimari - dat's da ticket!

An overcast 47 degrees here at home, with snow/rain mix called for this weekend.

[RhysOrd]

It's been awhile since there was anything posted to this thread. I kept it bookmarked because my wife and I were planning a trip to Venice in late May.

We had a wonderful time there and on Anna Maria Island a bit to the north. Both areas are lovely, and it wasn't too hot or humid that week. Venice was VERY quiet in May; very few people on the beach or in town, and just the right-crowds in restaurants. The beach there is great but the sand is a bit different (darker in color) than what we're used to in New Jersey, or what we found further north in Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island. That takes a bit of getting used to but the ocean temps were perfect. We encountered no issues like jellyfish, sting rays, excessive seaweed, rocks, or anything else. The Inn at the Beach is the perfect place to stay, for a lot of reasons.

Sharky's was a lot of fun (once we got a table; I never saw a restaurant where you have to seat yourself), Those blue margaritas are great.

We ate at Eddie's, a local fish place out on the highway which I didn't care for as much; should have had dinner at the Crows Nest. We stopped there for a drink later and met a nice couple also from NJ.

After checking out we headed up the coast to Casey Key (amazing houses!), through St. Armands Circle and Longboat Key, up to Anna Maria Island. We spent three nights there and throroughly enjoyed the beaches, restaurants, piers, and shopping. The Beach House was the best.

I could see myself retiring to either place, at least part time. We hope to go back next May. Many thanks to Moemg for all of the great advice.

Rhys