Destination: Anna Maria Island

Happy Monday… Today I bring you greetings from Anna Maria Island, but before I show you what a fabulous time I had with 5 other bloggers for an awesome 4 day girl escape getaway, I wanted to say congrats to the 5 winners of the Duluth giveaway I held last Monday. You can find the winner’s names at the end of this post.

Lots of summer celebrating going on around here. The perfect way to start it off right.

I got to spend 4 days and nights on Anna Maria Island on the beautiful gulf coast of Florida. I know many of you have been waiting patiently for me to post all about the trip – here it is.

We each flew to the island separately and met up at the Tampa airport. Ford provided us with two brand new Ford Fusions so we could travel to and around the island in style.

Carrie from Making Lemonade, Kelly from Eclectically Vintage, Karah from The Space Between are in photo above. Myself, Beth from Unskinny Boppy, and Roeshel from the DIY Showoff also went. Each of them are posting about the trip today.

If you like fun in the sun…you could win a trip for you and your family and stay at the luxurious rental home we stayed at….details are at the end of the post.

This post has lots of photos, but I wanted to show you as much as I could about the trip, where we stayed, and what we did around the island. We stayed at this beautiful rental home called Sirenia Cove. It is in a quiet neighborhood on the north end of the island. It is a family-friendly luxury vacation rental conveniently located within walking distance of two pristine beaches with fabulous waterfront views. It was bright and spacious and boasts a pool and outdoor bar and grilling area, complete with a big screen TV. This is where we spent a good deal of time. It was the perfect spot if you like sun or shade. It is a well planned out area that offers both. A few steps away from the pool is a dock with access to the canal. It was quite peaceful. We ate breakfast here and watched the fish jump. When you walk in the front door of Sirenia Cove, you are greeted by bright and cheery colors and a very creative staircase railing… and a view of the main living area which was comfy and spacious. Behind the dining table are French doors that take you to a sun room with even more comfortable seating. Then through the sun room there is a screened-in porch. There is no shortage of seating. All the furnishings are brand new. The kitchen is bright and cheery. We only made breakfast, but it is a well-stocked kitchen filled with all the cookware and serving ware for a large group. We went out to eat the rest of our meals at a few of the islands many restaurants. The house sleeps 10. There are 3 bedrooms on the main floor and two full baths. The bathroom that has this shower in it is a private bath for the occupants of the yellow room. This is the room I stayed in. It was “just my style”. On the second floor is the master bedroom and 3rd full bath. There is also a seating area that is away from the main living room. If anyone wants to get away to read or chill out – this is the place to come. There is one more floor – actually a small loft that you climb a ladder to get up into. It has windows on all sides and a great view of the area surrounding the house. I don’t have a photo of that area, but kids would love it. It does feel a little like gym class to get up there, but if you opt to try – it is worth checking out. We traveled to the island in Ford Fusions, but a car is not the only way to get around the island. An island alternative is to rent a golf cart from Fun and More Rentals. We toured the island in this 6 seater golf cart. Open air all around – it was FUN! We were headed to dinner when Carrie took this selfie with Karah and Beth. We headed to Eat Here that was a highly recommended place for dinner. We were seated in a cozy booth that had mirrored walls around it. See the waiter taking our photo in the reflections? I ordered Shrimp and Kale Salad- it was DELISH. When we headed to the beach, we hopped on these beach cruisers that were also from Fun and More Rentals. They delivered both the golf cart and bikes right to the house. They were waiting for us when we arrived. If you don’t want to drive or pedal, there is also a trolley that goes all around the island. We used the bikes to check out the hip and trendy shops on Pine Street and to get to… ..the Anna Maria Island city pier. This is a very happening place – there is a restaurant at the end as well as lots of spots for the locals to fish. One afternoon we took the golf cart out to explore a few surrounding neighborhoods. We saw waterfront mansions to little cottages with a creative flair. Don’t you just love how this homeowner lined their garden? There are lots of shops and eateries all over the island. We read that it was a MUST to try the mouth-watering donuts from Anna Maria Donuts. They are made fresh right in front of you. We chose chocolate and peanut topping and a cinnamon topping, but there are many other different options to choose from to customize your donut eating experience.
The beach was only a short walk or bike ride away. The weather was perfect and the Gulf of Mexico as blue as the sky. I found a starfish and quite a few shells to add to my collection on my morning walks. If a car, golf cart, or bike is not your cup of tea for transportation, how about renting a kayak to tour the island from the water? Karah, Kelly, myself, and Carrie went on a guided kayak tour with a very cute tour guide, Matt. He gave the tour while standing and paddling on a paddle board – it was was quite impressive. He even took this photo while he was still standing on the board. When we were not out touring the island, we could be found hanging out here. If you are feeling island lazy, this home has everything to keep you relaxed or entertained. There is a fridge in the garage to keep your Margaritas cold while you relax…. or watch the game on the big screen TV. If you need a little recreation after relaxing all day, you could swim a few laps in the pool or play ping pong in the open garage that is behind the wooden doors in the photo above. Bloggers hard at work… Instagramming and Tweeting…while sipping cool drinks. To keep our drinks from getting warm, we just had to put them under a shade pop. It keeps your phone from getting hot, too! Our getaway went by way too fast…. it was hard leaving. But we had to pack up and get back to our normal.