Bradenton (Cortez), FL. Seafood Shack Marina 12/1 thru 4

Friday, December 31, 2021

Bradenton (Cortez), FL. Seafood Shack Marina 12/1 thru 4

Bradenton (Cortez), Seafood Shack Marina 12/1 – 12/4

This is another marina that has a pretty good restaurant right on site. We partook of their offerings at least twice in the 3-4 days we were there! We found some old friends there, Kevin and Linda on Aurora, and had a dinner with them and another boat couple. While there we had the opportunity to visit with Dan’s cousin, Roxie, who has lived in Bradenton for many years. She picked us up, took us to a great seafood place on Anna Maria Island, then drove us all the way to the end of the island to their historic pier.

Also, while there, Michelle and Terry Brozek, who have a home in Bradenton as well in Royal Oak, picked us up and took us to a very nice restaurant on the island.

Dan REALLY wanted a new belt, and he found a good leather place in a ‘flea market’ in town. We managed to figure out the local bus schedule and took a bus ride, which included a transfer, to the market. We did find a belt for him and one for me. We whiled away the afternoon checking out the other offerings in the market, plus had some lunch and listened to some pretty good live music. To return to the boat, we took the easy way, and took an Uber to the transfer point. Everything worked great, until we missed our stop on the way back, and ended up walking back over the bridge plus about a quarter of a mile to the boat! No problem in that beautiful weather!

I should add a note about our journey in Florida so far, along the intracoastal waterway (ICW). There are MANY huge beautiful homes along the waterway. It’s fun to check them out. But, the most exciting and fun part is the dolphins! Several times, there were several dolphins who seemed to be playing in our wake and who stayed with us, jumping and splashing as they went, for quite a while. I’ll never tire of them!