Thursday, February 6, 2020

Being a Coastal Bohemian -Bradenton/ Anna Maria Island /Tampa Area Part 1 #travel #Florida #Bradenton # StPetersburg

Being a Coastal Bohemian -Bradenton/ Anna Maria Island /Tampa Area


I’m just back from a 2-weekish trip to areas in and around Bradenton, Anna Maria Island and Tampa and I’m writing this to give my insight to what I liked in the area. You’ll be especially interested if you tend to be a Coastal Bohemian like me. So, expect lots of beach, fishing and seashell info, water view foodie recommendations and artsy fun and finds along the way and keep reading to hear about the old man biker group we met up with late one night. Not Harley’s, these were totally duded up, pimp my ride style bicycles rigged with baskets and gear for fishing equipment.

First things first, fishing. The weather was so warm and amazing when we first arrived, we immediately headed over to Hubbard’s Marina in Madeira Beach. We were expecting incredibly calm seas, and this was perfect for us. We made reservations to go deep sea fishing the next day. You’ll be choosing your fishing spot on the boat when you make reservations so be prepared to strategize your location. We caught some fish and a tan and had a fantastic day on the Gulf. We had really expected to be out deep-sea fishing which as told to me is typically 20 nautical miles or more from land. However, the captain had us in 30- 50 feet of water most of the day. You see the area was having a run on Hogfish. 




Hogfish is typically caught spearfishing and not angling from a boat, typically. Our boat caught probably 6-8 Hogfish , did you catch that, our boat, we, did not catch Hogfish, but we were happy for those that did and what a fascinating fish it is to see, freshly caught like that. It’s almost surreal with it’s colorful rooster top and it’s big old lips. 
We caught a few Grunts.

 No pictures folks, because, make note, no phones with gps allowed on board. That’s right the captain doesn’t want his fishing location revealed so remember to bring a traditional camera. Expect a bag check for paraphernalia. Totally recommend this fishing fleet, the captain and the crew. We had a great day even if we didn’t catch Hogfish. This day, this boat -Keeper Hogfish, Red Grouper, Grunts, Grey Snapper, Sheepshead and Porgies 



Cortex Fishing Village and Cortez Beach

The next day we chilled out at Cortez Beach on Anna Maria Island. I spent the day picking seashells and hanging knee deep chatting with one of the locals. 
They have  clean bathrooms, changing stations and grills for BBQing. Everything about this location is perfect. We really enjoyed this beach.







On the way to the beach I recommend visiting Cortez Fishing Village, one of the oldest working Fishing Villages in Florida.
 The Fishing Village has  2 pack houses, fresh seafood restaurants overlooking the bay and Deep Sea and private charter fishing boats. I love this  tribute to the mullet fishermen . You can find bait shops and the Florida Maritime Museum. For a small donation you can learn about this Historic area. It's worth the stop to see the finds of a local Captain that donated his private collection of Turtle shells, ships logs, unique seashells and more.







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You can find bait shops and the Florida Maritime Museum. For a small donation you can learn about this Historic area. It's worth the stop to see the finds of a local Captain that donated his private collection of Turtle shells, ships logs, unique seashells and more.







Passing through the Village you're sure to notice the Sea Hag, an antique and nautical gift shop. This entryway at the Seahag has me gaga.






On Sunday we head to  the weekly Sunday Thai Buddist Market at Wat Mongkolratanaram. The grounds are beautifully adorned with Buddist statues and architecture. It sits on the river beautifully  landscaped with lush tropical gardens and orchids hanging from all the trees.




























Love this hollowed out bamboo planner. Can you say DIY?










The market is open 8:30am -1pm and they sell, freshly prepared Thai foods, and soups, herbs and fresh vegetables along with my favorite , the Thai sweets and tropical flowers. While I'm writing this and following up my information  I discover a 2nd temple is located in my town of Fort Walton Beach, Florida and they do the same Sunday market. Yippee.


Ok, enough for now. Part 2 coming soon. 

With love and gratitude,

Michele












Find me partying here all week, at these link parties, with some great bloggers.

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5 comments:

  1. My family and I vacationed just a few minutes away from Madeira Beach a couple of years ago and my husband and oldest son went fishing at night in the Tampa bay and had a ball.

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  2. The fishing in the area is fun. I love fishing at night. It's so peaceful. I really like the Madiera Beach/ St.Petersburg area too. Thanks for reading along.

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  3. Thank you so much for throwing light on such an important aspect of fishing charter service providers.

    Stpete Fishing Charters

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    Replies
    1. Hi James. Thanks for reading along. We loved the area and plan to come back next year.

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  4. Enjoyed seeing your photos, the plants were awesome as well as the stonework on the Seahag entry. Fishing sounded wonderful except the part about not being able to bring your phone! What did they do, check your bag to make sure you didn't have one? Thanks so much for linking up with me at my #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 9 where I leave a comment and share all entries on social media if share option is available, open February 1 to 26.

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