Casey Key & Drum Circle

On Wednesday morning, we got to the pickleball courts earlier to avoid some of the heat and hopefully the crowds.  We were the only ones when we first got to the courts and played for about an hour and a half before the courts began to fill up.  We had a terrific morning of pickleball with everyone winning at least one game.

Of course, any time we get to play pickleball is a win for all of us!

When we left the courts, we drove into Venice and went to the Upper Crust Bakery for their delicious scones.  They were as delicious as they were last year and the Devonshire cream makes them so good!

This is what happens when you lick the bottom of the cup
of Devonshire cream.  I couldn't let any of it go to waste!

We went back to the camper, rested awhile, and then loaded up the bikes on Ken and Bonnie's car and drove to Casey Key.  We enjoyed a bike ride down Casey Key Road looking at all those big beach mansions and seeing some new ones along the way.

Agave plants -- like we saw in Sedona.

One of our "favorite" beach mansions.

Remodeling this beach mansion to look like a castle.

Look how they disguise the port-a-potty.

Very little change on this modern beach house.  Above pic from 2014.

What it looks like now.

We had lupper at Casey Key Fishhouse but Ken was the only one to have fish.  Bonnie, Chuck, and I had hamburgers that were very good.  After lupper, we sat outside and enjoyed watching the boats coming in and out of the bay.

On the way back to our bikes, we talked to some high school kids on a rowing team.

Can you tell from the shirts who the "kids" are?

We rode our bikes back down Casey Key Road enjoying the views of the beach along the way.

After loading the bikes back on the car, we walked out to Nokomis Beach where the Drum Circle had already begun.

Although this sunset was not as colorful as some, the setting sun reflections across the water and shells made it just as spectacular.

And a paddleboarder came paddling across the setting sun at just the right time.

The drums seemed to pick up intensity as the sun gave up its last light of the day.  Click here to watch and listen.

When we returned to the campground, we got together over at Ken and Bonnie's for cards and the women won all 3 games tonight:  SkipBo, 5 Crowns, and Pinochle.  Woohoo!