Islanders celebrate Thanksgiving in style. Over the years we have been invited to cookouts, formal holiday dinners and picnics but the award for the ultimate Thanksgiving dinner has to go to our neighbor Joanne. Her kitchen is an absolute hive of activity, the table groans with the most spectacular food and the scrumptious turkey dinner is followed by her home cooked secret recipe cheesecake - positively the best dessert in the history of the universe. Invited guests troop in from all directions to Canasta Drive and the drinks flow freely as does the conversation. At Joanne's house the talk is always lively and intelligent, laced with a good dollop of wry humor ranging from island politics to world affairs. Don is the master of comedy and has a ready supply of jokes if the conversation flags in the soporific aftermath of the consumption of copious amount of Joanne's super food. After dinner, some guests drift off for a snooze on the shady deck overlooking the water, others sit and sip a creamy cappucino in the comfortable lounge. An invitation to their celebration of America's favorite holiday is a real honor.

A pelican arrived by the swimming pool this morning with some fishing line and a hook in his beak. Normally we would phone the pelican man, but in this instance it was very weak so we removed the hook and gave him some fish for lunch. He stayed around for a few hours and then having recovered his strength, flew off.

The birds here on the Island are many and various and occasionally we get a real treat like the red woodpecker who arrived to make a hole in the palm tree right outside my laundry - we watched him through the window just a few feet away up on the upper floor. He worked really hard but I don't know if it did the tree much good.

I am just off to stroll down the island to Coquina Beach, a long stretch of sand on the southern tip of Anna Maria Island. I am also going to stop off to see what is going on at Leffis Key, a small nature reserve with boardwalks through the wetlands nestled on the edge of the Bay.

Tennis is on the cards today, so we are going up to the free courts on Anna Maria Island. They are well kept and the fact that you do not have to pay to use them is a great advantage (pun). Keeping fit with the odd game of tennis, plenty of swimming and walking the beach is great fun. I prefer to do this than to go to the gym, but if exercise and weights are your thing we have a couple of great gyms in the area.

The island is peaceful and quiet this morning. I walked the beach early this morning and just had seabirds for my companions. It's well worth getting up early and going over to the beach to stroll along the sands at the edge of the water. The other day I found a small fossil that now has pride of place in my house. A few years ago a French professor came to stay and showed us how to spot fossils. He used to bring them over to my office on the beachfront and explain in details what and how old they were. Fascinating, I was quite sad when he left.

Looking up some details on Florida last night I came across a great web site Luddist.com has facts, figures and history of Florida that make interesting reading if you want to know how Florida came to be as it is today.

On the food front, I am today making a Key Lime Pie from scratch, using Mary Holmes' recipe. You can buy a very good version from Publix just down the road, but using 3 eggs and 5 fresh limes, plus a short crust or crushed cookie base is just unbeatable.The only problems is that it flies off the plate so fast!

Woke early and went for a swim in the pool before a breakfast of croissants from the bakery. Today is going to be really busy as i have to catch up on some bookkeeping before heading down to Sarasota's historic district to meet a friend for lunch. This is in the center of Sarasota and comprises small shops and restaurants that are great for browsing and lunching.

I will drive down through the island as I love the views and on the way home may stop off at St Armands Circle to pick up some home made candy from Kilwins.

Received a post card from Wales in the UK where some friends stayed during their recent vacation you can also see a little bit of the motherland on walesholidaycottages.com I am looking forward to hearing all about it.

We booked local captain Don Meilner to take us out into the bay for a picnic cruise. Taking along the charcoal barbecue grill we set up in the water on the sandbank opposite the little island Sister Key that appears at low tide and cooked up some great burgers. The large food cooler also contained home made potato salad, a crisp green salad, burger buns, mayo and tomato ketchup. I had run up to Publix grocery store for one of their fantastic luscious key lime pies and some of their amazing glazed long twist doughnuts. Washed down with some cans of Bud, this was undoubtedly a feast fit for a king (not good for the waistline but nevertheless perfect seafaring food for hungry sailers) We sailed back to Anna Maria Island fat and happy at sunset.

Today we are driving up to Tampa airport to pick up some friends who are flying in from the UK. I never fail to enjoy the drive across the magnificent Skyway Bridge that spans the entrance Tampa Bay. It is one of the most beautiful in Florida. Miles and miles of silvery blue seas stretch in both directions and the bridge is so high the name is perfectly apt.

The old bridge that was damaged when a ship ran into it years ago has been made into the longest fishing pier in the world, so at least it was not wasted.

Driving across the bridge, if you look out into the Gulf you can see the northern tip of Anna Maria Island which confirms what we all feel - it is, as we never tire of saying, a jewel in the Gulf.

There is a great new website that I have been looking at for my planned tour of Europe. Wales in the UK seems like a great place to visit and apparently spending a couple of days at The Bwlch Tre Banau Estate in Carmarthenshire is a must. We will travel there by train and ask for a taxi to pick us up from the station and take us up to the Estate.

Everything here on the island is quiet at the moment, peaceful times in the Autumn allow for long lazy days and languid evenings relaxing over a game of cards or a favorite movie. This evening we are having sweet and delicious snow crab claws, a crispy salad with my favorite blue cheese dressing and a home made key lime pie made to Mary Holmes recipe that was handed down to her from the old days. The juice of 5 fresh limes goes in and a crunchy biscuit crust topped with crispy meringue makes a desert in a million. I always find that there is none left and some people have actually gone so far as to lick the plate, although I won't mention any names!

Friends visited the Sarasota Car Museum and fell in love with the Bentley. Just a short drive across the Manatee drawbridge and down Highway 41 you can find a collection of almost 100 classic and antique cars in perfect condition. Drop in on your way down to Sarasota's historic district or the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.


Marsha has just launched her beautiful new web site about Anna Maria Island. Everything you need to know about the island, the very best places to stay and what to do while you are here. Quote: Island Charm
Anna Maria Island's laid-back charm lies in its congenial air of leisurely, unhurried tropical living. Each of the three tiny cities on the Island has its own individual village character and all are populated with friendly, easy-going inhabitants.

Lush tropical growth line small streets, many of which have a speed limit of just 25 mph. Anglers of all ages fish from sturdy rustic piers and sun worshippers laze or stroll on the magnificent white-sugar sand beaches which fringe the sparkling Gulf of Mexico.

Families picnic on the beaches or in waterfront parks while on the look out for dolphins swimming by. If you are lucky you will have a glimpse of the elusive manatee, an exciting sight much prized by locals. Boats and jet skis skim over the waves way out in the Gulf while sailboats drift along the coast. Bicyclists pedal around the Island, pausing to take in the eclectic mixture of historic and contemporary buildings or to enjoy a delectable cooler from one of the ice cream parlors

Picked some great bargains off the sale rails down at the De Sota Mall in Bradenton and then took in a movie. Just 15 minutes drive along Cortez Road, cross the Highway 41 intersection and you can be in shopping heaven. Enjoyed a cappuccino in Starbucks and picked out some suggestions for my Christmas list in the jewelery store - there's no harm in hoping!

Anna Maria Island's nearest largeer city is Bradenton, a vibrant young community with many small shops, thriving businesses and large shopping malls. It is also home to Tropicana, the world famous juice producer. There is nothing like orange juice here in Florida - a large glass a day keeps you fit and healthy, keeping those colds away. Its also great for your hair, nails and skin, plus it tastes delicious, especially when you know that the oranges are grown right here in Florida's citrus groves.

annamaria.com

I am starting a project on the history of Florida and found this really useful web site. Florida was sparsely populated until the advent of air conditioning but now it is one of the fastest growing populations in the USA. The reason is that it is such a great place to live. Beautiful cities, warm weather, friendly and relaxed people (it must be the climate) and the fact that you are never far from the water. There are canals, intercoastal waterways, rivers, wetlands, ponds, lakes,streams the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. If you hanker for sparkling waters there is no better place on earth to experience this diverse environment. To take a closer look in person at the best Florida has to offer go to http://1annamaria.com/

The popular free trolley service is coming on in leaps and bounds. I received this comment from Annie who is currently staying in Villa Tuscany

"Robbi has the car today (gone to Cortez deep sea fishing) so took the trolley bus at the end of the street to the library where you can use the computers for half an hour for free. Also found out that they have put loads of new stops on the trolley so will bring a map back. It also goes to Coquina Beach where you can change to another one and go to St. Armanda - this is a new service and all free, which is great for renters if one of them takes the hire car to go shopping, golf whatever."

This morning received an email from the United Kingdom to say that the new web site for The Bwlch Tre Banau Estate in Wales has now been launched The company who runs it. Listed Heritage, are looking forward to welcoming many visitors from the United States during 2009.

After we had checked out the website we went down to the pool for a leisurely morning swim and then hatched a plan to drive over the Manatee drawbridge into mainland Bradenton. We stopped off at The Bishop Planetarium. It has different shows throughout the year with something to suit all tastes and age groups. While in Bradenton, the nearby Parker Manatee Aquarium is the home of Snooty, the world's most recognized of those gentle creatures, the Manatee (Sea Cow).

Rose early the other morning and walked the beach at sunrise. I planned to pay another visit to the Anna Maria Island Historical Society Museum. In order to keep up my new fitness regime I took the bicycle out of the garage and cycled up the island to Pine Avenue in Anna Maria City. It is one of the smallest museums in Florida but, to me, one of the most interesting. Archived photos of times gone past from the early parts of the last century onwards, on through the fifties and sixties are my favorite. I love sifting through them. The volunteers are friendly and chat knowledgeably about the island's past. On the way home I stopped off at Matt & Dom's pastry cafe, just cannot resist some cappuccino or maybe if I am feeling saint like a smoothie. The pastries are delicious and as I cycled several miles I enjoyed these treats without guilt.

Well, the web site for http://www.walesholidaycottages.com/ that I mentioned yesterday is becoming quite successful. Several people from Anna Maria Island have talked to me about it, asking when is the best time of year to go to Wales and how old is the historic Bwlch Tre Banau Estate. When I tell them it stems from the 16th Century they seem pretty interested.

Any way, back to Anna Maria Island. Weather here is balmy and warm, the people here are friendly and warm and the waters of the Gulf of Mexico are inviting and warm. There are few places in the United States that offer the laid back relaxed attitude and friendliness that visitors experience when they cross one of the draw bridges to the island. Walk into any of the local stores or restaurants and you will feel welcomed in true Southern style.

Exploring the waterways by kyak on one of the eco-tours sounds like a fun activity for this time of year. It's a chance to see parts of the Florida landscape and seascape around Anna Maria Island that we cannot easily access from the land, getting closer to nature and exploring pristine habitats. We are off to experience this first hand.

Diving is another activity that is offered from both Coquina Beach and Cortez beach. Sea Trek Divers operate a full service Padi five star dive center. They say that if you are not a certified diver you can get certified in as little as 4 days and that student divers can complete their training with them. Sea Trek also have a full range of rental scuba equipment and snorkeling gear.

That should keep us busy for a few days!

There was a postcard from Europe in the mailbox this morning from Sarah. She is currently staying at the Bwlch Tre Banau Estate in the United Kingdom. Apparently, it may be hard to pronounce the name, but it is absolutely beautiful there and she just does not want to leave. She is booked into Wheatsheaf Cottage until Sunday. Go to http://www.walesholidaycottages.com/ to see what she is talking about.