Hurricane Gustav at Anna Maria Island
Sep 9th, 2008 by Admin 1
We went down to Anna Maria Island during Hurricane Gustav last week. For those who are not familiar with the area, it’s in Manatee County, Fl just north of Sarasota. The water there is usually very calm and clear. These pictures were taken the Sunday before it hit Louisiana. As you can see, the kids were being battered by the waves, and then splashing around near the sea oats which we normally would stay far away from but the water was all the way up into the dunes and there was not much beach to speak of. We were very fortunate that we were not directly hit with the storm. It actually benefited us as we got some pretty decent surf for a couple of days. Not to make light of the damage Gustav did in other areas.
By Tuesday the storms gave way to the super hot sun and the water had calmed back down to it’s usual glassy turquoise color. The remnants of the storm were left up and down the beach, but the ocean floor was super soft and clean. The shoreline was covered in sea urchins and baby octopuses, yes live ones and we all got to pet them. It was so cool!
Since it was so hot, the only hiking we did were daily walks along the beach, but there are but if you’re there during the winter months I recommend Myakka State Park for hiking. 39 miles of scenic trails wind through live oak and palm trees. A great place for backpackers if you don’t mind living amongst the gators.
