(the above is a secret coded message which you should just ignore unless you are  Heather or Pete)

Ahoy!

Hey, look what I found!

Okay, so here is my end of the bargain…

Just south of Venice Beach (west central Florida) is a small beach on Manasota Key named… well, you guessed it, Manasota Beach. It is one of the few beaches left in Florida that has free parking. It’s a wonderful little spot that is known by locals (who are probably mad at me for telling you about this) with the distinct charm that the old Florida beach’s have to offer.

Here it is, Manasota Beach

Beautiful white sand, lots of seashells, calm surf… It’s what I really love about living in Florida. No high-rises or blaring traffic noise. Just a nice beach.

There are public restrooms and a place to change clothes. It is an amazingly short walk from the parking lot to the beach. Bring the kids and the metal detector for a little added fun.

The teeth are easy to spot once you develop an eye for them. They like to hide among the numerous shells that are there for the taking as well. The shells can make some very pretty decorations in the home, only limited by your imagination.

Here is the mixture of shells and teeth, is this great or what!

Just start poking through the shells and sand. You will start to find the teeth easily after a little bit. One of the best times is after a good blow from offshore. New material has washed up and is ready for sorting!

Told ya, just a short walk to the beach.

This little pile took about an hour to gather.

There was even a bonus quarter here which can be applied to the purchase of a really great book!

So, get digging and start your collection of fossilized Florida shark’s teeth. Then click on the book link and get yourself a really great novel to take to the beach with you the next time you head out for some teeth, or just a relaxing day on the beach.

Once you finish the first novel, let me know what you would like to see in the sequel. I’m about halfway through with it and our hero is into some pretty exciting stuff. Then maybe, just maybe… I’ll tell you where to get the shrimp!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

Here’s the book link!

http://www.southerncrosses.com/book/

I’ve sent the below letter to my representatives, Senator Dennis L. Jones (R) and Representative Rick Kriseman (D).

You can easily find your elected lawmakers at : My Representatives

Please feel free to copy and paste any portion, or my letter in it’s entirety. I’ve left my home address out of this post intentionally but did include it in the email.

Thanks for any support you may lend.

Representative Kriseman,

During your upcoming legislative session, I urge you to dissuade any actions in support of off shore drilling within Florida waters. Take a trip to the shorelines of southern California or the northern Gulf region states where off shore drilling is active.

The hotels provide crude oil towelett’s to remove the stains from your feet for a reason.

Do we want this for our state? Would the profits by a select few offset the losses in tourism by many? Would increased oil company profits be worth this destruction?

There is absolutely no compelling argument showing where any oil recovered from along our coast would reduce our dependence from any foreign oil-producing nation. Nor would it lower the cost of processed fossil fuels to the average consumer.

Should our state feel a need to stick something in the Gulf waters of Florida, how about a wind farm? The water is shallow enough to support this. The power cables would be routed inshore directly benefiting the residents of this state. Any oil drilled here would not.

One day perhaps, we could plug our homes and cars into this renewable clean energy source while preserving our beaches and lifestyles for generations to come.

You were elected to represent the voice of the people, this voice. I trust you will support us in this matter.

Kind Regards,

Larry Annen

Past generations left this for us, is this the way we want to leave our beaches for our future?

Los Angeles California, tar stained feet circa '70s

I had previously seen the Gulfport Florist shop, which is near our new home. No-no, don’t worry, we still have the boat. It is a locally owned and operated business, which I prefer to do business with. We try to avoid sterile retail chain stores whenever possible. I located their website and found the Fields of Europe arrangement. It was exactly what I was looking for so I placed an order. I wasn’t sure if the order went through as the website was acting strangely and locking up.

I had placed the order with the florist, for delivery on Valentine’s Day. The next day a gentleman called me on the contact number I had listed on the web order. As I am presently somewhere on the opposite side of the planet from Florida, the phone connection was terrible. I was not sure if he correctly confirmed the order or not.

Saturday afternoon, the day before Valentine’s Day I was contacted via phone from a delivery person. She told me nobody was home and asked what to do with the flowers. I explained that the flowers were supposed to be delivered on Valentine’s Day. Once again, the phone connection was terrible; I think she finally understood me, maybe not.

Although beautiful, they were not what was ordered.

Well, Valentine’s Day had arrived and so had the flowers. My wife sent me a picture of them, but was somewhat quizzical as these were nothing like I would normally order. They also had a balloon, which we don’t particularly care for. The arrangement, although well put together, were atypical of our tastes. I sent her the picture of what I had ordered, and the arrangements were completely different.

I notified the florist of the errors via the website. The gentleman I spoke with was very helpful, friendly, and I hope forgiving, as the phone connection was sporadic. I hope he does not think I hung up on him as the connection had been unexpectedly terminated.

There were a combination of issues with this order, as sometimes is the case when placing an internet order from far off places. I have experienced these difficulties previously, so nothing new so far. All too often business don’t seem to care because in a few minutes someone else will walk through the door and buy something.

The difference this time is that my issues were dealt with professionally.

My wife finally received the order as placed a day later, and the arrangement was outstanding. The florist had also placed a nice gift with the flowers.

Now this is what I ordered!

In today’s complacent business atmosphere, I have to say that it is extremely refreshing to find a business that takes pride in maintaining professional customer service. Errors sometimes happen, this is life after all… it’s how the problems are dealt with that makes the difference.

I don’t believe I need to look any further for a florist. If you’re in the area, they come highly recommended!

Thanks, we will be conducting business for years to come.

And on a side note: The sailing blog stories have been a little thin lately.

My apologies.

I’m off gallivanting around the world on business and I hope to be home shortly. We shall cut some dock lines and set sail. Adventures are forthcoming! Oh yeah, I also became a member of the Boca Ciega Yacht Club. I’ve got to find me one of them Thurston Howell III outfits… And Sheree some Mary Ann shorts~

Gulfport Florist

www.gulfportflowershop.com

1410 58th Street North

Gulfport, FL 33707

(727) 328-1917

“SEASPC has hired Port Orange administrative attorney Mary D. Hansen to challenge the Division’s rule at the hearing.”

Contact Information:
Motivation, Inc.
Doug Pope
Tel: (904) 838-6619

Service Club Park beach dive site

http://www.venicegov.com/Park_links/service_club.htm

The common teeth are generally worth a dollar or two, with the mega teeth being worth hundreds of dollars. Conducting a quick search on eBay for sharks teeth will give you a good idea as to the value of what you found and help in identification. The teeth are easily turned into necklaces with some basic craft skills.

We enjoy a little quieter beach at times and have thoroughly enjoyed Service Club Park. The park is located behind the Venice Municipal airport and has free parking. There are restrooms at the park along with an outdoor wash down shower. The boardwalk to the beach has covered picnic tables with BBQ grills.

The teeth can be found in the surf line rolling with the small seashells. Some folks like to use a sand scoop to help sift through the shells.

Diving for teeth

If you have snorkeling equipment, here is the place to have a little fun. Scuba gear is quite common here as well. We enter the water directly off the boardwalk. To the south you will see a long pier where there is a restaurant.

Snorkel out to a point where you are almost even with the pier to the south and make a descent to the bottom, about 18 feet down. There is a narrow reef line in this area which runs parallel to the beach. If your in the rocks you may find a mega tooth wedged in some pockets of trapped sand. Kick your fins and move west until you leave the rocks for a sandy bottom.

Hand fanning the sand will produce the most teeth. We always carry a small mesh bag to collect the teeth. Often times we end up with over one hundred teeth between two of us. One aluminum 80 scuba tank will give you just under two hours of bottom time.

Looking for teeth on the seafloor

We like to work our way a little further north in a zig-zag pattern west of the rock line. Be sure to have your floating dive flag attached to you.

Northwest of this dive site is where you will see the dive shop and private boats hunting the area. Most of the divers are here and in the water by 8:00am. Should you prefer to dive with a group, or by boat, here is a great link with all the information you need.

http://www.divingforfun.com/trips_venice_details.shtml

Enjoy the dive, and report back with your findings!

The catch of the day

The boardwalk