A Day of Exploration

We heard about a neighborhood in Sarasota County, about 20 minutes from the beach, and 30-ish minutes from Sarasota to the North and Port Charlotte to the South. Apparently, this area was being built up as a yuppie suburb until the recession killed the housing market. With such a large inventory of new homes, it's possible to purchase a beautiful new home there with a good sized property and even- gasp!- a pool. Realtor.com had some great listings. We had to look at this magical place.
So, yesterday morning we packed the cooler and beach bag and headed south on I-75. Around North Bradenton we got off and took the main road (Tamiami Trail) south, so we could get a better look at the areas we were passing through. We always love going to Sarasota, St. Armand's, and Lido Beach, but we haven't gone much farther south. It was interesting.

Venice was cute, in an old, kitchy, not-too-commercial beach town kind of way. The beaches were quite nice. The towns between Venice and North Port were....interesting. Again, we missed some stuff since we were on the main drag, but it was nothing fabulous.

North Port, the magic land, was not so magical. We weren't surprised. We're well aware that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But we just couldn't believe that the streets were cracked and lacked curbs and sidewalks. The residential streets lacked a certain charm... it wasn't particularly cozy. Some streets just make you feel comfortable and welcome, and this just didn't do it for us. Nothing looked well planned (or well manicured, for that matter).

There was about one decent looking shopping plaza, and one main road (Toledo) looked nice. Maybe we need to give it another chance? Plan better?

Grossed out, we sped out of there.

Needing the beach, we were planning on heading to Lido, but stopped in Siesta Key instead.

Ahhhh... what a good choice! Not that we don't like Lido and St. Armand's.... we just wanted low key (aka not fighting for a parking spot with the Bentleys). Plus, I haven't been to Siesta Key since 1989, and John has never been.

Sugar sand, warm and clear turquoise water, and peace. This is what the move down south was all about.

To top off a perfect day, a large rainbow appeared in the rain clouds on our way home. A sure sign of good things to come.

Fun Tampa Neighborhood: Channelside

OK, so one of the interesting by-products of moving is suddenly missing things you never thought you would miss. Fortunately, when we need a little "city" action, we've found some new places to satisfy the cravings.

Today, we were looking for a pretty walk on the water and some mindless fun. The remedy? Channelside! It's like Battery Park and South Street Seaport combined, minus the hundreds of thousands of people and the police parade. And knockoff handbags. And it's pretty.

We went for a walk along the river behind the St. Pete Times Forum and over towards Harbor Island. Then we headed over to Splitzville (http://www.splitzvillelanes.com/) for a bucket of Red Stripe and some good, clean, competitive fun!

Oh, so that's why it's called Tampa Bay Lightning...

We've seen some pretty spectacular

weather here in the past five months!

Frost in January, 102 degree heat index this past week... some of the most awesome thunderstorms I've seen in a very long time.

One just passed over in the last half hour... it looked like strobe lights and sounded like a repeating drum. The storm cloud was directly overhead... I could still see blue skies all around it.

The rainbows and sunsets are fantastic too!

Green Acres

"...keep Manhattan just give me that countryside..."
(I don't know why, but that song pops into my head now and again when I think of our move)

Yes, it is true...it has ACTUALLY happened...

After years of talk and debate, John and I have actually packed up our life in Brooklyn and moved it to Tampa, Florida!

Why?

New York City is definitely an exciting place. The shops, the restaurants, the people watching... the traffic, the congestion, the cost of living, the snow... every place has its pros and cons. We had fun in New York, but after a while it no longer suited our needs. The rent was too high, the commute was long, and life in general was exhausting. Why should we work so hard to live in sub-human conditions?

We considered New Jersey, upstate NY, Long Island... but what we needed was something entirely different. A place where life is a little more laid back, more centered around family and nature. Somewhere with space, so we can own our own dirt. And someplace warm.

We fell in love with San Diego during a visit in 2003, but it was REALLY too far away. Then, in 2005, we took a trip to Tampa (say that five times fast) for my aunt and uncle's wedding. The ceremony was held on Longboat Key. The sun was shining, the air was clean and clear, there was lush foliage and flowers all around, the sand was sugary white, and the waters were crisp turquoise. It was love at first sight.

Exploring the surrounding areas, we found beautifully built, clean towns with open shopping areas. We found a city that contained everything you could ever want... and no litter! No crowds! People were walking, jogging, biking, swimming, kayaking, boating... the focus on the outdoor life was evident. The busses here even have bike racks on the front of them!

It was as if someone had removed the shutters from our eyes. Why should we feel such warmth and joy only once a year on vacation? Why can't we feel this sun-kissed wonderful-ness every day of our lives? Look at what we are missing!

So we did it. It took some time and planning, and a last minute pack-up-and-run (to be discussed in another post...) but we are here and we are so happy.

We miss our families in New York and Ohio dearly. This blog is a way to stay in touch, stay connected, stay involved with each other's lives. Please visit and post as often as you like!

Love,

Jessica and John