CORTEZ – Newfoundland residents Pat Mooney and Cathy Tucker visit Florida every year and their first stay in the Cortez and Anna Maria Island area is coming to an end.
The couple of 14 years has spent the past month at the Holiday Cove RV Resort in Cortez. Staying there has allowed them to explore Cortez and Anna Maria Island by bicycle, which is their preferred mode of transportation while vacationing in the Sunshine State.
For the past 10-12 years, the couple has vacationed each spring at a rented condominium in Siesta Key. Now retired, they decided to try something new this fall in anticipation of a longer stay next spring.
The couple left Whitbourne – in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador – on Sept. 24 with their 29-foot Springdale travel trailer in tow. On the way down they stopped in Maine, Massachusetts (so they could bicycle around Martha’s Vineyard), Virginia and Savannah, Ga. Three thousand miles later, they arrived in Cortez on Oct. 1.
Mooney and Tucker discovered Anna Maria Island and the nearby Holiday Cove RV resort about five years ago during a day trip on a rented scooter they rode from Siesta Key.
“We kept coming back to check it out and last year we brought the motorcycle,” Mooney said of their past explorations.
“We wanted to try out this beautiful park,” Tucker said of their current excursion.
Mooney said he loves Holiday Cove’s cleanliness, amenities, pool, lush vegetation and the canal behind their rented space.
“We’ll be back,” he said.
“It’s our home away from home,” Tucker said of the travel trailer that also served as their home while their new house in Newfoundland was being built.
“It’s nice to sleep in your own bed and have your own space,” Mooney said.
“There are lots of great restaurants here that we haven’t experienced yet because we can cook and grill here,” Tucker added.
“Siesta Key is beautiful, but I love the beachy feel here with the lower buildings and the Island vibe.”
– Cathy Tucker, Newfoundland resident
“Another thing we like about this park is it’s a short ride to the beach,” Mooney said. “We ride our bikes almost daily. We enjoy riding up and down the streets we haven’t seen before, watching the families enjoy the Island and the Island life. And the homes are beautiful – nicely taken care of and nicely painted.”
Mooney and Tucker were asked how Cortez and Anna Maria compare to Siesta Key. They both said they appreciate that there’s only one high-rise on the Island – the Martinique condominiums in Holmes Beach.
“Siesta Key has taller buildings and it seems really touristy, but it’s a beautiful area,” Mooney said.
“Siesta Key is beautiful, but I love the beachy feel here with the lower buildings and the Island vibe. The beaches here are beautiful and the sunsets too,” Tucker said.
“The beaches are spectacular, and of course the weather too,” Mooney said.
“It feels very safe here. We feel safe wherever we go and the people are very helpful,” Tucker said.
“People are super-friendly. Island people have a certain feel and you have that here, so it feels familiar to us. We went from one island to another. Newfoundland is an island in the North Atlantic. The winters can be long and unpredictable, but it’s a beautiful place to live and visit,” Mooney said.
During the month-long stay that will end on Thursday, Nov. 1, the couple rode their bikes from one end of the Island to the other – from Pine Avenue to Coquina Beach. They participated in the NASCRAB races at the Swordfish Grill and met friends at the Bridge Tender Inn who introduced them to the Drift In too.
They enjoyed happy hour at the Beach House restaurant, attended Bayfest, dressed as hippies for Su and Brian Cooney’s annual Halloween party in Bradenton, listened to live music at Island Time and drove their truck out to the Old Packinghouse Cafe in Sarasota to see a friend’s rockabilly band.
One day, they bought two used high-top tables at a garage sale in Anna Maria and are bringing them back to Newfoundland.
“We’re bringing a little bit of Anna Maria Island back with us. We also bought an old school desk for our niece,” Mooney said.
The couple went to see “First Man” at the Oakmont movie theater and next spring they’d like to take a day trip over to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
They plan to store their travel trailer near Cortez so they can trailer their personal watercraft down next spring, with their motorcycle in the back of the truck.
“We’re looking forward to having the motorcycle here and on the Jet-Ski we’ll also get to see what the Island looks like from the water,” Mooney said.
“We already booked our spot here for April and May,” Tucker said.
