A Day on Anna Maria Island, FL

Experience a day in the life exploring Anna Maria Island!

With its white sandy beaches and warm temperatures, for many years Anna Maria Island was considered a “hidden gem,” the sleepy island providing a rare slice of “Old Florida. In the past decade, tourism development has been targeted as a key economic goal by island, county and state officials and millions of tax dollars have been invested to draw visitors to the island with national and international advertising and publicity efforts. Ponce de Leon named the island for Maria Anna von der Pfalz-Neuburg, the queen of Charles II of Spain, the sponsor of his expedition.

We start off over the Palm Sola Causeway (also known as Manatee Ave Causeway), flying towards Holmes Beach, one of three municipalities on the Island. The other two are Bradenton Beach on in the south part and Anna Maria on the north part of the Island.

On the north part of the Island is Rod & Reel Pier & Restaurant 875 N. Shore Dr, a popular fishing area. The main north-south road on the island is Gulf Drive, which begins on the south end of the island at the foot of the Longboat Pass Bridge from Longboat Key. Gulf Drive is the only road that runs the entire length of the island. We show a popular wedding venue & restaurant The Sandbar. For info on weddings at the Sandbar see http://sandbar.groupersandwich.com/anna-maria-beach-weddings-events-sb.php.

The southern tip of Anna Maria Island borders Longboat Key, Sarasota. Cortez Bridge (cr684) connects the mainland with Bradenton Beach. Anna Maria Island was only accessible by boat until 1921, when the wooden Cortez Bridge was constructed from the fishing village of Cortez to what is now Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach. The remaining parts of the Cortez Bridge are used as a fishing pier.

We then fly over Holmes Beach and the Manatee Ave Bridge to the Palm Sola Causeway back to downtown Bradenton.

Bradenton was incorporated in 1903, originally known as “Bradentown”, named after Dr Joseph Braden, whose nearby fort-like house was a refuge for early settlers during Seminole Indian attacks. In 1943 the Florida legislature merged the cities of Manatee & Bradentown to form the current Bradenton.

The South Florida Museum home of the Bishop Planetarium, sits near the Manatee River in Downtown Bradenton. http://www.southfloridamuseum.org/.

We then fly over two popular waterfront restaurants and marinas on opposite sides of the Manatee River. On the Bradenton side is Pier 22 http://pier22dining.com/ and the Twin Dolphin Marina. On the Palmetto side is The Riverhouse Reef & Grille, also a poplular wedding venue http://www.riverhousereefandgrill.com/ and the Regatta Pointe Marina.

The Manatee River is a 36 mile river that forms in northeastern corner of Manatee County and flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

Celebrations of Tampa Bay provides Aerial Video & Photography http://celebrationsoftampabay.com/real-estate-photographers-tampa/as well as wedding Video & Photography Services in Tampa Bay http://celebrationsoftampabay.com/

For aerial videos from around the world see http://www.travelwithdrone.com/
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