Author: yvettefrancino

This week’s Microadventure was a spontaneous trip to see an Art Show in Sanibel with Becky.

On Friday morning, I saw a post on Facebook from an old colleague from the Sun days, Geoff Coe.  I knew Geoff was somewhere in Florida and I’d seen many of his posts with his stunning photography.  In his post, Geoff said he would be at this art show on Friday and Saturday from 9-4pm.

The weather was a lot cloudier and colder than usual, and the forecast for Saturday was even worse, with rain predicted. If we were going to go, the sooner the better!

Lucky for me, Becky is an up-for-anything kind of gal-pal, and she generously offered to make the 2+ hour drive with me to go see the show.

It was wonderful to see Geoff again after so many years and hear about his business, Geoff Coe’s Wild Images. The photographs were amazing and stunning to see in person.

Geoff’s booth was very busy. I found out he’ll be in Sarasota, too, a couple of times this summer, so I’ll get to see him again!

Unfortunately, the weather was too cold to get out to the beach, but I still had fun having the afternoon with Becky. Even though I’ve been living with her all month, Becky and I have each been so busy, we’ve hardly had any time to do something together! It’s always good to get some one-on-one time with the wise and wonderful Becky Burns.

After enjoying our fill of the art show, we meandered next door to a very fun and funky restaurant, Island Cow, for an early dinner before heading home.

Every day is a sweet adventure here in sunny Florida so it’s hard to choose just one to blog about. However, since one of my “requirements” for a microadventure is that another person is with me, and John invited me to play miniature golf tonight, it’s my pick for  Microadventure #3!

We met up at The Fish Hole in Lakewood Ranch, a winsome little town about 20 minutes North of Sarasota.  The evening air was clear and beautiful, in the mid 60’s (while back home in Colorado it’s a frigid 27 degrees.)

The decor was full of whimsical fishing gear and signs and even a little bell to ring to show you were having fun. We were the only patrons in the whole place so we had the sole attention of Aaron, the helpful kid at the front desk! It was as though we were royalty or celebrities having a private party in this colorful, bright attraction! No lines, no kids, no waiting, no worries!

Each hole featured a different type of fish with facts and information about the fish. You know how I love themes and the whole place was very fishy!

But, of course, the game here is putt-putt golf, not fishing. John brought his custom-made putter and he said that putter has been in many-a-mini-golf-course. 

He shared the putter with me and it must have brought me good luck because it was the best game of mini-golf I’ve ever played! I even got a hole-in-one on two different holes! 

John was ahead of me for most of the game, but we ended up with exactly the same score! 26 each – only 4 over par!

After we finished, we strolled on Main Street which was lined with plenty of shops and dinner restaurants to choose from. Everything looked clean and new and very Disney-esque.  Straight from a fairy tale!

We ended up choosing a Mexican restaurant, eating out on a patio and enjoying the musicians and all the delightful smells, sights and sounds of the beautiful evening.

I am having so much fun here in sunny Florida! Every day is a “microadventure” but the one I’m going to blog about is my Saturday excursion to Venice, Florida!

Venice is a quaint little beach town about 30 minutes south of Becky’s townhouse in Sarasota. As I mentioned, the challenge I’ve set for myself with these microadventures is every week to see a new place with another person and blog about it.

For this adventure, my “other person” was a very handsome and sweet Bumble date, John, who was an excellent tour guide as he’s lived in Venice for many years.  

We met up at Centennial Park on Venice Avenue. John showed me this super-cool Kaleidoscope Spinning Flower Pot!  Check it out!

There was 60’s music playing at the gazebo and an older couple was dancing out in the park. It was like a scene right out of Norman Rockwell. John said that music is often playing in the park and I made a mental note that I wanted to come back to hear more.

We were both hungry, though, so we left the park to eat at T.J. Carneys, a yummy pub with a fun vibe. The elegant woman who showed us to our seats looked to be in her 80’s, still with plenty of pep in her step! John ordered up a French Dip, and I, still motivated by my January healthy eating goals, had a delicious “Summertime Salad.” Ah!  How awesome to have “summertime” in winter!

After lunch, we strolled the quaint shops along Venice Avenue, full of beachy treasures. I loved browsing and admiring the decor in beautiful shades of teal, pinks, and blues.  There were all sorts of unique finds, like some cool aqua jelly-fish-shaped lampshades!

Unlike most guys I know, John didn’t mind shopping at all..  he was even the one who suggested it! He especially enjoyed this store that was full of shells and sharks teeth! He was very knowledgable about the different types of shark teeth and it sounds like he’s quite the collector! He told me that the best beach to find shark teeth was nearby Nokomis beach.

Venice Avenue not only had super-cute shops and restaurants, but the streets and outdoors were filled with whimsical painted mermaids and seahorses. I asked John to get one of me posing with the pretty purple mermaid to send to my sister (she likes mermaids like I like flamingos.)

And speaking of flamingos…   you KNOW I had to get a picture of this guy, still dressed up for Christmas!

When we got to the end of the downtown row of shops, John told me that the beaches were just a little bit further!   We both went in our own cars, caravan style, with our phones on and John still being a personal tour guide as we headed for Venice Beach and Fishing Pier.

The weather was perfect..  sunny and in the 70’s. Everywhere I turned, there was beauty — in the sky, the shore, the water, the pier. 

This gull was proudly holding a shrimp he’d caught for photo-snapping tourists like me! At one point, he dropped his shrimp, and John retrieved it and he picked it right out of his hand as though he were a pet bird.

Our final stop was Nokomis Beach. John had some other errands to run, so this is where we said our goodbyes. It was close enough to sunset that I wanted to stay and enjoy the beach a little longer. I didn’t find any shark teeth, but the beach was just full of beautiful shells, perfectly in tact!

I never get tired of looking at this scene. It fills me with a sense of awe and peace. 

When someone asks, “What is a perfect day for you?” I would have to answer it’s a day like this one!