Down by the Seashore

My folks said the weather hasn't been this gorgeous in several weeks. It's been absolutely grand. Yesterday, we went down to Punta Gorda to the Fisherman's Village, a collection of shops and boutiques directly on the Gulf. The girls enjoyed it for the shopping and the guys enjoyed it for the surrounding piers and collection of boats. Here we are at Harpoon Harry's, an open-air restaurant and pub where you can have a drink and watch the boats come in. And here is a picture of a spectacular sailboat, heading out to sea...hopefully the Captain had less to drink than we did!

The wildlife is amazing; we've seen dolphins and pelicans, alligators and little lizards, and while we were leaving my parent's house, found this turtle trying to make his way across the street. Here's a picture of John, gallantly giving the little guy a lift across the street. Yesterday afternoon, we headed over to the beach on Manatee Key, just a few miles down the road from where Stephen King has a mansion directly on the Gulf, and where he apparently got his inspiration for his latest novel. Here are the girls, raking the surf for shells and shark's teeth. A pod of dolphins was swimming just off shore, and we stayed until the sun set, which was breathtaking.