St. Armands and Lido Key
We hadn’t been to the beach proper since a little vacation we took in 2016. We wanted to park our chairs in the sand, soak in some rays and read a cheap paperback while eighties tunes whispered from the radio. We’d walk out into the sea, chest high and bob up and down, our pasty skin tuning lobster against the olive water. When we’d realized the tide had brought us a quarter mile down the shore, we’d struggle to swim back in line with our chairs; repeat ad nauseam (literally–the briny makes me queasy). But it was January and a chilly one at that.
We were only a week into the new year and the Florida weather was beautiful, but it wasn’t quite warm enough for that sort of beach activity. Neighbors were draping blankets over their tropical shrubs to protect against the frost. We realized this when we planned to journey to Sarasota and check out the beach of Lido Key.
We were happy just to stroll along the shore and let the scene flood our senses. This would be a dry run to see how soon we could be on the sand when the need arrived and the surf was calling. It was calling now. Can you hear it? I think it just said, “hark.”
We incorporated several other sights into the trip. Plans were made for a breakfast stop at Yoder’s Amish Village & Restaurant in Pinecraft, a drive through Sarasota, and a walk around St. Armands Circle, before our stroll up and down the sand and surf of Lido Key. Well, maybe just the sand.
There were other worthwhile things to see in the area, but they required tickets and more time investment than we had available. An example is The Ringling Museum, which at $10-25 each wasn’t exactly cheap considering Christa had just started working again and we needed to keep expenses low until we get some coin rolling in. So these first several months were going to consist of budget-priced activities, sights, and eats.
We rose with the sun and drove the sporty little runabout south on I-75 toward Pinecraft where our fast was broke at Yoder’s with some hearty grub and a big ol’ sweet roll. I still dream about that sweet roll. You can read about that visit here.
Pinecraft is a village just east of Sarasota and a destination for Amish and Mennonites from up north. Though we had just moved here from Lancaster County, we were anxious to see some familiarity from home. I had heard about the community from both Amish and Mennonite acquaintances and had been curious to see the reserved folk at leisure, away from the farms and shops of the rural north. They had swapped the horses and buggies for golf carts, but the scooters and bicycles were still present, more were the full sized tricycles which they rode around the narrow streets of the resort community and its shoebox cottages.
We finished our meal at Yoder’s and perused the neighboring grocery store that specializes in Dutchy fare imported from such locales as Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio (they have Good’s in the blue bag!)
After a brief drive around the village, we left Pinecroft and its tricycling Amish for Sarasota and drove Bahia Vista Street to Rt. 41, then to Mound Street. As we curved around Bayfront Drive, we said an astonished “hello” to the colossal sailor kissing the colossal dentist’s assistant and took Rt. 789, John Ringling Causeway (yes, that Ringling) to St. Armands Key–a linked island of ritzy boutiques, restaurants, and galleries surrounded by condos and expensive gulf-front houses.
At St. Armands Circle, we found convenient parking and orbited the roundabout on foot, window shopping, and bathroom hunting. Had we not eaten such a huge breakfast, or were it later in the day, we would have loved to have tried some of the very attractive eateries in the Circle. We will plan a return day trip or even an overnight.
An entire day could be spent in St. Armands Circle if you’re keen on shopping. (Here, watch these three women pretend to spend money.) Galleries, clothing stores, jewelers, candy shops and boutiques abound. Our budget relegated us to window shopping and one lap of the round was adequate for us.
After seeing a man about a horse in a coffee shop restroom, we completed our circuit and walked across the short causeway that connects St. Armands Key to Lido Key, the outermost island with a beautiful stretch of white sand, lapped by the low-rolling waves of the Gulf of Mexico. A sudden duality of calm and exhilaration washed over us as only the Gulf can effect.
The air was brisk, but comfortable in our long sleeved shirts. We soaked in the sun from the bright blue sky and strolled along the sand packed firm from the ebb and flow. Squadrons of gulls and terns arrived and departed. Plovers and pipers swarmed and sprinted in and out of the cycling surf.
I took a particular liking to the sandwich terns with their grey bodies, black crests, and yellow beaks–they looked like navy F-14’s facing into the wind, awaiting orders to take off.
We strolled along for a half hour or so, enjoying the moment and the quiet roar of the gulf then about-faced and headed back. One thing I miss from beaches back home and have yet to encounter along the Gulf is a boardwalk with a shack serving fresh cut fries and malt vinegar. I’m sure they must exist somewhere along the coast, just not here. A chilly walk along the beach just isn’t complete without hot french fries, salt, and vinegar. That sausage gravy and sweet roll must be wearing off.
Though we were anxious to get there, there’s only so much to do on a chilly shore, so we called it quits on the beach. Hey, you live life as your mercurial minds demand. But we weren’t anxious to head indoors just yet.
We had left Pennsylvania in the cold, wet, and yuck of winter and moved here for year-round outdoor fun, and we were determined to get it, dagnabbit! This was just one more reason to put a visit to the indoor Ringling Museum of Art on the back burner and instead head a bit further southeast to Myakka State Park. And am I glad that we did.
I say a little more about Myakka elsewhere, but suffice it to say, It’s quite a visually appealing and facilitating State Park. For $6 we had a nice walk around their nature trail, a climb up the observation tower and stroll along the canopy walk, and a sighting of some crocogators–our first since moving here. All in all, It was a nice bang for our buck.
Weary, but fulfilled, we drove directly home– no scenic drives, just I-75–straight and to the point. We were tuckered out but had enjoyed our adventure. Hunger finally returned as the last of that sweet roll rolled down the tracts, so we figured it was a good time to try out our local branch of that Brandon institution that rhymes with Grief O’Grady’s. It wasn’t worth the digital space those letters consumed, so I’ll end my thoughts on it here.
We finally made it to the beach after an almost two-year absence, though we’d still need to do it properly with chairs, towels, and tunes when it gets warmer. It had been a long day packed with tasty vittles, great sights and a lot of walking. As our second day trip as residents of the state, it was a nice introduction to what Florida and the Tampa Bay area has to offer.
I foresee us spending more time in this region and we still need to try restaurants like Owen’s Fish Camp, check out The Ringling and the see other Gulf Coast beaches along the narrow strip of keys. We shall return, with emptier bellies, fuller wallets and more time.
Thanks for reading!