Siesta Key Recap

Well, we finally got a vacation! I don't think we have traveled to the beach since the summer of 2015. We stayed in Siesta Key for four days it was much needed. It's so nice to get a break from our every day routines. No dishes, cleaning, or work for four whole days! Our only worries were if it was going to rain and where we were eating dinner.

We left on a Friday and our check-in time was 2 pm. I think we ended up finally leaving our house around 11:30 and we arrived at 2:30. The weather on Friday was gorgeous. I think we unpacked some once we got there and then headed to the beach. It was pretty hot so it didn't take us long to get in the water. Our little home away from home was probably a three minute walk to the beach. We stayed at the Parrot Beach Cottages. We stayed in Suite 4 and it had the cutest distressed blue wood on all of the walls. It came with a queen size bed, a pull-out sofa in the living room, small dining table, small kitchen, a bathtub, and all of the kitchen utensils you could think of. It was small, but we didn't need much since it was just the three of us. There was a pool, but we didn't swim since we were so close to the beach. There was a small grocery store (The Siesta Market! It's so cute!) within walking distance so we picked up some eggs, milk, and sausage to cook for breakfast. For lunch we made turkey and cheese sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls. Then, we would eat out for dinner. That helped us save money!!

I can't believe how fearless Olivia was in the water!! She would go out with us and wear her Puddle Jumper. Dannie found tons of sand dollars, but we didn't keep any since they were still alive. Unfortunately, we didn't see one sunset while we were there. Most evenings it was either raining or we were at dinner. For dinner the first night we decided on The Old Salty Dog. It was about a ten minute walk from our room. One of the things we like most about Siesta Key is that you can walk everywhere if you stay close to the village. When we're on vacay we don't want to drive unless we really have to. I think I ordered the charbroiled chicken, a house salad, and fries.

The sunset that we missed.

The second day, we got up and we were at the beach by 8:15. That's mega early for us to be up and motivated. I was pretty surprised! Everyone else joined us around 8:30. We were able to stay at the beach until around noon that day due to rain. Sadly, it rained most of the day so we napped and ventured out to a few stores. We picked up a Siesta Key sticker for my car, a postcard for The Rex's, and some mini donuts. If your going to SK and love donuts, you have to stop there! We tried the cinnamon & sugar, powdered, and glazed with sprinkles. They were so good we picked some up after dinner that night too. Calories don't count when your on vacation, right?! Since it was raining we weren't able to walk to dinner that night so we all decided on Outback. It was SO yummy! I've been having some stomach issues lately, so I had to make some smart choices when ordering food out. I had grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, the most delicious house salad, and a glass of White Zinfandel. Of course I had some bread and a few bites of a blooming onion too! ;)

Day three we got up super early again and went down to the beach around 8:30. We stayed at the beach until about 11. Then, packed up our beach stuff and grabbed some pizza and met up with some family at their condo. It was fun to be able to get together with them since they live in Tennessee. Olivia also enjoyed having someone to help her look for shells and dig in the sand. Usually anytime we go to SK, we get pizza from Solarzano Bros. Pizza. Since we were in a hurry, we just ordered a pepperoni and cheese pie. We've had their greek salad and it's to die for! I'm sure everything on their menu is amazing and you can just order pizza by the slice also. We had a blast at the beach and wore the littes out too! I don't think we left the beach until around 4. We had time to go back to the room and get a little nap in before getting ready for dinner. Our goal was to meet at The Hub Baja Grill for dinner, but the wait was an hour and half and the rain was about to start. We decided on Nepoli's and it was pretty good. I just had a salad and cheese sticks. Dannie had Shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo. If you can't tell by now, we love food and love to try new places. We walked around some stores after dinner and then hung out with The Braswell's in our room until we were all about to fall asleep. 

Monday was check-out day. I was up at 7:30, showered, and finished packing everything up. Then, I woke up Dannie and Olivia. Once we were all checked-out we met up with everyone and ate breakfast at The Village Cafe. Literally, the BEST breakfast EVER! The service was great and the food was exceptional. I ordered a pretty simple breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, and sourdough toast. Maybe we were just hangry by the time we finally ate. But, it tasted better than our normal breakfast spot which is Cracker Barrel. We will definitely make it back there on our next trip. 

Reading back over this it sounds like we ate a lot, but we really didn't. We just went to different dinner locations each night. Haha. SO, if your in Siesta Key, you know where you should be eating! We really enjoyed that everything was within walking distance, but Dannie and I agreed that we missed how secluded and quiet the beach is when we stay at Longboat Key. Granted, we do have to drive everywhere there, but almost having the beach to ourselves is pretty nice. We will have to weigh our options when we start planning next years trip. What we love most about the beaches in the Sarasota area is clear water and the white sand. We don't care for big, huge waves like the Atlantic side and the water temps are always tolerable on the gulf side. Oh!! I almost forgot and less shark sitings in the gulf. Olivia came home with lots of shells and a few stories to go with them. She enjoys putting them up to her ear and listening to the ocean. She did really well the entire trip which made it easier on us and the salt water helped her peeling feet and hands. Woo hoo!