There’s something about Anna Maria Island that stays with you.  Maybe it’s the softest white sand you’ve ever touched or the sunsets that seem to slow down time.  Maybe it’s a simpler way of life – barefoot, unhurried and filled with small moments that really matter.  

I can’t tell you my first memory of the beautiful blue waters of the Gulf.  My visits started when I was a baby, starting with my parents bringing me down to visit my grandparents. That turned into visiting my dad, eventually taking my own babies to visit the place my family has always loved.  The Central Florida Gulf and the white sand beaches  that hold it have always felt like my home away from.  It’s part of me, who I am, and where I feel most calm and at peace.  

When dad passed, I knew we needed to keep visiting but I wanted to find our own spot…if I’m honest losing him was too raw and I needed to visit the place I love but I needed some new memories to make.  That led us to Anna Maria Island.  On our first visit we rented a house with my brother’s family.  We spent the week swimming, laughing, eating and just being together.  That week we laid dad to rest in the place he loved the most, scattering his ashes in the crystal blue waters.  

I fell in love with the charm of Anna Maria that week.  When you first drive onto the island, everything slows down.  Literally, Gulf Drive is the only road from the middle of the island up to the tip so it’s the AMI way of making you slow down, look around and enjoy right where you are.  There are no high rise buildings, but neighborhoods filled with houses.  As you drive through the island you see small stores, local restaurants, people on bikes, families riding around on golf carts and palm trees everywhere. There is a sense of calm.  AMI isn’t glitz, glamour or high speed. It’s not flashy and rushed like the rest of the world.  AMI is island time, it’s delightful restaurants, it’s morning walks on the beach, fishing off the dock or kayaking through the canal, lazy afternoons floating in the pool, the most glorious sunsets you’ve ever seen at Bean Point and an ice cream cone after dinner.  You’ll forget your busy calendar, lose track of your phone and do nothing, but never be bored.  On that first trip I discovered what is hands down my favorite restaurant, The Waterfront, eating there not once but twice.  I fell in loved and vowed I would be back soon. 

Back home I dreamt of our next trip, booking a week at a house up at Bean Point on the Bay side for my birthday the next year.  The week spent at that bayside home was pure bliss.  We barely left – between the pool and easy access to the water I had never felt more at home.  The house was a single story with two bedrooms, unbelievably close to the water.  We walked to happy hour at The Rod and Reel Pier just a short walk down the road.  We talked to to locals, soaking in all we could about the island.  

Trip after trip we returned to what now truly felt like our home away from home.  A place of beauty and grace.  A place where my busy family could slow down, rest and recharge.  

We watched from afar with fear and sadness as not one but two hurricanes ravaged the island in 2024.  For weeks after we scoured the internet for videos and stories, trying to understand how the island had fared the monster storm.  The storm gave the island a hard hit but she has come back stronger and more beautiful than ever.  There was a lot of flooding and single story homes had immense damage.  

The following February while in South Florida for a work event, I found myself with a free day.  I drove up to AMI, craving a quick visit.  It was there and then that I decided it was time to make our affair with AMI more of a long term relationship, so I called a realtor.  The hurricane had shifted the market, it was a good time to buy.  I fell in love with one of the first ones I saw – a beauty on a calm canal surrounded by palms so we gave it the fitting name, Stillwater Palms.  Elevated to protect from flooding, on a wide spot in the canal called Lake LaVista, perfect for fishing from the private dock, sitting on a quiet cul-de-sac on the north end, I knew it was our new home away from home from the minute I saw it.  Just a few blocks from the bay side beach, Bean Point and the shops and restaurants on Pine.  Our new AMI home, Stillwater Palms is everything we love about the island – beautiful without the pressure of being perfect, comfortable, quiet, right on the water and with our own pool to float away a lazy afternoon.  

Welcome to the Heart of Anna Maria Island, a collection of the experiences, places, people and stories that make this island so very special.

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