Our Anniversary on an Island at The Sandbar

Yesterday was our 18th wedding anniversary and we spent part of the afternoon on Anna Maria Island. It is only about a 40 minute drive north from us, but it always feels like we went away on vacation. So where do you go when you live in a vacation destination? :D Summertime is nice for us locals who can take advantage of the vacation spots and waterfront restaurants and not have towait to get in.

So funny though right now on the news they are saying northerners are coming down to Florida to beat the heat! What? We are in our normal summer weather of high 80s to low 90s, sometimes afternoon showers to cool us off a bit and we never reach 100 here on the coast!

Our first stop was the Anna Maria City Pier that turned 100 years old this past May. We like to walk out and enjoy the view...looks like he has a pretty good view up there.


We do have to share it with the fishermen...but we liked watching the cormorant and pelicans dive for fish...

...you can see many fish just peaking over the edge....I wonder...is this is 100 year old wood?

nothing fancy here, but they have a little bar here as well, a nice spot to buy a drink and enjoy whats around you.

The island is painted so pretty, reminds me of the Caribbean. I didn't catch a photo of all the pastel and pictures painted on the buildings, just couldn't while we were driving.

We went to the Sandbar Restaurant for an early dinner, we did the same thing a couple of years ago and enjoyed it so much we wanted to do it again.

This was what we had to look at while we ate. I love it! nothing like sitting right on the beach, even if it's in the sun!

start off with a couple of cocktails...the glasses didn't take too long to become all sweaty...

we tried to keep them in the shade...

at this time of day looks like the rest of the deck is catching some sun too.

...on to the the appetizer...
ESCARGOT –Tender Escargot baked in Garlic
Butter




We decided to get salads instead of a big dinner, mine was the salmon salad.

WASABI ENCRUSTED SALMON – Filet of Salmon in a
light coating of Wasabi and Japanese Breadcrumbs, baked
and served over Mixed Greens with Mandarin Oranges,
Grape Tomatoes, Red Onions and our Sesame Ginger
Vinaigrette Dressing

My husband went for the seafood pasta salad.


SANDBAR CRAB PASTA SALAD – An Old Anna Maria
Island Favorite! Chunks of Crab and White Fish tossed
with Seashell Pasta in an Herb Mayo Dressing, served
with Tropical Fruit

I couldn't get over how big the piece of salmon was... mmm...so good too, loved the sesame ginger vinaigrette.

but the best part is eating in a restaurant where you can kick your shoes off and have sand between your toes!

and listening to a little island beach music to go with it...

a nice walk on the beach afterward, the white sand doesn't get hot down here, so you can always go barefoot with out burning your feet on hot sand.

that was our table, the waiter was too tall...had to duck under the umbrella to take our order.

One of the painted courtyards on the walk back to the car, before my memory card was full.

Thanks for coming along with us to Anna Maria, Florida and celebrating with us!