By lunchtime we were mostly finished what needed to be done so a few hours were spent lazily in the pool or beside it. By 3pm dark clouds had gathered overhead so I went in and had a long soak in the bath. While I was languishing in the hot water a storm raged outside but it was nowhere near as violent as yesterday evening, thank goodness!
By 5pm we were all ready to go out and our first stop was Publix as Sophie wanted to buy some treats for her friends back home. However, she didn't see anything suitable so we left and drove to Anna Maria Island in the evening rush hour. It wasn't raining but the sky was full of clouds and I really hoped that we would see a beautiful sunset tonight.
While Keith went off to the pier for a drink, Sophie, Mikey and me headed for a shop opposite to see if they had anything worth buying but although we saw lots of lovely tee-shirts and knick-knacks, there was nothing to buy for Soph's friends.
We joined Keith and had a drink while gazing at the gorgeous views for the last time.
The plan was to eat at the Sandbar restaurant about five minutes away and sit on the beach watching the sunset. I wanted a memorable evening for our last meal in Florida!
There was a bit of confusion about where to park for the restaurant but Keith went ahead and saw the attendant who pointed out a space for us, which was great as I think it was the last one!
We walked in and were seated straight away, almost on the beach itself. The restaurant was already busy and everyone was gearing up to see the sunset.
I had a couple of glasses of Chardonnay and we had a look at the menu which specialises in fish and seafood.
 |
| Delicious glass of icy Chardonnay! |
Although it was lovely to sit outside, for the first time since the Keys, it was very hot! The temperatures were still in the 90s! We all had different starters and the children decided to be a bit adventurous: Sophie had salmon pate, Mikey had Swordfish ribs, Keith had a crab salad while I enjoyed a dish of Mussels Provencale. They were beautiful.
We didn't order our main courses until we'd finished our starters so the meal was lovely and relaxed. In between courses, Sophie and I went out onto the sand to photograph the setting sun.
Our waiter came around asking us to guess the exact time of the sunset. I knew that in Key West it had been 7.51pm so we said 7.48 and, when prompted by him, 18 seconds. Whoever won would receive a bottle of champagne!
For our mains we ordered steak (Keith) Bison burger for Mikey, Chicken Anna Maria for Sophie and I went for the Stuffed shrimp which were absolutely delicious but too much!
It was fantastic when the sun went down at...7.48 and 13 seconds!! So close!
The children found room for dessert but there was no way I could have even a spoonful of Sophie's pudding! She was on her own tonight!
We'd had a fabulous meal and a perfect evening sitting by a beautiful beach to see the sunset. The drive back to the villa was without mishap and we spent a pleasant half hour sitting by the pool, marvelling at how hot and sultry it was!
No comments:
Post a Comment