 Castles by the sand.
Just returned from a quick trip to the west coast of Florida. In spite of their challenging real estate market, construction continues in the high end locations along the beach. The magnificent homes along Gulf Shore Blvd in Naples are comparable in size to the homes nestled in the Avalon dunes.
Like other coastal areas, the real estate values on our island are driven by the location of the “sand” under a house. The closer the sand is to the water…the better!
A weird aside- on the flight home last night, almost 1/2 of the passengers were wearing surgical masks. Very unsettling. Glad to be back in the fresh, salt air!
 This is the weekend for the annual Stone Harbor Boat Show & Seafood Festival on 96th Street. The gray skies and drizzle should not stop the true boaters from shopping!
 Seashore double vision- the bay front homes reflecting off of the calm water in the early morning sun. 
 Parking meters in the business district of Stone Harbor are in,  and will be operating as of May 1st (the 2 blinking traffic lights on the island will be turned on the same day- watch out!)
 The distinct sound of  outside showers; hearing noise on our street while sleeping with the windows open (versus the silence of winter!); geese flying north; the return of the die-hard surfers (they call themselves the 110 Surf Crew); and defensive driving on my “commute” to work around the numerous walkers and bicyclists. All definite signs of summer 🙂
 I read an article in today’s paper about the relevance of Earth Day – “has it outlived its usefulness and potentially become more of a feel-good token symbol…”,  and was thinking about this as I approached the beach path for my morning walk.
 The sun is finally back out after several days of rain.
What’s Open?
As of this weekend, plenty of food options.Â
Just saw the banner outside of  Kohler’s Bakery http://www.kohlersbakery.com/ – “Celebrating 60 years in Avalon”. Opening Mother’s Day weekend-  I will be there!
Nemo’s Pizza from Avalon opened an additional restaurant in Stone Harbor- 98th and Third Avenue;  Mack’s Pizza at 83rd Street re-opens on May 15th for the season; and Circle Pizza in Avalon is back open after major renovations, too.
Quahogs on 97th Street was open last weekend- indoor and sheltered patio dining; and on the opposite corner, Black Fish (in the Henny’s location) is freshly painted and ready for their Mother’s Day weekend grand opening.
 Looks better in person- we haven’t seen sun for a few days :(  so the gray exterior just fades into the sky.  The owners are smart- they set the tables and left the interior lights on last weekend for people like me to snoop in the windows!
 Also hearing good things about Fuze- the new restaurant at 79th and Ocean Drive.Â
Can you tell we are ready for the season to begin??