After the enjoyable get-together at Howey-in-the-Hills, Carolyn’s entire family caravanned two and a half hours southwest to Bradenton Beach on Anna Maria Island on Sunday, July 17, 2005. Here we had rented out several condos at a nice resort called Bridgewalk. It was not located quite on the beach, but was in walking distance just across the street from it. We shared an adjoining room with Carolyn’s Dad Chuck and his girlfriend Janet. Although we had just enough amenities to survive in our little tile-floored area, the biggest part of the condo was where the folks stayed.
This was a fun week. Although there was the occasional bickering, and the fact that I was offended that not a single person in Carolyn’s family asked me to partake in the numerous games of poker that were going on, for the most part I had a good time. The bulk of this vacation was a blend of swimming, going out to eat, and watching my TV on DVD. I had to slam my fist into the TV a few times to get the color correct, but it served its purpose. I watched The Brady Bunch, I Love Lucy, That 70’s Show, Monk, and The Twilight Zone throughout the week.
Our room and little sleeping gal
We went out to eat at several of the area restaurants such as The Beach House, Shells, and Lone Star (where Carolyn’s friend Katy came and joined us for dinner on the Friday before we left). The Beach House was a nice seafood restaurant where we sat outside on a patio overlooking the beach. One night we brought in a scrumptious pizza from a local pizza joint and all ate it outside our rooms. We also took a trolley around town, at one point all the way to the end of the run in search a seafood restaurant called Rotten Ralph’s. After we got off the trolley, we needed to walk nearly an additional two miles before we reached it. Talk about walking off your dinner before you even eat it! Then it started to pour down rain, so Chuck and Charles had to come pick us up, along with Mike and Rose and their kids who were dining with us.
Dinner at Lone Star: Christy, Michael, Kathy, Katy, me, Carolyn, Janet, Chuck
Although I wasn’t much of a swimmer (okay - it was because I was too fat!), I made a point to get in the pool several times - although I left the gymnastic antics (and there were lots of them) up to Michael and Christy, Dustin and his girls, and Ashleigh. I settled for more quiet activities like Phase 10 dice with Mel and Brett, Jeanette, and Carolyn.
Ashleigh and Brennan
The first and only photo ever taken of me under water
Mel and Ashleigh get silly in the pool
Ash and ice cream
Carolyn and ice cream
There was one rather large ‘party’ near the end of the week in the Fisher / Meyer suite, which included Carolyn’s cousins who had come in to visit for part of the week. When I wasn’t watching Bob Newhart on Biography, I was chugging back a few beers and scooping up Brian’s little girl Abby. She sat on my lap for nearly an hour, much to the amazement and delight of everyone there who said she never allowed anyone else to hold her.
I remember spending much of the last day watching classic TV on DVD with Susan and her boys after they had checked out of their room. I was sad to leave our little condo, and it is all the more bittersweet knowing it was the last vacation with Carolyn and our little family. We fought on the way home, which was made worse when we got in a horrendous traffic jam. It was made even worse when I tried to bypass it and ended up going back and getting into it - only further south than we had been, leaving us in it all the longer! It was dumb things like that that would understandably get on her nerves!
Sammy Blues
2005 will continue…
The underwater photo is priceless!
Peter
March 12th, 2008