Afternoon at Venice Beach.

Our Location today is Venice, Florida.

I don’t know why but I was sleeping better breathing all the sea air when we were down in the Keys. Yesterday we had more than enough rain for us not to venture outside the trailer. Kathy managed to sleep well but I kept laying awake for periods of time throughout the night. Finally when I got up just after 7:00 it was early enough to actually get my first sunrise picture of the season. 

My first Sunrise picture of the year.

Kathy slept so well I’d nearly finished reading all my morning blogs before she walked into the back room. Having toast and coffee for breakfast it didn’t take long for us to figure what we were doing and where we were going today. 

We were going to check out the Dome Flea Market in Venice. We’d have been there in ten minutes if the GPS could tell the difference between the right and the left side of the road.

There were a number of empty booths probably because it was shortly after 10:30 on a Sunday morning. There were a few vendors that dealt with used goods probably from estates but the rest only had new materials. There was one booth called the Treasure Chest that had costume jewelry covering every inch of her booth including lots hanging from the ceiling. It was awesome to see. We did walk away with some reasonably priced fresh Strawberries and Beefsteak tomatoes. 

Since it was still early and we hadn’t driven into the city of Venice we thought we’d look around. We stopped to look at a few of the tourist trap type stores and were slowly getting closer to the heart of the city so we decided to stop at Perkins for lunch. The parking lot was full and there was a ten minute wait for a table because many people had attended Sunday church services before going for lunch. The Grilled Salmon Diner we had was delicious and worth the wait.

Grilled Salmon with Sauteed Spinach and Herbed Rice.

We kept driving on highway 41 until we saw signs pointing to the Historic section of Venice and the beach. After crossing the drawbridge over the river this is truly the best part of the city but again it had plenty of touristy shops and restaurants. Before we knew it we had made it to the Venice Beach and lucked out getting a free parking spot just as someone else was leaving. 

Drawbridge traffic stop.

Antique sports cars.

We wondered over the dunes via the walkways and were stunned by the sight before us. Looking out at the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico the waves were rolling in at least five to six feet tall. It was beautiful! The Red flags were flying to indicate dangerous swimming conditions brought on by Rip Currents but the beach was full. People of all ages were out just enjoying a beautiful day at the beach. There were also quite a few Para-surfers zipping across the water being propelled by constant wind speeds of forty mph with higher gusts. Kathy and I had sat on a bench closer to the dunes enjoying all that was happening around us. When I moved about fifty feet closer to the water to take pictures the wind noise was almost deafening.

We took our time leaving but were still home by 5:00. Kathy busied herself cleaning the strawberries and in the process managed to cut the tip of her finger. So I helped her finish prepping them and then with her coaching I pealed the tomatoes and made our homemade Tomato Cheese Soup. It was more than filling and as tasty as if Kathy had made it herself. 

Homemade Tomato Cheese Soup.

After supper we stepped out of the trailer to bring the recycle down to the collection bin and nearly went into shock as the wind was making it feel very cold. Tomorrow the weather is looking better than today so I’m sure we’ll find something good to do. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

You own more CBs than CDs.