“The USA’s No. 1 Beach Offers Relaxation!”
Visions of blue gulf waters, soft trade winds across white glistening sand, under clear blue skies, and Florida sunshine beckon us for a beach getaway. With the Corona Virus Pandemic, as senior Floridians, we have hunkered down in our home following safety guidelines of “Stay safe, Stay Home” since mid-March 2020. As restrictions begin to loosen at restaurants, retail stores, and hotels, we diligently evaluate the option of a beach getaway close to home. After careful consideration and research, we decide a 2-night getaway to beautiful Siesta Key, just 75 miles away will be a welcome beach retreat.
A Vintage Florida Getaway
The attraction of Siesta Key besides its famous white sugar sandy beach, is the uniqueness of this vintage Florida setting without the congestion and crowds of other popular Florida beaches. The eight-mile long island off the coast of Sarasota offers accommodations of traditional beach motels, old Florida homes repurposed for beach getaways, and some condos. It does not have rows of multi-story hotels along the beach. In past getaways to Siesta Key, we stayed at Palm Bay Club with fantastic white sandy beach at Siesta Key’s Crescent Beach. On this visit seeking a new respite, we locate the Inn on Siesta Key which offers a one bedroom apartment, “The Lookout,” just across the street from the famous Siesta Key Beach and a few blocks from Siesta Key Village. Additionally, the Inn only has 6 units providing the privacy and avoiding crowds we seek with “staying safe.”
With a welcome email from the Inn on Siesta Key and a target arrival for a Sunday, mid-afternoon, we receive a text at 12:30PM, advising the “Lookout” is available for immediate check-in. Terrific! Arriving at the Inn with its white buildings and blue accents, it offers a Florida vintage feel of a beach retreat. The Lookout is upstairs with a wide porch looking west over the parking lot. It is a comfortable unit with a spacious, comfortable living room, small dining area, and full kitchen. The unit has numerous cozy touches to make this a welcome relaxing haven.
Siesta Key Village
After checking in, it’s time for lunch. The Village of Siesta Key is only a 3-block walk. On recommendations from Paige, at the Inn, we stroll to the Siesta Key Oyster Bar (SKOB). While the Village is busy, we are quickly seated outside. A duo is singing songs from our era, as we enjoy the ambiance of the outdoor patio and tasty lunches. The shrimp are fresh and huge. My Po-boy sandwich of grouper nuggets and a crisp salad are terrific. Afterwards we roam the Village with its various eateries and numerous beach shops. All businesses are open for visitors to the Island.
Pre-planning, we elect to have dinner later at The Cottage. Surprising to us, the Village is crowded on Sunday evening, even with the Pandemic. Luckily, we get seated quickly at The Cottage on their outside front porch with tables providing proper social distancing. At the high top table on the raised porch we have a good dinner and fun people watching. Later, it’s refreshing ice cream at Big Olaf’s Creamery.
No. 1 Beach in the United States!
For those not familiar with Siesta Key, it is a crescent shaped barrier island off Sarasota, Florida, that features three unique beach areas. The Siesta Key Beach is best known for its pristine crystal white sand. It is reached by numerous Beach Accesses or the Siesta Key Public Beach with its large public parking area. While Crescent Beach is located mid-island, it offers more privacy and laid back setting. At the southern tip of the Crescent Beach is Point of Rocks – offering snorkeling and diving area with coral rocks rich with formations and marine life. Crescent Beach has only one Public Access road. Yet, it still boast a white soft sandy beach. Turtle Beach is at the very south tip of the island with coarse shell sand. There is a large Public Beach area with a parking lot, tennis and volleyball courts, shaded playground, picnic/barbeque areas and concessions stands.
Picking up complimentary beach chairs from the Inn, we head across the street to Beach Access 9. Here we find a very deep beach. It’s like walking a football field to get to the water’s edge. The sand is spectacular! Siesta Key Beach boasts the “World’s Finest, Whitest Sand.” Actually the sand is quartz grains. Once on a hike with a Forest Ranger in the Appalachians of West Virginia, the Ranger explained that the quartz from the Appalachians eventually becomes the sandy beaches in Florida. It is hard to imagine how all this quartz traveled through rivers over millions of years to eventually become the sandy beach at Siesta Key Beach. Studies by the Harvard University’s geology department state that the sand is 99% pure quartz grains. Thus giving Siesta Key Beach the finest whitest sand with a soft powder sugar texture.
The white sand squeaks under our feet as we locate a place for our beach chairs. Perfect! Beach Access 9 has a small parking lot and the beach has plenty of space for beach goers to spread out. First we take a nice long walk along the shoreline of the blue Gulf of Mexico. Walking closer to the water’s edge, the sand is more compact. In this area it is mainly old Florida homes, some new or updated homes, and a few condos of maybe 4 stories. On our walk south from Beach Access 9, about a ½ mile or more we come upon the Public Beach of Siesta Key. It is packed! Glad we have the privacy and quiet at Beach Access 9.
The Gulf of Mexico
Living on the west coast of Florida, we are familiar with the calmness, serenity, salty water, and beautiful blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Siesta Key with its pure white sand enhances the beautiful blue of the Gulf creating a refreshing setting. It’s June in Florida and our summer temperatures are rising into the 90’s. The end result is the temperature of the Gulf waters will rise also. Today, the afternoon Gulf of Mexico is a bathtub temperature of 86 degrees. With a large sandbar just a short walk into the Gulf, it is more like bathwater, yet it relaxes our muscles and cool us off after our beach walk. At low tide, we can walk a long way into the Gulf before it gets deep. Offshore we watch boat activities of wave-runners charging across the water. In the sky above we see adventuresome beach goers thrilling with parasailing.
On this retreat, we love beach times and walks on the beach each morning, mid-afternoon, and sunset. The mornings are especially nice as the Gulf water is much cooler and more refreshing after a long beach walk. Then the afternoons offer a nice afternoon walk and relaxation of the Gulf waters. After each walk and beach visit, we return to the Inn on Siesta Key to cool off in the pool. Perfect! Each visit to the pool we are the only guests at the pool. It’s like being in our own hidden private beach getaway.
Turtle Beach
Now to explore a new area of Siesta Key. Having previous visited Crescent Beach and now Siesta Key Beach, we decide to check out Turtle Beach. Driving south to the very southern tip of the Island is Turtle Beach with its huge parking. On a Monday morning the lot is deserted. A boardwalk to the beach takes us along Blind Pass Lagoon. This large calm Lagoon is great for kayaking. Crossing the dunes we find a scenic natural beach with darker sand but still beautiful blue Gulf waters. The beach has a steep incline with natural scenic dunes and seaside plants.
Aptly named, Turtle Beach it is a nesting site for turtles. Numerous areas are blocked-off with yellow tape to protect turtle eggs. Plus there are seashells! Note, Siesta Key Beach doesn’t have seashells. The sand is a grainier, darker sand than other parts of Siesta Key. Attempting to walk on the sandy beach is difficult as the sand sinks with each footfall. Locating a path with firmer sand, away from the water, we enjoy a leisurely walk taking in the beach scenery. The beach is quiet and the perfect place to appreciate the scenery of the sloping seashore to the teal blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
A Beach Retreat
Siesta Key is a great beach retreat on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Our 3-day getaway is the respite we desire in a safe setting. The Inn at Siesta Key provides privacy and safety. Special finish to our visits is the mesmerizing sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. Watching the orange orb sink below the horizon is a special ending to a relaxing beach getaway. Opposite the sunset we watch a huge cloud formation that grows in size and pink hues as the sunsets. Intriguing to watch as the cloud changes with each degree the sun drops below the horizon. The perfect ending of our beach getaway.
