Travel Blog: Anna Maria, FL

As 4pm arrived on a Friday - it was just like déjà vu that I was leaving early for another weekend adventure, but this August was jam packed with travels and more.

The rush hour traffic paired with a brief intense storm turned a 80 mph highway into a 30mph crawl. The road we were on had an overpass above so the water draining (perhaps improperly) was creating an absolute monsoon as it blew across the highway.

The dash cam didn't have the storage loaded so the only footage I have is the girlfriend's random video of the overpass splashing water down. Thankfully that storm was brief and we finally about an hour later pulled into our cottage.

An elegant little place that was 40 steps away from the beach - however on Friday night that was a bit too late for a beach visit. It was off to walk towards our first dinner in Anna Maria and we ended up at Harry's.

A place with about 8 tables inside and probably 20 outside and we got there as it started to rain so inside we went.

I got a burger with a house salad and mushrooms and it wasn't the best. The ciabatta bun probably sat with a burger on it for a bit until it was served - this meant it was soggy and just collapsed on first bite.

I didn't realize ordering mushrooms was going to give me a bowl with enough mushrooms to coat 3 steaks, so that caught me off guard. However, the salad was amazing and so was our appetizers. I've been there a few times before and it's always great - so I'll let this not so great burger slide.

We grabbed some ice cream on the way home and soon enough Saturday morning was here. I took off on a run and it was a bit difficult to run without hitting a dead end or water and needing to change directions.

I thought I ran to the end of the island, but clearly I was mistaken so I cut across towards the pier and went the wrong direction. I was intending to go north in one large semi-circle all the way back home, but ended up with the path above.

Beach day was here and boy the heat was immense. If you don't have a shade setup, then you are probably in danger of some heat problems.

We used this Sun Ninja that I'm accidentally advertising because it worked quite well even though we only had two poles with us. When I saw other groups rolling out complex solutions and I had a 8lbs bag on my back - it seemed to be better for a quick and easy setup.

The sun pelted down and even trips to the gulf was not enough - we were soon exhausted as the day struck 2pm. A quick trip to the cottage pool to cool down and we were prepping for a real early dinner.

This dinner (at "The Porch") was the type of meal I was looking forward to. A medium expensive, but most excellent meal. I'm glad we isolated our search to "steak" dinners as we probably wouldn't have found this place otherwise.

The salad was amazingly fresh and the steak (slightly overcooked for a medium-rare) but otherwise was perfect. Paired with sangria's and some french fries I ate food until I felt uneasy. So of course we had to get more ice cream for the walk home. Still tough to walk and eat ice cream when its above 80 degrees outside without getting a bit on you.

Sunday was soon here and it was amazing how quick Friday & Saturday had passed so it was time for another run.

This time I was convinced I would run to the north end of the island and I did. However, the winding roads towards the end for sure confused my reference point. My goal was the same as last time to run a semi-circle from starting point all the way around the edge of the island.

Clearly I got spun around in the north, I ran back thinking I was a different way and ran the opposite direction of our cottage. For being prescribed a 30 minute run by a watch and clocking in at 49 minutes meant I had a 19 minute delay for my once again confusion.

Thankfully made it back eventually and the day was starting with visiting all the little shops in town. I'm not much of a shopper but the break of getting air conditioning to look around at clothes was a positive break from the heat. We shopped the entire morning and into the afternoon and it was soon time to eat lunch and pack it up to leave.

We wanted to head right back to The Porch to try more of the menu, as the lunch menu was different than dinner.

The place delivered again with amazing quality. The tomatoes and balsamic on the bruschetta was so fresh - the bread perfect without an ounce of staleness. I moved onward to a po'boy with locally caught grouper that just melted in each bite. I had to repeat a house salad, because the dressing rivaled creations I make at home.

As an excellent meal came to an end so was our weekend adventure in Anna Maria. It was apparently "off season" which surprised me so we probably won't get as lucky to get tables and meals just casually walking around with no reservations. Anna Maria looks to be primarily vacation rentals so we'll probably be back when we want a trip away from home.

One more trip lined up in August to end the Travel Blog August spam as I visit Naples - in the meantime this travel post is over.