Royal tern

Sunday
I just can’t seem to keep up with Blip at present - I either seem to have the photographs, but no time or inclination to write an entry, or I don’t have a photograph - maybe I should just quit or take a break. However, I do want to keep a record of the last few weeks, when we have been down in Florida, spending Christmas and New Years with family, so I am going to try and do some catch up, then we’ll see what happens when we get back home!
Our original booking here on Anna Maria Island, near Bradenton, was for two weeks, and we were due to start our journey home yesterday, however we decided to stay an extra week - the joys of being retired! Part of the reason for this, other than simply wanting more time in the sun, warmth and colour of Florida (!) was because we discovered our friends Jan and Steve from Colorado were coming down to Anna Maria Island last Friday! I had forgotten that their eldest son is now living in nearby Bradenton. It was very unfortunate timing, as we became friends through our daughters - Jan had been Laura’s Brownie troop leader many years ago, and Chelsea and Laura have remained friends ever since, despite Chelsea’s family moving initially to Chicago, and later to Colorado, and then Laura being out of the country for the last 6 years or so. Laura left us to return to Kuwait on Wednesday, and then they arrived on Friday evening! Chelsea is also currently living out of the country, pursuing her PhD at St. Andrews University in Scotland.
And so to my blip. This morning we went to church - we’ve found a great community church on the island, where we have worshipped several times over the holiday. Then much of the afternoon we spent at the beach, which is just five minutes walk from our “cottage”. The sea was a little calmer than yesterday, and we both went in for a swim, sat and read our books, and went for quite a long walk on the beach. We passed several clusters of shore birds, including these royal terns. Late afternoon, we went back to our accommodation for a cup of tea, then popped out to pick up a few things for dinner, stopping to see the sunset from Manatee Beach on the way.