March 20: Ana Maria Island and a New Wallet

Our flight departed Tampa this afternoon around 4:20 pm bound nonstop for Michigan. Before leaving we had a delicious, very-filling breakfast at the Blue Dolphin Cafe on Longboat Key. They have two locations right there on the gulf, the other being in St. Armand's Circle. I highly recommend the Crab Eggs Benedict if you're ever in the area. From there, we drifted down the key and eventually discovered Ana Maria Island. We had passed through several times in the past, but never stopped. Since we had an hour or so to kill, we decided to browse the local shops. Turns out this is one of the coolest places I've ever visited in Florida! And, I have to say, I'm fairly experienced as a Florida visitor. As a kid, my family used to come down to Florida every year to see my grandparents. During those trips, we'd visited Fort Myers, Tampa, Zephyrhills, Sanibel Island and Orlando. Not to mention that my wife and I were married on Captiva Island! One of the local shops we checked out is called The Hive Creations. Everything in the store is handmade by U.S. artists. Things like clothing, jewelry, home decor, wall art, and one of the most unique things I've ever come across...wallets made entirely out of duct tape. There's a company in Portland, OR called jDUCT that makes them. I'm not usually one to lay out money for novelty items such as this, but I needed a new wallet anyway and these were pretty cool. Unfortunately, there were only a few designs to choose from so I went with the Drunken Squirrel. You can check out their online store for a complete gallery of designs available. Anyway, we've already marked Ana Maria Island down as a must-visit spot for our 2011 trip. It would be nice to spend a full day there and explore beyond the one street on which we stopped. I hear the beaches there are nice, as well.