Showing posts with label Venice Beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Venice Beach. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Happy Valentine's Day

Cooler today so we took Tessa for a longer walk along the Linear Path and around the block.  We stopped at Landmark to drop off some mail that we thought belonged to the owner but Trisha said she had no idea who it was.  Drove uptown to the In A Pickle food truck, which Bill is dying to try.  Unfortunately, the operator posted on FB that he wouldn't be there today due to a sick child.  So, we got Arby's and sat in the truck to eat.  Ugh.  Normally we might search out a nice neighborhood park but there was a lot of smoke in the area due to some controlled burns. 

Once home, I made the bed and Bill put the trash out.  I sat outside with my coffee and book, then played with Tessa while the coast was clear next door.  

The three of us left around 3:15 and headed to Venice for our annual Valentine's Day sunset.  Not quite the same having Tessa with us but we made it work.  We walked down the opposite side of the street, Bill found a bench to wait on and I crossed over to Ciao Gelato for our traditional sweet treat.  Bill got chocolate and I got half chocolate and half sea salt caramel.  I usually take a picture but I forgot.  We hung out at the bench while we ate.  Bill tied Tessa's leash to the bench and she was actually pretty good.  She gets pretty excited when other dogs come by but she is somewhat easily redirected.  She thinks she would like gelato, too.

I, too, would enjoy some gelato...
We didn't do any window shopping and I didn't get to wander through the quilt shop.  We did walk to the bathrooms, then back to the truck along a less busy side street which had some grass and we were hoping Tessa would pee.  She did not. haha We were nearly run over, while in the crosswalk, by a driver that was blinded by the sun.  

We arrived at the jetty around 5:00 and found a nice spot in the front row.  We sat on a bench on the jetty side and watched the boats going in and out.  We spotted dolphins and a manatee, which was cool.  Tessa enjoyed sitting on the bench with us.  Around 5:45 we walked down the road, on the side with grass, giving Tessa time to sniff and explore and pee.  Again...she did not.  Back to the truck, Bill stayed with her for awhile and I found a nice rock on which to perch.  No way was I sitting in the truck on the warmest Valentine's night in a few years.  69* ;o)

Bill gave Tessa the treat bone we brought, then joined me around 6:10 for the 6:20 sunset.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky, which means an unexciting sunset but there was a lot of smoke, so the sunset was kind of orange.  Not the best but not the worst either.  We have got to remember to stay at least thirty minutes after sunset for the best "after show" color!
6:18 pm

6:20 pm

6:27 pm
We headed home at 6:40 and arrived by 7:30.  I took a shower, then made popcorn for dinner. 

Hope your Valentine's Day was filled with love!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o) 


Thursday, February 2, 2023

Today is Brought to You by the Color Blue

Dropped Tessa at daycare and took our first trip this year to Venice for a walk along the waterway and pizza for lunch.  It was actually pretty warm so we didn't walk the 3+ miles to the Circus Bridge and back.  We did, however, walk a total of slightly more than 2 miles.  Bill's knee has been bothering him, so we took it a little easy.

We had lunch at The Soda Fountain, home to the largest slice of pizza in Venice.  While it is definitely a large slice of pizza, that is not beneficial when the pizza sucks.  We have enjoyed the pizza here for the past several years but today's slice was the worst ever.  Bill's was worse than mine.  He said it tasted like it was cooked yesterday and reheated...dry and tasteless.  I ordered a cherry lime ricky, which our favorite waitress Dina used to make for us.  Sadly, she is no longer there and the new people had ZERO idea how to make one.  One of the waitresses actually asked US if we knew what was in it.  It was a total bust.  We were so disappointed but we'll give it one more try.  If it sucks next time, we won't eat there again.  

Tessa was at daycare for a whole day, which is more than 5 hours, so we were in no hurry to return.  We drove down to the jetty and sat and watched the boats go in and out.  Not only did we find a parking place, we actually had a bench to sit on.  We stayed for maybe half an hour, then wandered over to the beach side.  It was a really beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky.

AND...Tessa was exhausted!  A tired dog is a good dog ;o)

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Happy Valentine's Day

A few years ago, Greg was visiting over Valentine's Day.  We found ourselves in Venice and ended up watching the sunset from the jetty at Venice Beach.  Every year since then, it has been our tradition to visit Venice on Valentine's Day.  We have pizza at Vinnie's Pizzeria, a gelato from Ciao Gelato and we watch the sunset from the jetty and take really bad selfies.
Venetian (the ultimate chocolate) and Strawberry

 The sunset was great this year and the temp was acceptable...65* and winds at 14.
5:26
6:10
6:13
6:16
6:16
6:18
6:21
6:24
6:26
6:29
6:29
6:34
6:26 pano
I really like the reflection in the one above ;o)
6:33 pano
You can see from the pano photos that the sky wasn't really as red as the other photos show it to be.  Don't ask me why, I'm not a professional.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Happy Valentine's Day

We enjoyed a super nice Valentine's Day!  We walked Titan from Landmark to the hospital and back.  After returning him to the house, we decided to have lunch at the Celtic Ray.  We sat at one of the covered swings in the front and had a great meal of fish and chips.
Gingerale and Strongbow
We used the gift card Greg gave us for Christmas!  

We came back home, let Titan out and Bill did some reading on the deck until we left, around 4:00 and drove to Venice.  Our first stop was Ciao Gelato, yummy!  
This stuff is so much creamier than ice cream.

We sat on one of the benches along the sidewalk and did some people watching while we finished our cones.  I stopped into the quilt shop and wandered around briefly, since it was time for it to close but the owner was nice enough to let me shop.  I bought a quilting pattern and a pattern for some small bags.  Bill waited patiently outside.  Unfortunately, most of the shops close at 5:00 but we found one that stayed open until 5:30 so I was able to get a postcard for Lori.

From there we drove to the Venice Beach jetty and were fortunate enough to find a parking spot right in front ;o)  It was fairly breezy, and we were early for the sunset, so we waited in the car for a while.  We got out around 6:00 and found ourselves a nice place to sit on the rocks and watch the sunset.  There weren't any clouds in the sky, so the sunset was nice but not spectacular. There appeared to be some fog along the horizon because the sun sort of disappeared.
I think I like the ones with the birds the best.

We even waited for the "after show", which is often better than the sunset itself, but not tonight.
I took these two with my phone because I wanted to try black and white.
We stopped at Bocca Lupo for a Margherita pizza on our way home.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Friends, Gelato and the Beach

We met our friends, Archer and Karen Ann, in Venice for lunch at Trattoria da Mino.  It's a cute little place and the food was very good.  We planned to spend some time together after lunch but their tiny little dog, Rocky, wasn't feeling well and they wanted to get back to him so they headed home and we stayed in Venice.  We did some window shopping and got gelato; I wandered through the quilt shop.
 I swear this is some of the best gelato ever!

From there we drove the short distance to Venice beach and sat for awhile on one of the benches.  The beach was quiet and the water was emerald green.  Venice beach is a beautiful beach where lots of people like to pick up shells.
Once we got home, we sat on the deck long enough for Titan to enjoy a frozen treat.  It was 85* and too hot to sit in the sun for very long.

We took Titan for a walk along 41 after dinner and caught sight of a beautiful sunset.

Thanks for stopping by...


Sunday, February 14, 2016

We Had a Busy Day...

It was 50* when I got up this morning; however, it was -3* at home (felt like -27*).  We enjoyed a nice, slow morning.  While Bill took Titan for a walk, Greg and I did a little reading.  We left about 11:45, got gas and headed north to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota.  As it turns out, not only is today Valentine's Day but it was also the first day of the Orchid Show, so it was really busy!   

We started in The Tropical Conservatory, which is where all the orchids are and ended going back through there, when it wasn't quite so busy.

There were several large displays of orchids, providing a great backdrop for photos.
There were over 500 varieties of orchids in this one room and the different colors were amazing!
Photo by Greg Wehmeyer
Photo by Greg Wehmeyer
Looks like a bug!

Some of the blossoms were as big as a hand and others were super tiny.
I enjoy all of the different textures found in the gardens.
Zombia antillarum
Philodendron williamsii
And they have super cool names ;o)

There is the koi pond
Photo by Greg Wehmeyer
Photo by Greg Wehmeyer
We enjoyed the children's section, except for all the children...
and the area that overlooks Sarasota Bay.
What do you see?  What do you seeee? 
I really like this photo ;o)
Not exactly sure what the theme was but there were a lot of mannequins throughout the gardens outfitted in flowers.
We stayed for about three hours, wandering around and taking pictures...lots of pictures!  We also had a bite to eat at the Selby Cafe.  The food was good, although somewhat pricey. 

We left about 4:00, stopped at McDonalds for iced coffees and drove to Venice.  The beach parking was full so we drove to the jetty and were lucky enough to find a parking space!  Continuing our lucky streak, Bill ran into a cousin of his, Richey Kenny, who he hasn't seen in years and years and years.  So weird!

We walked along the jetty and the beach, then decided to stay a little longer and watch the sunset.  So glad we did, I think we have a new Valentine tradition...sunset at Venice Beach!
There is a lot of erosion at this end of the beach but we were able to walk above it until it flattened out.
shell seeker
 It was really a beautiful evening!
Someone couldn't put down their stick (Bill)
The sunset was well worth waiting for...
Photo by Greg Wehmeyer
Photo by Greg Wehmeyer
Photo by Greg Wehmeyer
After a quick stop at home to feed Titan and take him out to do his business, we went to The Icehouse Pub for dinner and darts.
Greg takes aim
Although we didn't finish the game before our table was ready, someone got lucky and threw a bullseye on HER first turn.
Bullseye!
and consequently SHE was ahead and declared the winner!!!
Such a good winner...HAHA
Ended the day at home around 9:30.

Sorry for the long post but it was a very busy day!  Thanks for stopping by...
;o)