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Great Beach Day on Anna Maria Island

Spring Break on Anna Maria Island

It was a beautiful day on Anna Maria Island today. A cool north wind, but a beautiful sunny sky and temperatures in the 70's. This is about the biggest beach crowd I've ever seen here.

Heavy beach traffic on the way to Anna Maria Island

The traffic on Manatee Avenue heading west toward the beach was nearly gridlocked. And it wasn't even a weekend.

Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island

Even though the public beach accesses were very crowded, it was easy to escape the crowd by taking a short walk up the beach. I was looking for jellyfish, but didn't see any this morning.

Beach traffic on Cortez Road in Bradenton, Florida

Beach-bound traffic on Cortez Road was bumper-to-bumper. Here I'm heading off-island. Traffic going toward the beach is backed up for a mile or so. It gets worse on the weekend.

If you want to avoid traffic and parking issues, arrive at the beach by 9:30 a.m. during nice spring weather. It’s worth it!