Some of you commented on my last post that my sister and I look alike which I find hilarious since everyone says that but I just don’t see it! Oh well, she is cute, so I will take that as a compliment 
My second day on the west coast of Florida was a much needed beach day. Before that, my sister made breakfast-chocolate chip pancakes! Now that’s what I’m talking about. The fact that they were Mickey Mouse shaped made it even better.
We left the dogs to their sunbathing to do some of our own.
We made our way over to Manasota Key to rest, relax and get some sun. However before any of that, the first mission was to find coffee. My sister and her boyfriend don’t drink coffee, which is a completely foreign concept to me. They had soda at their house but soda just doesn’t give me the same jump as coffee does. Seeing that on a normal day I have two to three cups in the morning, no coffee in my system is not a good thing nor does it make me a happy camper. My sister went to Places on her phone to see where we could get some java goodness and soon found a Dunkin Donuts and all was right in the world.
I almost made her stop at this shopping center when I saw the sign
Then we arrived at the beach, it was serene and had a good number of people but it didn’t seem crowded at all. And what the hell is up with the creepers on the west coast of FL?As my sister and I were getting our stuff out of the car, this old man walked past us and said “Hope you girls brought your bikinis’” We just smiled and did a nervous laugh but I really wanted to say “No, creeper, I didn’t bring my bikini. I think I’m being nice by not doing so because the amount of cellulite on my ass would give you a heart attack!” In the first ten minutes we were there, we saw a group of people crowding around watching the water. At first I thought it was a situation like on Seinfeld where the whale washes up on shore with a golf ball stuck in its blow hole but no go. We soon found out that a dolphin was swimming near the shore—it was so cool to see one up close! 
The water was more shallow and calmer that on the East Coast of Florida not to mention cooler. It wasn’t blistering hot yet, which made for an enjoyable day at the beach. After that, we went to The White Elephant Pub.
My other sister has been here before and said the food was good but the atmosphere was gritty. I said hakuna matata for I love bar food. But bar food in a beach atmosphere? It’s go time! We walked through the indoor portion of the restaurant and found a table on the patio. But that I found out what my sister meant by gritty—- it smelled like some concoction of hot trash, bad cheese and homeless. Yes, all three co-mingled together in a funky harmony. No matter what I didn’t I couldn’t escape the smell and it just reeked.
As unpleasant as the odor was, the food was great! They had a sweet selection of seafood baskets and entrees, burgers and appetizers. I got the fried grouper finger basket which came with a generous portion of crinkle cut fries and cold slaw.
White Elephant is not all about saving the earth as they don’t have condiment bottles at the table–just packets.My sister and I went to town on them!
And if you don’t think I swiped any, you would be wrong. The food plus the view we had definitely outweighed the negative of the stink in the air. Peep the gorgeous view we had from our table!
By the time we left, it was really starting to get hot out. I told my sister I wouldn’t be opposed to stopping by a Dairy Queen for a cool refreshment. Sadly, the Dairy Queen went out of business but we found something even better—a locally owned establishment called Swirls-N-Curls Ice Cream!
They had pretty much everything any other chain place can offer such as ice cream, soft serve, their version of the blizzard, shakes, parfaits, etc. I got the strawberry parfait and it hit the spot! Seriously, how delicious does this look?
I kept digging into it and it seemed endless and then bam-it was done. Sadface. Parfaits make everything right in the world and anyone who doesn’t like parfaits is a communist in my book. They have a cute little patio area with chairs, tables, games with oldies music playing in the background. The fact that they are doggie friendly and serve doggie ice cream treats made it all the better.
The rest of the day was very relaxing-I took my obligatory nap after being in the sun, had dinner then hung out and watched tv. You would think that after a day of being in the sun, I was tired but nope, Lincoln appeared to be even more tired than I was by practically perching himself on my shoulder.
Right before I went to bed, I found a plain, gold band sitting on the kitchen counter. I know they are planning a wedding but I thought it was weird to see one sitting out in plain sight. So I did what any 31 year old single girl would do and tried it on.
Felt very constricting, hmmmmm…..
What’s your favorite summer time treat?
Beach: Love it or hate it?
Simply Shaka 
