the Crows Nest

as the photo says, a landmark waterfront restaurant in Venice, Florida

Venice is north of Englewood and it is a little larger town

it was only 22 miles from our house to the restaurant though

the nice thing about Venice is that it's right on the Gulf of Mexico

on a large barrier island

most towns on the gulf are inside the bay across from the barrier islands

the site of the restaurant is wonderful as you can see from the map

we had a great view from our table

mom and dad gave us a gift certificate for christmas

they had been here years ago and really liked it

we started with a shrimp cocktail

followed by a nice salad that I did not get a photo of

Willi had huge pasta shells filled with a seafood mix

I had fried shrimp

which has been my favorite in a restaurant since I was a kid

we also got a chocolate cake to go

the perfect late lunch

after we walked to the jetty

 

this is a very famous pass

the other side of the sign

the were a lot of birds there

checking out the guys fishing

they were not very shy

we also saw lots of dolphins

they are really hard to get a photo of

I can't believe I got this one

one wild and crazy guy

cool shell fossil on a rock

we took this photo of us with the camera on the car....

I like the bird over my head

a couple who had been sitting in their car

watching our antics with the camera

came over and offered to take one for us

a great day - thanks mom and dad

love you