The Beach at Siesta Key

Saturday, March 5th – Myakka River State Park - Sarasota, Florida – Day 26

We are now in Myakka River State Park until the 9th. A nice long period to settle in and explore the environment. Day 1, the beach. We got some great tips from our neighbours at the park and after a leisurely morning, we decided to explore Siesta Key beach.

Sarasota, like many parts of Florida, has islands just off the mainland and these islands are typical covered in condos, rental units, retirees and beaches. After an extended period looking for parking and one heated exchange involving Mary, we finally found a spot and headed for the beach. We brought our chairs, sports equipment, some sand tools, mat, wagon, lunch bag and much more. It’s getting pretty tough to move our wagon through the sand but that’s my job. John was passed out so he got tossed on top of the wagon full of stuff and off we went.

We got to the beach around 2pm and it was packed with people. The day was perfect; sunny, very few clouds and high 20 degree temperatures. The ocean was lovely and had a shallow bottom so there wasn’t that much of a concern with John. For the first time, the flag was green indicating safe swimming. Aisling commented on how she was glad it wasn’t purple for dangerous marine life (that is Junior Ranger training coming in handy). We swam a lot, broken up with a snack of sandwiches and vegetables. We looked for some shells, played in the sand, went for a walk along the beach and read a bit of my book. We stayed until just before dusk. Honestly, the best time to visit the beach is late afternoon.