I’m not much of a beach guy. And if you can’t tell by how much content has been published on this website, I’m not very good at relaxing either.
However, I have some BIG changes coming in my life, so I succumbed to the seductive advances of a beach vacation and begrudgingly consented to some R&R. Yes, the day finally came when the notorious P.E.T.E.R. took a relaxing beach vacation. In fact, the only camera I brought was my phone!
The destination was Anna Maria Island.
It’s a quiet little strip of paradise off the Gulf Coast of Florida, just south of Tampa and St. Petersburg, and just north of Sarasota and Siesta Key.
We were initially surprised to learn that summer is off-season for travel to Florida, but when I felt the rush of hot, humid air hit me as I stepped out of the airport, it made more sense. During the days it was—to me—almost prohibitively hot. That didn’t prevent us from getting out for some mid-day sun, but the more natural rhythm was to get our ‘outside-time’ during the mornings and evenings, with climate-controlled siestas in between when the day was its hottest.
In terms of personality, Anna Maria turned out to have a bit of a country vibe. When we arrived at our Airbnb, there was some sort of country hits radio on shuffle to welcome us, and there were overt references to “redneck” culture that continued to pop-up throughout our stay. On our final day we did a dolphin boat tour around the protected waters between Anna Maria and mainland Florida. We did see a bunch of dolphins, which was cool, but what I remember most from that tour was our cruise through a little area that is apparently known locally as the “redneck riviera.” At the very bottom of Anna Maria Island, between the barrier islands and a small interior island called Jewfish Key 🫤 there is a sandbar where the water is shallow enough for a child to walk around. The cool thing is that it’s surrounded on all sides by deep water, so it’s basically only accessible by boat. So there were a number of boats floating nearby, encircling this sandy, teal-water playground, with people walking around in the middle. It was really cool. And of course, the Florida gulf-coast water is as warm as bath water.
Setting aside the magical marine world that was only accessible by boat, Anna Maria Island itself made getting around very easy. There are 2 or 3 air-conditioned FREE public buses that drive in loops, up and down Anna Maria, making regular stops for people to get on and off as they please. We did make one bus-enable excursion to the far-side of the island, but after that—because this trip was supposed to be about relaxation—I don’t think we went further than 1,000 feet from the little beach-front bungalow we had rented. We really didn’t need to! There were great restaurant options right around us, and the beach was about 200 feet from our front door.
I am not built for the heat, so dealing with a heat index of more than 100° F was not fun for me, but it was worth it for those Florida sunsets.
In an ironic twist of fate, my first attempt at a relaxing vacation landed me in Urgent Care when a beach umbrella accessory snapped and cut the bejesus out of my hand. There was blood. And since the beach is just about the dirtiest place I could possibly have been, I had to go get the wound professionally cleaned and wrapped.
So that definitely put a damper on my remaining beach time, but even I had to admit… it was kind of funny.
When I finally tried to slow down and relax, this happens to me? 😂
Oi vey. At least it happened late in the trip.
Unfortunate events aside, this trip was one of some significance for me. It would not be long before I would be packing up and moving to the other side of the world for grad school (that’s coming in the next article), so taking some time to just be still was kind of profound.
Up next: Peter goes back to moving very fast.
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About The Author 👋
Peter was born & raised in Columbus, Ohio and started this blog when he moved from Boston to Hanoi (Vietnam) in 2014. After years based in Nashville working on his band, The Great Palumbo, he now resides in London, UK.
P.S. Watch out for Florida Man!
