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Anna Maria Island Is A Less Flamboyant Key West; Not To Mention That You Can Hobknob With A ManateeBy Susan Scott SchmidtI am in the South Florida Museum Aquarium at feeding time, eyeball to eyeball with Snooty the Manatee, all 1280 pounds of him. Rumor has it that Snooty favors blonds and women. I am both, so I’m hoping for some quality interaction today. The oldest living manatee in captivity, Snooty is famous in these parts. He came to Bradenton, Florida in 1949 as “Baby Snoots” for a Hernando De Soto day celebration. Then he just stayed. The aquarium staff thought he would live about ten years.
I can hear his squeaks through the hydrophone planted in the pool. Apparently Snooty has gained about 80 pounds this year, so he no longer climbs up on the poolside to get his lettuce. His favorite supplemental foods are strawberries and pineapple. He’s been offered the standard manatee diet of sea gross, but turned his nose up at it.
His trainer, Sally Stenger, sometimes climbs in the pool with him to swim and do barrel rolls. While she scratches his belly, I can see the bristles in his mouth. Snooty has “migrating teeth,” like most manatees, which replace themselves over a lifetime. Stenger will sometimes find a tooth at the bottom of the pool. Seeing Snooty is part of my Florida Gulf Islands adventure. I flew down to Sarasota for a four-day sojourn to escape the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania December weather. I knew it would be a good trip when I was issued a white convertible (my first) at the airport. Half an hour later, I am taking in the balmy air of Anna Maria Island. Anna Maria Island – Unspoiled and Underdeveloped
I could feel my gray spirits lifting, shaking off the wintery Pittsburgh weather, as I drove up the island’s winding roads. Anna Maria Island is divided into three towns – Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach. The whole island has only 8.548 residents. Anna Maria Island was discovered by Spanish explorers in 1530. It is bounded by the crystal clear waters of the Gulf on one side and the intracoastal waterway on the other. In some spots, like Bradenton Beach, the spit of an island is literally two blocks wide. It has a few claims to fame. It was the home of Charles Roser, the inventor of the Fig Newton, who sold his cookie recipe to Nabisco for a million dollars. In 1948, MGM filmed the movie “On The Island With You” here, starring Esther Williams and Peter Lawford. The island was first promoted as a beach resort after the city pier was built in 1911, drawing vacationers by steamship from St. Petersburg and Tampa. The first two-lane bridge was built in 1922. The island’s name was originally pronounced Anna Mar-eye-a, then later changed to Anna Mar-ee-a. Some say it was named after Mary, mother of Christ, and her mother, Ann. Others say the then-Mayor of Tampa, Madison Post, named it after his wife and sister. I have a few items on the agenda for my stay here. I want to walk on the white sand beach, eat seafood, and see the Ringling Brothers Museum in nearby Sarasota (one half hour away by car). Looking for the Best Breakfast On the Island
I started my first morning on the island in search of a good breakfast. Exploring with one of the Siam Garden bicycles, I found at least three interesting choices on the north end.
The best breakfast value I found was at the Rod and Reel Pier Restaurant at the end of the Anna Maria City Pier. For five dollars, I had a hearty breakfast of eggs, home fries, toast and coffee. Service was quick and friendly. Down Gulf Drive, I bought a carrot juice and fresh French baguette the next day at Ginny and Jane E’s at the Old IGA. Ginny and Jane are sisters. One sister is a former high powered advertising executive; the other is a former dairy farmer. In a sprawling building, they have brought together fresh produce, a coffee bar, and creations by 40 local artists from tablecloths and furniture. The Village of Bradenton BeachAfter breakfast exploring, I decided to drive down through the barrier islands to Sarasota and the Ringling Museum. Along the way, I passed through the village of Bradenton Beach (population 1500) with its historic Bridge Street shopping district. This area is home to Bridgewalk, a relatively new (2002) resort development featuring apartments and townhomes in three pastel buildings. I ate lunch at the nearby Sun House restaurant, which boasts views of both the Gulf and the intracoastal. It is a favorite spot for weddings.
On the way to Sarasota, going south, I passed by the manicured lawns of Longboat Key, which allegedly is home to many millionaires and their boats. The Ringling Museum in SarasotaOn University Drive in Sarasota, just a stone’s throw from the airport, I found the Ringling complex, now owned by the University of Florida. The Museum of Art, Circus Museum, and Ca d’Zan mansion, former home of the Ringlings, are located on a 66-acre estate overlooking Sarasota Bay. The art museum is the state art museum of Florida.
Mrs. Ringling had fallen in love with Venice, and the house reflects that love affair. Such opulence! No expense was spared. The Ringlings hired architect Dwight James Baum and sent him to Italy to study for a year in preparation for the design. Sun spills in the house through pastel glass windows. It is filled with tapestries and furniture originally in New York’s wealthiest mansions, purchased at auctions. The house features 15 bathrooms, seventeenth century Flemish tapestries, a 2,289-pipe organ, and 32 kinds of marble. A plaster dining room ceiling, painted to look like wood, is decorated with designs from unset cameos belonging to Mabel. The mansion required seven servants to run. Mable Ringling allegedly used to let her birds fly around the mansion. The Ringlings also had seven dogs. You’ll see here a hand carved table made of Parisian black walnut and a sienna marble bathtub hewed from a single piece of marble. The whole house is constructed of terra cotta blocks, covered with stucco and terra cotta, and embellished in glazed tile. The original roof is made from 16th century Spanish tiles imported by the builder. You can see where Ringling parked his yacht at the bayfront entrance. There was also a small gondola for Mabel. The Ringlings entertained lavishly here, inviting 300 ladies at a time for bridge. Unfortunately, Ringling lost money in the stock market crash of 1929 and was deeply in debt at the time of his death. He refused to sell any of his treasures, though, and left Ca d’Zan to the state of Florida at his death in 1936. After 10 years of legal wrangling, the house passed to the state in 1946 and opened to the public that year. After the mansion was finished Ringing built the Museum of Art to house his collection of European paintings and objects of art. Ringling’s art collection included works by Peter Paul Rubens, Poussin, Van Dyck and other Baroque masters. Leave at least an afternoon for the art museum, as it has room after room. You can grab a lunch at the Banyon Café on the compound, named after the elegant banyon trees there. Smaller but no less interesting is the Circus Museum. It features excellent exhibits of circus life – including the circus wagons, costumes, of performers and clowns. All the memorabilia of “the Big Top” is preserved here, commemorating the years beginning in 1927 when John Ringling moved the circus’s winter home to Sarasota. Beachcombing and Seafood Dinners on Anna Maria IslandAfter all my museum going, I ended my days with a shower and a good seafood dinner at one of the Anna Maria Island Restaurant. I started out with the Beach House at Bradenton Beach. It’s an old fashioned “good value” seafood place, with entrees like fried fish and shrimp starting at $12.99 per dinner. Families crowd around the tables. This is an enormous restaurant, located right on the beach, with indoor and outdoor seating. It has a good-sized bar, where a band plays 1960’s and 1970’s rock ‘n’ roll hits. I enjoyed the crabmeat stuffed mushrooms appetizer and the ahi tuna. On another evening, after a beachcombing walk in which I found some good shells, I tried the Sandbar Restaurant in Anna Maria, just blocks from where I stayed. It’s a bit more intimate than the Beach House and the food is just as good. Located in a historic 1911 building, it reminded me of Old Florida. The restaurant offers nightly music out on its deck. The beach is just a few yards away. The Sandbar had one of my Florida favorites on the menu, smoked fish dip with crackers. I relished it, along with a spicy chowder. I also tried the grouper sandwich, one of their most popular entrees, before preparing for my trip back to snowy Pittsburgh. If You’re Going: The Siam Garden, 512 Spring Avenue, Anna Maria, Anna Maria Island. Phone 941-778-2000. Bridgewalk, 100 Bridge Street, Bradenton Beach, Anna Maria Island, phone 941-779-2545. The Sun House Restaurant, 100 Bridge Street, Bradenton Beach, Anna Maria Island. The Sandbar Restaurant, 100 Spring Avenue, Anna Maria, Anna Maria Island. Phone 941-778-0444. The Beach House Restaurant, 200 Gulf Drive, Bradenton Beach, phone 941-779-2222. The Ringling Museum, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Phone 941-355-5101. The South Florida Museum/Mary Louise Parker Manatee Aquarium, 201 10th Street, Bradenton www.southfloridamuseum.org or 941-746-4131. Sandy Rich Realty & Coffee, 9908 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, Anna Maria Island, phone 941-779-0034. The Rod & Reel Pier Restaurant, Anna Maria City Pier, 875 North Shore Drive, Anna Maria, Anna Maria Island Phone 941-778-1885 or www.rodandreelpier.com Ginny and Jane E’s at the Old IGA, 9807 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, Anna Maria Island, phone 841-778-3170 Images by Susan Scott Schmidt |
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Fifty-six years later, Snooty is still here, munching
his way through 75 pounds of California romaine lettuce per day. (He spits out the cores.) Protected from the usual manatee
enemies – powerboats and cold water – he may live to see 60. Every year
Snooty has a community birthday party on or near July 21. He will never be
released from captivity, because he lacks survival skills.
He rolls over on the command. He was recently joined in
his pool by a small comrade, Angelito, a frostbite victim who is still
bottle fed.
This unspoiled barrier island is seven miles long. It
is deliberately non-touristy. Buildings over three stories have been
banned, along with fast food franchises. At the north end, where I am
staying in the town of Anna Maria, buildings are painted in funky Key West
style colors, pinks and yellows. A free public trolley runs up and down the
length of the island. The island specializes in boutique hotels.
First,
I checked into Siam Garden Resort, which has 15 fully furnished apartments.
Owner Kent Davis and his Thai wife, Pa, have decorated with art collected in
Thailand. A wooden elephant stands outside the front office. It is a former
fish camp site, with its 1938 building completely renovated into modern
apartments. The gardens are lovely.
At
Sandy Rich’s Coffee & Realty, there is a lot of morning action. Rich is an
island realtor who built a coffee bar inside her real estate office. She’ll
sell you a house over a cup of coffee and a bagel. Rich’s is busy with
islanders swapping gossip.
Bridgewalk has revitalized the shopping district here.
You can now browse through upscale day spa, La Plumeria; a French creperie,
clothing boutiques and Seaweed Gallery. You can sign up for parasailing by
the landmark clock tower. (Insert Photo #6 here)
I started my tour my boarding the tram to see Ca d’Zan,
the Ringling’s Venetian Gothic mansion. (The name means “house of
John” in Venetia, named after the circus tycoon. The guides joke that it
should be called “house of Mabel, because it reflects his wife’s taste.) The
house was built between 1924 and 1926, to the tune of $1.5 million. It was
restored three years ago at a cost of $15 million.