I never really knew the importance of vacations where you don’t have something planned every moment of the day – but Bobby is showing me just how wonderful they can be. In fact, Vacation Bobby is my new favorite Bobby!
We had each, separately, been to Anna Maria Island – in our previously lives, and both loved it, so when given the opportunity to visit we jumped! We stayed at the loveliest little cottage – it has 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, but the real gem is the backyard! It’s got a private heated pool that is so instagram worthy! We did spend time at the beach, which was fantastic, but always found ourselves back at home in the pool.
The cottage is walking distance to the beach, The Ugly Grouper, The Doctor Office, Vinny’s Italian Kitchen and several bus/trolley stations. We took advantage of the Monkey Bus when we needed to get around – a free bus on the island! And spent our sunsets at The Sandbar joining the others trying to figure out what time the sun would set so we could win a bottle of champagne.
If you’re looking for a private getaway, we HIGHLY recommend Key Lime Cottage! If you have any questions about the place, you can ask me, or really, the owner is great at responding to questions!
While there, we took a 6 hour deep sea fishing trip with Reel Cortez Charters. There are plenty of charters to choose from, but we landed on this one because it had a lot of activity on their socials, and a bathroom on board. Hey – who wants to be 10+ miles away from a bathroom? Not me! It was the best decision! Our captain took us right out to where the mangrove snapper were and we caught our allotted amount within the hour! Then we tried a couple of different spots where we caught a blowfish, grouper, and the strangest red-lipped walking batfish! We even tried to catch a Goliath Grouper, a la Chasing Monsters, but had no such luck. It was such an awesome day with dear friends – and we capped off the trip by taking our fish to the neighboring restaurant where they cooked our catch of the day! And left plenty for us to ship home!
Bobby also surprised me with a trip to swim with the manatees! River Ventures was excellent to work with – and I highly recommend asking for Captain Troy and Jose! We swam with baby manatees and because we signed up for a small group tour, got lots of one on one time with the manatees!
If you need to get away, definitely check out this charming little island. There’s as much or as little to do there as you want!
Cheers!
Amanda
A Scandalous Grace 