With summer here and four kids at home it is always a good time to find something to keep them occupied and have some fun as a family while living our long weekend life. If we want to be able to relax and enjoy our time together activity is imperative for the kids so they are not “bored”.

With that in mind we set out on one of our weekend journeys to find something cool to do to get away from the video games and get out of the house and have some fun. We know it has to include a beach, sunshine, and an activity or some kind of local unusualness that we can explore that is hard to find anywhere else or is a common theme that we like.
For instance we are always drawn for some reason to sea turtle nests. We also love exploring and collecting sea shells and creatures (star fish, sand dollars, urchins, broken coral etc.). We also love creature sighting like dolphins, sharks and manatees seem to be a reoccurring theme.
One thing about having a blended family is that one half of the family may have experienced something fun that can be done again for the whole family. Often what one side has done it is something that has not been done often or was so fun we could do it again and again and never get bored. This time it was a visit to Venice Beach in Venice, FL. This beach has several things going for it. First there are not tolls to get to the area. Second parking is free on the beach, third facilities are very nice and clean and are centrally located, fourth there are lifeguards on duty (we love taking pictures by the lifeguard shacks), then there are the turtle nests we can see, and a inlet that is a great place to fish. Add to that the treasure hunt! Not gold or pirate coins (but who knows what you will find), this time we are after sharks teeth! Venice beach is known to being home to a huge depository of sharks teeth and fossils for some reason. You can literally walk along the beach, head down, and spot sharks teeth that have washed up on the beach. If you have a sharp eye and a decent sifter you can find a couple of dozen in a day. In the three hours we spent on the beach we found about 10 of various shapes and sizes. None of them were huge and some were really small baby teeth looking, but all were genuine black sharks teeth. Needless to say each time one of us found one this started a whole new searching frenzy that became quite addictive for the kids.
Also if you are going we suggest bringing a fishing pole and some bait as it seems the pass area is a great place to go fishing. There were a number of people with poles in the water catching any variety of fish.
There are a number of places to stay on the island if you want to visit for several days and the down town area has a number of shops and restaurants to visit with a wide variety of food types.
So pack your bags and visit Venice Beach, FL and leave us a message on how you did finding sharks teeth. Enjoy your long weekend life here and relax a little with the whole family while adding to your tropical treasures.