We usually stay at hotels or rent a cabin on our vacations. This time we took our first trip in our van. We drove four plus hours from Jacksonville to Turtle Beach Campground in Siesta Key. This 14 acre park is located right on the Gulf of Mexico with 39 RV and tent sites. We were excited with our pick. The sites were separated by trees and bushes for a more private feel. Each site also had a picnic table and full hookups. There was a laundry room, bathroom, showers, picnic area, and wifi available for you to use too.

After a quick look around, we unloaded the van and set up camp. We brought a little propane grill, two coolers, a prep table with sink, and some chairs. Inside the van we had a futon to sleep on and fans to keep us cool at night.  That night we whipped up a few burgers and watch the Formula 1 race that we missed that morning because we were on the road. We took a late night walk down to the beach and then headed to bed.

Day two we were on a mission to find shark teeth. We stopped at Word of Mouth in Sarasota for a quick breakfast. We enjoyed croissants, biscuits and gravy, and a bacon egg n cheese sandwich. The food was so good! Defiantly a great breakfast spot!

After stopping off at Wal-Mart to grab a few things. we were on the road to Venice beach. We are always hunting for shark teeth at the beaches in the Jacksonville area. Through lots of online research we discovered Venice beach was the spot for sharks teeth. With our sifter in hand, we hit the beach with the intent of scoring big. After about an hour of sifting and finding zero teeth, we headed to Englewood beach where I had had good luck before.

We parked at Stump Pass Beach State Park and headed to the beach again hoping for better luck. The first scoop in our sifter yielded us several teeth! We spend several hours there searching for teeth and enjoying the beautiful day. We ended up finding around 60 small teeth or tooth fragments. It is defiantly our biggest hull ever!

After a quick shower, we headed to Longboat Key for dinner. We ended up at Dry Dock Waterfront Grill. There was a wait but they got us seated in half the time they originally said plus we got a table right on the water. We ordered grouper bites for an appetizer. They were to die for. So tender and flaky. An absolute must order! I got the crab cake sliders and he had the blackened snapper. They were both cooked to perfection. Excellent food!

We stopped at Meaney’s Mini Donuts on the way home for some dessert. It was a tough decision to say the least. I ended up getting the cinnamon and sugar while he got the French toast. They deep fried the donuts to order so they were so fresh and hot. You get 6 mini donuts per order. They were so good. So good that we stopped again the next day to order more. I got chocolate delight that time with sprinkles. That was just as good but the cinnamon and sugar were my favorite.

Day 3 we decided to rent a boat for a day and go fishing. We rented from CB’s Saltwater Outfitters. We got there finished the paperwork, got ice, and bait. They were very helpful and polite. Using the map they gave us we headed North. We stopped at several fishing spots and trolled around. We caught a about 10 fish or so; a puffer, several blue stripped grunts, and what we think was a massive stingray. Nothing we caught was big enough to keep but we had a great time one the beautiful blue water.

       

 

 

We stopped for lunch at The Old Salty Dog located on Sarasota Bay. Pulled right up in the boat and docked for lunch. We dined at another great table on the water. We order their punch from the bar. OMG so good!! We order the conch fritters as an appetizer. They were so meaty and delicious. The sweet chili mango dipping sauce was scrumptious! A must order for sure. For our meal we ordered the shrimp firecracker wrap and the steam pot. So much food but everything we ate and drank here was top notch! We highly recommend stopping at The Old Salty Dog! They are even dog friendly which I love!

We went back out to do some more fishing where the bay meets the gulf. We saw some dolphins and caught another seven blue grunts. Mike hooked something huge but the line snapped. From what we could see, we thought it was a big stingray. We slowly made our way back to CB’s where we docked the boat and continued with our day. CB’s Saltwater Outfitters was incredible. We stopped at their store several times and always had great service. They were very knowledgeable and helpful too.

We can back to camp to clean up and relax a bit. We hung the hammock and took a little bike ride before heading to dinner.

We headed out to CineBistro in Sarasota for dinner and a movie. This was our first time dinning at a Cinebistro. They have 12 locations in the United States. We arrived 30 minutes before our movie, Beauty and the Beast, started to order our meal. We ordered way to much but with a menu like that how could you not! Drinks, popcorn, filet, Nashville hot fried chicken, and red velvet lava cake. They serve you before the movie starts so they are not walking around during the movie. We drank, dined, and reclined while enjoying a movie. The tickets were $15 each plus food and tips so it was $$$$ but a neat experience!

We reluctantly headed home the next morning. Our camera and hearts were full. Thank you Siesta Key for showing us a great time. We will defiantly be back because there is so much more to do that we didn’t have time for. Here is a quick recap of our adventures…

Stayed at Turtle Beach Campground

Best shark teeth finds at Englewood Beach

Boat rental from CB’s Saltwater Outfitters

Food from:

• Word of Mouth
• Dry Dock Waterfront Grill
• The Old Salty Dog
• Meaney’s Mini Donuts
• CineBistro

TIPS:

The sink/prep table we got from Rural King was incredible to have. Of course, you have to have water hookups to use this but it is so worth it. Here is the link to the sink table, https://www.ruralking.com/smr-multi-use-outdoor-table-bxty115-a.html

Another extremely useful tool was our sifter. There is no way we would have found as many sharks teeth as we did without it. We got ours from Wal-Mart for $18.

Lastly, in the heat fans are so necessary. The fans were a god send for sleeping at night. I have to be cold to sleep so I like as many fans as possible on me. 🙂