Copyright. Barefoot Beachcombers Club.  All rights reserved

If this trip interests you and you are fully vaccinated prior to April 4th, print the reservation form (click on green button below) and mail it along with your check (made out to the BBC) for $28 per person to the address below.  On April 5th*, we will conduct our lottery and you will be notified shortly thereafter of your seat confirmation or waitlist status. *This means that we will pick up all of the mail from Safe Ship at the close of business on April 4th


Barefoot Beachcombers Club (‘BBC’ will also suffice)
333 Colony Blvd. #110
The Villages, FL 32162

You could instead hand your addressed envelope to a person at the counter at Safe Ship in Colony Plaza, saving you the stamp and ensuring that the mail does not delay your form.

How about venturing off to Venice, Florida

from 8:15 – 8:00 on Monday, April 18 (the day after Easter)








where, unfortunately,


handsome Venetian gondoliers


I/we would like to go to Venice Beach with the BBC on Monday, April 18th.  Enclosed is my $28 check (pp). 

Print your name(s):   __________________________________________________


___________________________________________________________________

I/we wish to be on the bus with these friends (name up to four) ___________________________________________________________________


___________________________________________________________________


I/we still have a credit with the BBC and I would like to use that credit.  _______


Please provide a phone number that the Club could use in the event we needed to

reach you during the beach outing:   ______________________________


I am or will be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by April 4th ___________

                                                                                                                                        (initials)

2022 Beach Trips

Type your paragraph here.

Liability Waiver:  The BBC has a Liability Waiver specific to our club.  This needs to be done only once, not yearly as in the past.  Please click on link below, print and sign, and give the form to your bus leader on this trip or mail it with your reservation form and payment if you have not already previously completed the waiver.

April 18
Venice Beach
May 16

Anna Maria Island

June 20
Pass-a-Grille
July 18
Caddy's at Sunset Beach
Aug 15
Upham Beach


offering an eclectic mix of quaint boutiques, thrift stores, and galleries, strolling down the main avenue of Venice Island makes for a well-spent afternoon. To refresh yourself, consider popping into Ciao Gelato  for a deliciously chilling treat.  If you’re on the hunt for unique treasures, make your way one street over, in Burgundy Square, and check out St. Mark’s Divine Consign, as well as other fun thrift stores.  Get a preview of the 8 pages of those shops at:  https://www.visitvenicefl.org/places/category/shopping/


While walking along, note dozens of FantaSea figurines proudly prettifying the street.

 

 


Or instead, for those of you wanting to expand your memories instead of your shopping bags, you might prefer a lovely afternoon in nature, just 17 minutes away at the Venice Area Audubon Society Rookery.  Its island’s deep lake is small enough so that from the shaded pavilion benches you hardly need binoculars for a clear view of the birds. Tangled invasive plants have been replaced by Florida-friendly vegetation so you can easily walk around the edge of the lake and watch bird activity on all sides of the island.

During nesting months--including April--daytime activity may involve Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Anhingas, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Glossy Ibises, Green Herons, Tricolored Herons and Black-crowned Night-Herons all busily building or enhancing nests, courting, incubating eggs, and raising chicks.



You can visit this website to see a list of birds seen at or near the Rookery:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59f89aaaedaed8eda13f3141/t/59fb4a0727ef2d9f3f9a09d8/1509640711297/Venice_Rookery_Bird_Checklist.pdf


In April, the Audubon Society occasionally staffs the Rookery with volunteers who bring extra binoculars, a spotting scope, and bird field guides for anyone to use. 


The Venice Rookery is an all-volunteer project. However, we encourage you to drop a bit in their donation box.  All contributions support their work, including bringing hundreds of second-grade school children to the Rookery each year. 


At 3:45, we will pick up all remaining beach bums and rookery visitors and take you to historic West Venice Avenue and the parallel Miami Avenue West (shown on the above map) where you’ll join everyone else for an early dinner at a restaurant of your choice.  See this website: https://www.visitvenicefl.org/places/category/dining-and-beverages/


While many of the restaurants and pubs are of Italian cuisine, you’ll find a few Irish pubs and French cafes as well as several burger & beer pubs.  And if Italian wines and British brews are not quite enough to satisfy your homeward dreams, you could consider the Seed and Bean Market

https://seedandbeanmarket.com/food-drink-to-go/

where, after having lunch or dinner there, you could partake of their CBD, “a naturally occurring compound found in the resin of the hemp and cannabis plants.


I will admit I know nothing on this subject.  However, “studies suggest CBD is a safe and natural option to enhance wellness, and it is used by people around the world to help reduce pain, help decrease inflammation, and help improve overall quality of life.”  Reportedly, Americans spend $250 billion a year on CBD products.  Me, I prefer to spend my billions on pocketbooks and sunglasses!  Nonetheless, if you choose to partake, you just might want to withhold any samplings ‘til you get home, so we do not have to lift you off the bus upon returning to The Villages.


We will reboard the buses at 5:30 to leave for home with a restroom stop along the 2-hr. drive.



Instead, let’s drift on down to Venice Beach, famous not only for its 14-miles of world-class beaches and stunning natural beauty, but also for being a fascinating town with a rich history and culture.


After many calls, we have been unable to learn anything yet about rentals of beach gear.  If we later obtain info, we’ll let you know.

**To open the printable versions, move your cursor to the left hand side of the blue or green button.  Your cursor will then turn into a hand.  Once it does, click on the button and the print version will open in a new window.

Copyright. Barefoot Beachcombers Club.  All rights reserved


won’t be charming you girls ~~


Then again, you gentleman won’t need brute strength to beat them off your women either.

 


At the beach is the Pilot House where you can pick up light fare from 10:00-3:00 if you choose not to bring your lunch from home.  Relax for a few hours watching the waves wash ashore and dreaming about the beautiful State you adopted. 

Then, for those of you who have had enough sun and surf after a few hours, you can reboard the bus at 2:00 for your choice of two activities:

1)    Shop ‘til you drop

2)    Visit the Venice Audubon Society Rookery


For the first—most decadent—activity, we’ll drop you off at Venice Avenue (Main Street) to be tempted by dozens of intriguing shops