Venice Florida

[JoanieBlon]

Over last weekend, Mike and I headed down to Venice Florida, which lies on the Gulf of Mexico about 70 miles south of Tampa. The trip down took us about 1-1/2 hours. Mike wanted to go hunting for sharks' teeth on the beaches there. Venice is the self-proclaimed "Sharks' Tooth capital of the World." We managed to find about 18 of them while we were there.

Although I have been to many of the Florida Gulf beaches near Tampa, I had never actually been into the town of Venice. I was blown away! Venice Florida is an enchanting, sleepy little Florida town that you'd expect to find in the 1930s. It hasn't fallen prey to all the high-rise development that you find in Sarasota, St. Pete, Clearwater and other local beaches.

The downtown residential area is really beautiful with wide divided streets lined with huge old oak trees that spread their canopy over the lush, gassy median areas.

The downtown commerical area encompasses about 9 square blocks. There are numerous businesses there including trendy home decor and clothing shops, jewelry shops, a wine and coffee shop, and also a number of varied restaurants, ice cream parlors, candy shops and taverns ~ something for everyone.

We stayed at an OLD FLORIDA (1950s) style motel ~ VENICE BEACH VILLAS. I LOVED the place! The rooms and suites, each of which had some sort of kitchen area, were spacious and clean. There were also two gas barbeques for guests to use if desired. There was a heated pool, guest laundry, games & books, coolers and chairs to take along to the beach. The hotel also had quite a few old fashioned "cruiser" bikes that could be used to toodle around town. Additionally, they had special baskets on poles which are used when looking for sharks' teeth. Off season rates were very reasonable. The hotel was in an ideal location ~ on the main street, Venice Blvd., and located 2 short blocks from the business area and 3 blocks from the beach. We were able to walk or bike just about anywhere we wanted to go. NO traffic jams!

The beaches in Venice (there are a number of them) have clean white sand and WARM (87F when we were there) Gulf water that, while not quite as blue as what you find in Playa, is still VERY lovely.

Mike and I were SO busy while we were there, that I didn't take ANY photos, but you can get a general feel of Venice by clicking HERE . Each of the photos is actually a thumbnail that opens into a slightly larger picture.

We had SUCH a good time, that we have reservations at the same place for the end of August! We plan on renting jet skis and exploring the extensive Intercoastal Waterway as well as the Gulf. Venice Florida may not be quite as "exotic" as Playa, but for us, it's sure LOTS cheaper. No long (and EXPENSIVE) plane flights, or Customs and Immigrations delays coming and going. I'll try to get some photos next month when we're there.

[gottago]

i was there a few years ago and found me some of those shark teeth... shiny and black. great fishing too.

[Rissask]

It looks really neat!
but why so many shark teeth?

[jevans]

Originally Posted by Rissask

It looks really neat!
but why so many shark teeth?

it's a lower income demographic for the sharks and many of them can't afford dental care. the majority of them just go until their teeth fall out.

[JoanieBlon]

Originally Posted by Rissask

It looks really neat!
but why so many shark teeth?

I was wondering that myself...so I went searching for an answer and the best that I came up with it that there's a "sharks' burial ground" (like the elepants in Africa have) just off the Venice coast. They come to this area to die and the teeth wash up. I even read in one article that sharks' teeth have actually rained down in Venice during tropical storms and hurricanes!

[Rissask]

rained down! that is freaky! very strange, huh.
jevans, you smartass. If they were Canadian sharks, they'd have been okay.


This is so interesting!

Besides sharks teeth, fossils of other marine creatures are also found in this area. Because millions of years ago most of Florida was under water, many fossils are found inland as well as on the beaches. State law prohibits digging without a permit however.

Identification of sharks teeth, which come in many different shapes and sizes, is relatively easy. All of the teeth in the mouth of a single type of shark are the same shape. They vary only in size. The shape of the teeth of each species is distinct. Local book stores offer many books on the subject.

For millions of years, sharks have lived and died in the Gulf of Mexico. Dead sharks sink to the ocean floor where they are covered by layers of sand and silt. Over time, the cartilage of their bodies disintegrates. Water and storm action eventually sweeps the sand away, exposing the teeth. Some are washed up on shore with the changing tides and waves.

cool!


(sorry for the hijack, I am just fascinated by stuff like that, Joanie!)

[jevans]

[quote=Rissask;1156580]rained down! that is freaky! very strange, huh.
jevans, you smartass. If they were Canadian sharks, they'd have been okay.