Exploring Venice, FL

     It was a cloudy day so we decided to drive an hour to Venice, FL and explore their beaches. Most of the trip was in the car, but we did get out and walk to the amazing beaches a few times. We liked the fact that, if times were normal, we could walk around old town Venice and then walk or ride bicycles to the beach. 

This town has parking all along the beach and it is FREE. Just outside of town we drove down a narrow road that was lined with homes that make the homes on Captiva and Sanibel look small! The new homes being built were up, garages under the home, and the homes were all glass. It seemed the elevation was a safety feature but the glass was questionable! That fact was really brought home after we arrived home and just North of us had tornados. 

We drove to the dead end of Venice where the beach was eroding and the parking lot was in the sand dunes. On the way we saw a lush golf course bordering the busy airport. Driving around the airport we saw all sizes of jets and personal planes. One plane had the propeller on the rear!

Near the end was an outdoor restaurant, Sharky's, and we stopped for an amazing lunch. There were not many people there and the hostess explained there were two parts to the restaurant. The areas were basically the expensive side and the cheaper side, with the main difference being the view and the fact everything was not fried. Having been homebound for months made the view quite important! We were outside and there was a nice breeze so masks could come off! The food was delicious and so was the view!

The drink I ordered was amazing!

I had Grouper! It was expensive but there was so much to eat! Duf had a burger that was equally amazing topped with some of their special bacon that lived up to the delicious hype. The grouper looks fried but it was what they called grilled with a light coating.

 I was kind and helped an older lady in a wheelchair and her son-in-law came when we received the bill and wanted to pay for our meal! Nice gesture but we refused, kindness doesn't always need a reward.

After lunch I visited the restroom and it was very clean, but I was most impressed by the sink!

Following lunch we drove to the pier and on the way found Duf's paradise. There were amazing condos on  canals off the intercoastal that had parking for the boats. He fell in love and wants to ditch the RV, buy a condo and boat! Something we will discuss but I did love the idea and Venice is a cute place. This picture is not a good one but we did not often leave the safe air of the car!

We got about 5 miles from home before the rain started. It was also quite windy and we were glad we had put everything away before we left on our adventure. North of us they had tornado activity!