For those of you who are not familiar with AMI it's a "salty piece of land" as the great Jimmy Buffett would so eloquently describe it located on the west coast of Florida near Bradenton/Sarasota. The island is about seven miles long and probably no more than a mile and a half wide. It was largely undiscovered until about 10 years ago when it started gaining attention in the media as a hidden jewel. Unfortunately it's not so hidden anymore but it still and always will be a magical place.
AMI and more specifically Coquina Beach on the south end of the island was the beach of choice for most of us Mulberrian's as we navigated our youth back in the late 60's and 70"s. Not only was it the closest beach but in my humble opinion it's one of if not the best in a state loaded with awesome beaches. If you're not familiar with Florida beaches and thinking of making a trip this way I personally favor the west coast (gulf beaches) to those on the east coast (Atlantic beaches).
Beth's family has a history on the island that dates back more than 100 years and I'll share more on that history and tradition in later blogs. Her Mom and Dad moved to the island in the late 80's after he retired. He loved fishing and this was the perfect place for them. Beth's family and extended family are full of fishermen and many of them learned the "how's and when's" of fishing from him, especially when it came to wading up to your neck around the mangroves and throwing a castnet over a school of unsuspecting mullet. Beth's dad was able to enjoy living on the island for about 10 years until he passed away but left behind an amazing legacy.
We have the privilege of sharing in the care of Beth's mom and will be staying with her for most of the next two months. She's a pleasure to be around, has a great sense of humor and enjoys adventures and outings. There will be daily beach walks, sitting under the trees on both the bay and gulf side of the island and of course the daily visual extravaganza of sunset but there is also plenty to keep me busy. There is yard work and work that needs to be done both outside and inside the house.
Yesterday I started on some of the yard work and in about two hours of trimming and cleaning out bushes I must have done well over 200 squats. This activity is serving as a painful reminder today that these are muscles that I had ignored for a while. I'm moving at the pace of about a 90 year old who is taking her 15 year old poodle out for a walk and getting out of a chair is a long drawn out process. The manual labor is good for the body, mind and soul and I'm looking forward to it but I may just take it a little easy today.
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| AMI North to South View |
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| Yep, those are my feet! I like sending pictures like this to what is now my former colleagues back at Texas Health Huguley |
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| On the "bay side" of the island-That's the City Pier and Restaurant in the distance |
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| Every sunset is different and every sunset is spectacular |
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| Just after the sun has gone down |
