Short Trip to Bradenton

Since we were late getting started yesterday as a result of the excitement of the fire the night before, we shortened our trip. Instead of going to Ft Myers to spend the day, we took a shorter trip to the coastal town of Bradenton. It is easily the nicest town we have seen so far. We stopped at a couple subdivisions to look at model homes on the way and at one Condo complex that was in a larger, Resort type subdivision. It was at the River Strand Golf and Country Club and was, what we thought, a great value. The Condos line the golf course, with full amenities in the clubhouse, are between 1200-1600 S.F. and are all priced in the mid $100K's. It is a good option for us to consider down the road, if this is an area we want to retire to.

The condos were about 20 minutes from the Gulf beaches and a place called Anna Maria Island. We saw the whitest sand and prettiest beach we have seen in years:

This area is known as having one of the best beaches in the world as a result of the fine, white sand and long and shallow entry into the Gulf for swimming.
There was a Beach Cafe at this point that sat way back on the beach entry:

Josie walked along the shore for a while, picking up shells, and we left after a scoop of ice cream at the cafe.

Since we will be returning to this Thousand Trails campground to stay another 12 days, we thought that there would be plenty of time to see the other cities along the coast, like Sarasota and Ft Myers, and maybe even Naples. We are primarily interested in seeing the Gulf coast, since we have not been to this part of Florida before. The Atlantic coastal cities are not a real attraction from what we can remember, and are very congested.

Today will be a relaxation day as it is expected to rain. There are some things we need to get done in the rig anyway, so that's about it for now...