Siesta Key named third best U.S. beach by TripAdvisor

Anna Maria Island may be the third best island in the U.S.
but its beaches don't rank on TripAdvisor.
File photo by Grant Jefferies

Florida might have as many beaches as Hawaii in TripAdvisor's latest Top 25 U.S. Beaches, but none are in Manatee County.

Siesta Key ranked third, the highest in Florida, and Lido Beach, also in Sarasota County ranked 22nd, according to the 2014 list released Tuesday. Lanikai Beach in Oahu, Hawaii was the top beach.

“We are thrilled to share this news,” said Erin Duggan, Director of Brand for Visit Sarasota County.  “We are honored so many visitors to our shores love their experience here and are willing to share it with others.”

TripAdvisor survey of 13,000 U.S. travelers found that 81 percent plan to take a beach vacation in 2014, compared to 69 percent that did in 2013. Summer is the most popular season for beach vacations with the most popular months being: July (23%), August (20%), June (19%).

“For those fed up with the long cold winter, there’s really no better cure than an escape to one of these award-winning beaches,” said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor. “Even if you can’t go to one of these stunning beaches soon, just looking at the photos will take you away for a moment, until you can plan a trip.”

Siesta Key dropped from No. 2 to No. 3 from last year's beach rankings. Other area beaches that made the list include Saint Pete Beach at No. 9, Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin at No. 11 and Clearwater Beach at No. 21.

What's strange is how Anna Maria Island can rank third among U.S. islands, but none of its beaches rank at all in the Top 25. What gives? Was it the dredging equipment? Surely surveyors can come back and see there's enough sand on the beach now.
Here is the complete list

Travelers’ Choice Top 25 Beaches in the U.S.

1.       Lanikai Beach, Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii

2.       Ka'anapali Beach, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

3.       Siesta Key Public Beach, Siesta Key, Florida

4.       Hanalei Beach, Hanalei, Kauai, Hawaii

5.       Wai'anapanapa State Park, Hana, Maui, Hawaii

6.       Wailea Beach, Wailea, Maui, Hawaii

7.       Hunting Island State Park, Beaufort, South Carolina

8.       Manini'owali Beach (Kua Bay), Kailua-Kona, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii

9.       Saint Pete Beach, Saint Pete Beach, Florida

10.   Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

11.   Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin, Florida

12.   Poipu Beach Park, Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii

13.   Ko Olina Lagoons, Kapolei, Hawaii

14.   St. Augustine Beach, Saint Augustine Beach, Florida

15.   Ogunquit Beach, Ogunquit, Maine

16.   Race Point Beach, Provincetown, Massachusetts

17.   Bahia Honda State Park and Beach, Big Pine Key, Florida

18.   La Jolla Cove, La Jolla, California

19.   Pensacola Beach, Pensacola, Florida

20.   Beach at Panama City, Panama City Beach, Florida

21.   Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Florida

22.   Lido Beach, Sarasota, Florida

23.   Assateague Beach, Assateague Island, Virginia

24.   Kapalua Beach, Kapalua, Hawaii

25.   Navarre Beach, Navarre, Florida

Bradenton, McKechnie Field in running for Best Spring Training City

Fans watch the Pittsburgh Pirates play the Atlanta Braves at
McKechnie Field in 2013. Grant Jefferies/Bradenton Herald

McKechnie Field looks mighty spiffy after those $10 million renovations completed in time for last year's spring training. Those renovations put Bradenton in the running for Best Spring Training City.

USA Today sports editor Bob Nightengale selected 20 cities/ballparks for a USA Today Travel 10 Best poll with McKechnie Field/Bradenton making the list. Now it's up to people to vote for the best.

Baseball fans have until noon March 24 to cast votes. Visit the USA Today Travel site here to cast your vote.

Out of the 20, 11 come from Florida including Sarasota's Ed Smith Stadium, the Baltimore Orioles spring home that also had its own renovation. Ed Smith is currently in fourth place while Tampa Bay Rays' spring home at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte is in the lead.

McKechnie's renovation gave it more than 2,000 seats, more shaded areas, a 19,000-square-foot boardwalk, tiki bar and a reworked fan plaza to earn it both the Best Ballpark Renovation designation from Ballpark Digest and Design Excellence Award from Florida Planning and Zoning Association. After all the renovations, fans might never guess this stadium --  built in 1923 -- is the oldest spring training stadium.

A record 93,433 fans turned out last year to see the renovated ballpark and now with the Pittsburgh Pirates following up on a winning season, more are expected at this year's spring training.

Let me know which spring training stadium you think is the best and why below.

Major League Soccer players, staff give Bradenton social media love

Major League Soccer players and staff are giving a peek into how they’re spending their time in Bradenton and Sarasota thanks to Twitter and Instagram.

Probably the most active team showing off the area is the Columbus Crew and its players. There are photos of the guys going for a beach run in team uniform, others hanging out poolside and visiting youth academy players.

Retired Columbus Crew player Frankie Hejduk is hanging out with his team as a brand ambassador (a front-office fan position) and the team’s official website posted that the avid skateboarder took some off time and visited a pawn shop to buy a skateboard before heading to the Riverwalk skate park, posting a short video on the Crew’s Instagram account.

Think about what happened. Hejduk won the MLS Cup in 2008 with the Crew and another one in 2011 with Los Angeles Galaxy and is a two-time Olympian and represented the United States at two World Cups. 

This champion decided like a regular skateboarding Joe to plop down some cash for a board and take a spin in a public park overlooking Manatee River with teens nearby. They perhaps did not know who was skating with them at first. 

The team puts out a video to expose folks to Bradenton and hey, not only is there MLS soccer here, but a skatepark worthy enough for a pro.

Beyond that, other players and staff on the Crew and other teams are being great ambassadors for the Bradenton-Sarasota area with their tweets and pics.

Crew players Tony Chani and Kevan George at Pier 22 on Instagram with fans giving the players some local dining tips, suggesting they go to Anna Maria Island Oyster Bar, Woody’s River Roo, BeachHouse Restaurant, Pacific Rim Sushi and Mixons Fruit Farms. A few other players spent one of their first nights in town grabbing dinner at Fav’s Italian Cucina on Old Main Street.

D.C. United athletic trainer Brian Gerlach posted some interesting photos of how a soccer team takes over a waterfront hotel. The United are staying at the Hyatt Regency and one of the conference rooms overlooking the boat docks is now a training room where players get massages and treatment for their bumps and bruises. I’m sure the players don’t mind the tropical view while on the mend.

Gerlach also gave United fans a tease, wowing them with Sarasota sunsets, time at the pool and kayaking on Sarasota Bay. Not a bad way to spend some down time between soccer matches.

Check out more photos of MLS players in the Bradenton area via my Storify.