Run Eat Drink Podcast

RED Episode 305 Siesta Key Daycation to Remember

Send us a text

RED Episode 305 Siesta Key Daycation to Remember

SHOUT-OUTS 

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Springtime Surprise races!  We saw the Will Run For Crew, Sherry aka @runsinaskirt, Kelli Bickering @wanderlustandpretzeldust, Jen Kim,  and many other fantastic faces, including Jeff Galloway.  We had major FOMO and hope to return after we are healed and running again!

If you want a shout-out for you or someone else you love on the show,  email us at info@runeatdrink.net or call us and leave a message at 941-677-2733

RUN 

This week Aimee took a little “daycation runcation” up to Siesta Key for the 39th Annual Run for the Turtles 5K on the beautiful Siesta Key Beach!!  40th will be next year, and this one is a must-do!  

https://runsignup.com/Race/Info/FL/SiestaKey/RunfortheTurtles  

EAT

Aimee has been talking about getting Alaskan King Crab again for so long… she did it at Lobster Pot in Siesta Key!  Shout out to Dominick, who was a fantastic server.  The meal was incredible!

For more information on their menu, visit https://www.sarasotalobsterpot.com/menu/dinner.

DRINK 

Of course, when you have heard nothing but amazing things about Siesta Key Rum Distillery… you take a free tour, enjoy samples and a great story, and meet new friends, too!  Thanks, Kevin, for the grand tour, and remember… it is not Mai Tai… it is “Your Tai and Our Tai” now!

https://www.siestakeyrum.com

THAT’S A WRAP!

Thanks to MagicMind for sponsoring this week’s show.  Don’t forget we have a limited-time offer you can use now that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one-time purchases with code REDPOD at checkout.  

Go to www.magicmind.com or use our discount code, REDPOD, at checkout.

Or go to https://www.magicmind.com/REDPOD20

Support the show


THAT’S A WRAP!

Thank you for listening! Because of your support, we are in our eighth year of the podcast! Don’t forget to follow us and tell us where to find you next on our website, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Also, check out our store on the website and get some swag, thanks to Pure Creative Apparel. Thanks to www.PodcastMusic.com for providing the music for this episode, too!

Speaker 1:

I am Marco Chesero and you are listening to Run Eat Drink podcast. Welcome to the Run Eat Drink podcast. We feature destination races from across the country and after the race, we take you on a tour of the best local food and beverage to celebrate. So, whether you are an elite runner or a back of the packer like us, you'll know the best places to accomplish, explore and indulge on your next runcation. Hey, welcome to episode 305. It's the 305 of the Run Eat Drink podcast. I'm your host, Amy Flying, solo this fine episode 305. Isn't that a Miami area code? I should have run a race in Miami for this one. Oh, tell me about all the epic fail Info at runeeddrinknet. Let me know. But I didn't. I went on a wonderful daycation stay near to homecation run, which I went while Dana slept in. I went to Siesta Key and did a run for the turtles and then I had some fantastic seafood at the Lobster Pot and finally, I capped off a wonderful day in Siesta Key and the Sarasota area at the Siesta Key Rum Distillery Tour. So I am, I was not in Miami, but I had a wonderful beach daycation nonetheless. And before I tell you about that, we need to do some shout outs, so it's really good that you're listening along.

Speaker 1:

Everyone who completed the springtime surprise races. We saw pictures of the Will Run For Crew, sherry aka Runs in a Skirt, kelly Beckering at Wunderlust and Pretzel Dust, jen Kim and so many others, including an awesome face. There was a social media post of Jeff Galloway just chilling, just chilling in front of the castle, deep in thought, and I just have to go back and read all the captions about that and I just have to go back and read all the captions about that. He is as America's coach and my coach as I'm making my way back to 5K and beyond. And we had major FOMO watching everybody at the springtime surprise races. All of the costumes were great. Stephanie Humphrey, you and your munchkin, you all were great. Stephanie Humphrey, you and your munchkin, you all were adorable and just congratulations to everybody who was there. I really wanted to be there, but I had a wonderful weekend in Siesta Key, while you had an incredible and awesome time in Orlando.

Speaker 1:

If you want shout outs for yourself or someone you know and it doesn't have to necessarily be a running shout out, it could be trying a new food, it could be trying a new beverage. It could be a major promotion at work. We like to celebrate all the accomplishments here at the Run Eat Drink podcast. So email us, attach a little video or not video, but audio recording. Attach a little audio recording and send it to info at runeatdrinknet about 30 seconds to a minute, and we can make you Runcation Nation famous. Let's celebrate each other. Or you can call and leave a message and we can play that voicemail and that's at 941-677-2733. That's 941-677-2733. 7-7-3-3.

Speaker 1:

Now, before we talk running, I really have to tell you I have been bookending my day with very important routine and ritual. I really I've been thinking a lot about as I head on back to 5k and 10k distances and beyond. It's been hard to come back after, to be honest, really not wanting to get out of bed a lot of the time. So I've been thinking a lot about how important the start of my day is and how the end of my day and how the end of my day, the end of my day, and how I wind down and how I sleep, has an impact on that, on how I start the next day. In fact, I was listening to a podcast, an episode with Mel Robbins. The new book she's got out is called the Let them Theory. She was talking about a bedtime routine and when I reach for magic mind mental performance shots to start my day, along with my coffee, it helps me gain clarity, it helps me get going, keep going, avoid the energy crash. But you know what? Also, taking their shots at the end of my day, the sleep shots, they look like the little shots instead of green they're lavender, they're lavender colored and they have lavender in them. They have ashwagandha for relaxation and lemon balm and chamomile and 5-HTP for falling asleep and for sleep.

Speaker 1:

Tell you that after using both the mental performance shot and then the sleep shot at the end of the day, I even had enough energy to go to a 7 pm hot yoga class in the middle of the week and usually I'm in bed by what like? I'm in bed at eight and have, or I have been, lately. Anyway, I love that. It's not a quick fix that takes you on a roller coaster, feeling really up and then down, and then up and then down, to make consistent changes in the way that you feel. Helps with stress has all natural ingredients their sleep performance shot. It's so good that magnesium for calming the nervous system and relaxing the muscles and it doesn't make me groggy in the morning. It's not when you have a cold and you take some cold medicine and it can linger in the morning. Not like that at all. So I love that Magic Mind has expanded into this arena of wellness because I really think sleep is so important to training and to overall wellness in your life. So I really am appreciative to the folks at Magic Mind because they have given us a limited time offer that you can use right now to get up to 48% off your subscription or 20% off a one-time purchase. You can go to magicmindcom slash redpod20, r-e-d-p-o-d two zero magicmindcom slash redpod20. Or if you're at magicmindcom, you can enter the code in the discount code box R-E-D-P-O-D at checkout redpod at checkout. So you can have that bookended fabulous day at a discount. And we really thank Magic Mind for sponsoring this week's show.

Speaker 1:

Let's talk running and let's talk the 39th annual run for the turtles on Siesta Key Beach. And when I say on the beach, entirely 100% on the beach. You pick up your packet as you arrive at Siesta Key Beach and that is really the only part that is not on sand. The race took place about eight o'clock in the morning. I got there between, I don't know, 730 and 745. I would say there's free parking at the beach and it's just a gorgeous beach. It has a playground set up and some shelters, like a park would for you, and it also has a great place to get food and beverage called the Sun Deck. All when you arrive right there by the parking lot. So that is where packet pickup was and there was like a little mini health fair expo with some other races and some mascots and it was just a really smooth packet pickup.

Speaker 1:

And then you get out on the beach and the soft sand is your way out there to the hard packed sand and the start of the 39th annual run for the turtles and it's all about those turtles that are nesting in the sand and trying to make it to the water once they're born. You know, I mean once they're, once they are nested and then born and it's just. We didn't get to see any turtles firsthand, but we did get to see video at one of the expo or morning pickup booths at the health fair and there was a little quiz where you could lift up a question and see the answer and different fun facts about the turtles and it was just, it was nice and they had coffee set up and they had apples, bananas, bagels, and did I mention coffee? Oh, yes, they had coffee and orange slices and it was just fantastic. And they had age group awards. That there were no finisher medals but there were age group ribbons and medals for people who placed, I believe, in the top six is what it was that I heard when, when I was at the post race. But so you're in that area and there's a bottle refill station and you can use one of their refillable bottles so that you don't leave trash or you can bring your own. And we just happened to have gotten one and we might have an interview coming up later on this month with a founder of one of the reusable bottles with a filter, just a fabulous little bottle product that I think we're going to use again and again, actually.

Speaker 1:

But so I filled mine with water and I headed out to the start and I just barely made it across the finish, across the start line, to at the tail end to start the race, and it's entirely on the beach, entirely on the beach. So I know that will have an impact on what you wear, how you dress. The weather was not that humid, so I can see why they have it in April. In March, april you don't have as high humidity as you do in the later months in Florida. So it was just gorgeous weather and the ocean is right there, just beautiful sea salt smell. You can see the birds, you can see some, you can pick up some seashells, which I did, which served as my little finisher medal.

Speaker 1:

I found a little shell that I loved, that I kept, and yeah, it was the 5k was just a turnaround, so it was all entirely on the beach and you might want to wear old shoes, you might want to wear some of those five finger shoes, it just depends. I wore some older brooks that I knew I could just wash right out and let dry and they would be fine. And the volunteers at the one water stop where you have the turnaround, they had little you can refill your bottle or they had little cups that they gave you. And then there was a trash can right there. So there was no trash on the beach and gosh, it was just.

Speaker 1:

The sky was beautiful and there was no pressure at all in this race. You just took your time. People are waving at you as they're playing and laughing with their families on the beach and they're dancing in the sand and they're making sandcastles, sandcastles, and they made one. One was like an alligator or a crocodile kind of sandcastle-esque. On the way back, after the turnaround that I saw it was just gorgeous and what a beautiful day and I just remember being so filled with gratitude about being able to take some time. I don't know if anybody else has that kind of impact. When you're out on the beach you just you smell the sea, air and you have. If you had your shoes off, you would have your toes in the sand and it's just so low stress and so peaceful. And I hear from some maybe certified yoga teachers that it's good for your stability to do some running and walking in the sand. So I think I did that for myself. I crossed the finish line. I took a picture. I felt some accomplishment. I hung around for myself. I crossed the finish line. I took a picture. I felt some accomplishment. I hung around for some of the awards.

Speaker 1:

The shirts were really great tech t-shirts bright orange and I saw some in the previous years were maroon, were yellow, were that kind of teal-ish, and then it had all the sponsors on the back and then a turtle outlined on the front. They're just, it was just cute and I really like the fit of the lady's shirt and I think that it'll be great, as we get into the summer months and I start earlier and earlier with longer runs, to wear that shirt. It'll be cool and I'll be visible. And it's not I'll be maybe the color of a traffic cone, but it's not that bad. I liked it and and it felt good, very nice material. So I am definitely keeping that shirt and I think a turtle could be our mascot here at the Run E-Drink Podcast Towers, because I run as slow as a turtle trying to wade through some peanut butter or some really thick sand actually.

Speaker 1:

And the post-run experience was just wonderful. I stayed around and I had some more coffee and I had some orange slices and I applauded the runners, took some pictures for some runners that placed and got ribbons and or got medals for being, I think, top three in their age groups and it was just. I met a lot of great people smiling and clapping and cheering me on the beach and smiling and laughing and introducing themselves to me along during the little after party and I also took pictures with the mascots that they had there. What were their names? Oh, gilly and Shelly, and Shelly was the turtle, and then I don't Gilly, it's just adorable, and it's the. It's the Moat Marine Laboratory that this race is backed by and that benefits from this race, and I think the 40th anniversary could be a wonderful Runcation Nation kind of meetup and really aligned with the springtime surprise races and really it aligned with the springtime surprise races. So we I actually went to wash up in the restroom and a woman was actually changing to get in the car to go to Disney right after the race.

Speaker 1:

So Sarasota is it's got its own airport. It is beautiful. There are a lot of Airbnbs and a lot of hotels around that area in Siesta Key and they have a trolley in addition to, I'm sure, uber and Lyft and so many little places to get food and beverage to celebrate your accomplishments. I cannot recommend this race enough and, if it aligns with any other race or not, I would love to go up the night before and stay and have a nice meal, a nice hearty meal, and then do the 5K and spend some time on the beach and then have a lovely night in town with dinner and beverages and just go back home rejuvenated and anybody who wants to join me next year is certainly welcome. Info at runnydrinknet. Let me know, we'll make a plan. It's the 40th anniversary of the Run for the Turtle, so why wouldn't we go? It was great. I highly recommend.

Speaker 1:

And now all this talk of running, it's made me so hungry. It's really made me hungry and I will tell you and if you get Dana alone for five minutes, he will talk about how I love all things seafood in terms of shrimp, crab oysters and the like. I will, and I have been craving some crab legs. I like snow crab. Alaskan king crab is really where it's at for me.

Speaker 1:

And I did some research around the Siesta Key area and not I probably could have walked there from the free parking at the beach and then come back to the beach and spend some time on the beach after the meal. But and there's also pay by QR code parking all around the restaurants in town. There are Italian restaurants, there's ice cream, there's. It's just, it's like a little beach town and it's so quaint and so cute. I found, doing some research about ratings and reviews, that a little place called the Lobster Pot in Siesta Key, which was five minutes from the beach has excellent crab, excellent Alaskan king crab. So off I went and the timing was about perfect Once I got done at the post-raise party then I could get in the car, go find parking.

Speaker 1:

At the time I should have just walked there, honestly, but I found parking. It was not really a problem to find parking and by the time I found the parking the restaurant was actually just then opening. It was what? Maybe 1130 or so, so 1145. So I walked in and I was one of the first people there, so 1145. So I walked in and I was one of the first people there and it's just, it's like. It's like a fish house or a seafood house, a very rustic oldies feel, but super clean. The bar was great. They had taps from Calusa Brewing, which we featured on the show with mobster lobster and mango cart. They had on tap, they had just, and they had some of the stables as well. They had their own housemaid sangria, red sangria, and they had a full bar. So you could have anything you want in terms of beverage.

Speaker 1:

I sat down and you could have there's lobster bisque, which I ended up bringing home for Dana and for me to have, and I ordered just the. The first thing I said to Dominic, who was an amazing server. I said what is the house specialty? What should I come here and not leave until I get? And he said, far and away, it's either the boil or the king crab. And I said sign me up for the king crab, because that is what I had been waiting for. Those were music to my ears, those words had been waiting for. Those were music to my ears, those words.

Speaker 1:

And so Alaskan king crab I got, and I got two sides to go with it and they have just those standard fish house or seafood house sides. I got coleslaw and mac and cheese and the mac and cheese was a white mac and cheese and they also had mashed potatoes and they had greens. So you could have any of that, but I had coleslaw and mac and cheese. The Alaskan king crab. I really thought, okay, at every place where I have ever been, having Alaskan king crab requires a lot of work. And anybody who was in the Rencation Nation that went to Gasparilla and then went out to eat with me, and Susie and Jojo and Dawn and Christy and Greg and Jesse, everybody and Darlene and just the whole crew, you all got to see firsthand how I just go to town and I know that I'm trying to get every little bit of crab out of the shell and a lot of people don't like to order it that way because they think it's work and it is work.

Speaker 1:

But if it's done it's worth it. And what I mean by it's done, it's served with drawn butter and lots of lemon and it's not steamed until it's rubbery. And my trick is to take all the crab and get it all out of the shelf first when it's hot and pliable. But what was really amazing when it came to the table was it was absolutely beautiful and it was pre-cracked for me, so that really all I had to do was separate along the lines where it had been cracked for me and remove these huge chunks of amazing crab, so tender, so flavorful, that brininess of the sea, the lemon and the butter, and it was just meaty but not chewy, and it's not as flaky.

Speaker 1:

Alaskan king crab is not as flaky as, say, snow crab and when you have stone crab, which is in season, you know what? What is it? From October to May, I think it's. It's more solid. So I would say, if it's done, the Alaskan king crab is between the snow crab and the stone crab consistency in terms of meatiness. It was tender, it was hot, it was tender, it was hot even after, because what I do is make, make them bring me extra butter and I use a bigger bowl and I just I get everything out of the claws and into the butter and then I squeeze the lemon over top of it and then I eat it in a glorious moment.

Speaker 1:

The first moment that you taste it it is just seafood perfection, shellfish perfection. And the coleslaw was just your standard house coleslaw, but it had that tangy dressing. And then the mac and cheese was the white mac and cheese. Add salt and pepper and it's perfection and a bonus. When I said to Dominic listen, what do I need to take home to the husband, he said lobster bisque, 100%. So I got two large bowls to go Creamy, buttery lobster broth or stock Goodness. It just was amazing to have.

Speaker 1:

Later on, when I got home with Dana and his recommendation was spot on with the beverage too, as we head into the beverage portion of our show, I got the house made sangria. It was red sangria, it was sweet, it was not dry, it came with all the fruits in the glass and I loved that. Dominic left a straw, served it in a wine glass and it was cool, it was refreshing, it was light, it was sweet and not dry, and I just loved it. The one mistake I did make is not to ask what red base they use, like Cabernet or Brillo, but it was sweet and it was not dry, so take my word for it. If you like sangria, if you like sweet sangria, red sangria, you should give it a try for sure. But the beers, the local beers, they have on tap great stuff, and I also got. I stayed hydrated and I had them. Bring me some San Pellegrino fizzy water.

Speaker 1:

All in all, I will tell you, the lobster pot in Siesta Key five stars would do it again. Fabulous service, amazing food, and that's everything you want in a meal after an accomplishment like a 5K run for the turtles. So has this made you thirsty? I talked about the sangria at the restaurant, but I have three words for you. Runcation Nation, you've accomplished local fantastic eats. Now three words Free rum tour. Yes, please, of course. Siesta Key Rum has a free tour, and they have three in the day.

Speaker 1:

I signed up for the midday one, the one o'clock one. It's about a 40 minute tour. When you get there I will say I arrived at one. I should have come about maybe 10, 15 minutes early, but that's okay. I got what I missed in that 15 minute window before the tour. I got after the tour. So, either way, they took great care of me.

Speaker 1:

I arrived and there were about what I don't know. There were maybe 10, 15 people in the tour and they gave me a little, a tiny little sample plastic cup of some of their toasted coconut rum, and I understand why it is an award-winning rum. It is got that toasty, caramelly, toasty sweetness, but it's not overly caramelly, about toasted coconut being different than just the sweetness of the raw coconut. So I had a little bit of that to sip on while I listened to Kevin and another gentleman to deliver an amazing tour and show us the stills and the process that they go through to make not only their silver rum which, dare I say, should be their flagship rum, so smooth, dangerous, it is their flagship rum, so smooth and dangerous, dangerous, it is their flagship rum, so smooth and dangerous. And, yeah, just Kevin's customer service manager there invited us to come back and sit and chat with him about the history of Siesta Key Rum, its connection to the communique. Kevin Maroney, customer experience manager there, invited us to come back and sit down and chat with him about what makes it so special, ties to the community, the history.

Speaker 1:

We're there for it and I'm going to tell you right now. Wicked Dolphin is amazing here in Cape Coral and the coconut rum that we've had from there, simply awesome. The key lime rum terrific. We brought home some of the toasted coconut, the silver, and their coffee rum from Siesta Key. Their coffee rum from siesta key just fantastic, natural flavor, smooth, it's just perfection.

Speaker 1:

And when I asked kevin which cocktail that we should talk about, he looked for a long time because after the tour you come back into their, their area where they have their retail. They have some silopines and they have the sila silopine shot glasses and they have shirts and they have their rum. They have orgeat, which is is wonderful, or orgeat tomato, tomato, oh so good. So I was asking what drink should we feature during the beverage portion of our show? They have all these recipes on their website. You can make a caramel apple rum, teeny. A siesta key lime pie, a siesta key kick and punch, a cocoa nutty brew. The great pumpkin cocktail. The great pumpkin cocktail that I think is a play on the Charlie Brown special for Halloween Cucumber, jalapeno, rumerito, which is spicy they let us have a little sip of that and it packs a little bit of a punch. So it's incredible.

Speaker 1:

There's a siesta key watermelon agua fresca. Oh, just delightful. You can see their recipes and one of their still is named Carl. It's just terrific. But so I asked him which one I should feature and he took a long look and he said you should feature the Sarasota Mai Tai. So that's what I ordered at the end of the tour to taste. And so it's Siesta Key toasted coconut rum, siesta Key spiced rum, which is, oh my gosh, it's like the mulled wine spices in a rum. Oh, so good, so good. Pineapple juice, orange juice, orgeat, which is almond syrup, and grenadine. And I'm going to tell you the Sarasota Mai Tai grenadine. And I'm going to tell you the Sarasota Mai Tai. It was coming to me and Kevin said here is the Mai Tai. It's not Mai Tai anymore, it's your Thai now. And I just thought your Thai Mai Tai, it's our Thai, we have a Thai. But it was just delightful, flavorful and delicious.

Speaker 1:

I highly recommend that spiced rum, just on its own as a sipper, it's so good. Yeah, you can make some kind of Christmassy or holiday-like beverage with it. I just am not at that time of year. I really need to think about that. It's fantastic.

Speaker 1:

And they have some aged rum sometimes after the tour that are left over from specialty barrels. They have some partnerships with some local breweries where they will give aged rums. They'll give you some distillers, reserve or maple syrup barrel spiced or it. I just they'll have some that are not necessarily that you can take home but they're left from special editions that you could try in their infinity room into infinity and beyond. But it's not like that. It's amazing. And the bar is just fantastic and they have a quote where they're barrel aging some rum that says it's not drinking on the job, it's research and I thought that was great and that is apparently from someone who passed away, unfortunately, but was just amazing as part of their staff there. And they have a tiki vibe the infinity room is the tiki bar and have a sign up.

Speaker 1:

When they were talking it was very hard not to be distracted by this. Time flies when you're having rum and it's just. It's a fantastic vibe there and delicious rum. I the silver you could put with coke like a whole rum and coke vibe and you could just. It's like you're tasting just Coke, so it's dangerous. You got to be careful and make sure that you have a designated driver or you're not leaving the house. It's just good, it's just good. And they took care of us, they made sure everybody was going to get home safely and it was all in moderation.

Speaker 1:

What can I say about Siesta Key Rum? Stay tuned for more about their amazing product in history later on within the coming weeks. And yeah, I loved our tie. It's not a Mai Tai, maybe it's's your tie, but it's our tie. We had the tie and it was fantastic.

Speaker 1:

So, siesta key cheers, thanks for taking such great care of me on the tour and I met some incredible people there and it was just a wonderful daycation runcation. I wish it were longer, because once you put your toes in the sand, you have a little bit of local seafood, seafood from a local establishment that is cooked right, and you have some delicious locally made rum. Oh, that is a day to remember and to enjoy while you have it and to be grateful for. So thanks to everybody who made this staycation runcation, this run for the turtles Runcation, this Run for the Turtles, an amazing opportunity for me and that's a wrap. That is a wrap, and don't forget that we have a limited time offer that you can use right now that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription, or 20% off a one-time purchase with code REDPOD R-E-D-P-O-D at checkout. Or you can go to magicmindcom slash redpod20.

Speaker 1:

Get the healthy boost with Magic Mind's mental performance shot and our discount too. It's a small and simple addition to your daily routine. It's a small and simple addition to your daily routine. It helps you stay focused, mentally clear, motivated, productive. It reduces stress and you get 100 of your daily vitamin c and d in each of their mental performance shot. That's the morning, one per bottle. So get out there and get some and take advantage of the discount right now.

Speaker 1:

And and thanks so much to everybody the folks at Magic Minds, stacey and Grace and everybody for giving us this opportunity to pass on the savings and the discount to the Runcation Nation. Once again, thank you and stay tuned for more accomplishing, exploring and indulging. In the coming weeks we will have running icons, we will have inspirational stories, we'll have more local runs, we'll have more premier Runcation recaps from the Runcation Nation and we just thank you, no matter what we cover. We thank you for joining us on your long run, your commute to work around the house or wherever you are in 2025. I'm your host, amy. Stay safe and well and we will accomplish, explore and indulge with you really soon.

People on this episode

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.

Will Run For... Artwork

Will Run For...

WRF Podcast
Rise and Run Artwork

Rise and Run

The RDMTeam
After 2 Beers Artwork

After 2 Beers

After 2 Beers
You Can Do It with JEFF GALLOWAY Artwork

You Can Do It with JEFF GALLOWAY

Jeff Galloway, Bleav
321 GO! Artwork

321 GO!

Carissa Galloway and John Pelkey, Bleav