There are several park and beach accesses on Siesta. Here is a list of them: Siesta Key Parks - Sarasota Florida Recreational Areas
Many of the kids on Siesta go to Glebe Park, which is a 10 acre park that includes a covered playground, picnic area, soccer field, baseball field and basketball court. Some of my daughters friends play lacrosse at this park as well.

Many of the kids also enjoy skim boarding, skateboarding, fishing, kayaking, sailing, rowing and your more traditional...

Here are some areas to search for the quaint, unique, historical homes. Keep in mind some of these areas are only a few streets.

Avondale-around Alta Vista St, Brewer Pl, Irving, Lincoln

Badger Heights-S Osprey Ave, Loma Linda

Bayview Acres- off of Bayview and Siesta Dr

Bungalow Hill-Just slightly south of Hudson Bayou, between Orange Ave and Osprey Ave. Pomelo Ave (I lived there as a teen before it was the cool area to live in ), Citrus Ave...

If you're looking specifically to stick to 55+ in Sarasota county, these would be my suggestions. I put my top picks in bold green so they're easier to spot.

There are a few homes in Venetian Falls in Venice in the 2300 sq ft range. That's the only community I know of in Sarasota county that is 55+ and would have a home that size. You could get a 2500 sq ft home for around $285k. Unfortunately, the home is two stories. It has three bedrooms and two baths on the ground floor and a large...

This afternoon I spent the day kayaking and paddle boarding Brushy Bayou on Lido Key. It was a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze.

We launched out into Sarasota Bay off of Taft Rd on Lido Key. Once you launch you can hang a right and go into Little Lagoon. It's pretty shallow and in the winter the water is crystal clear. We left at about noon so we caught the high tide. We could see big clumps of coral and lots of fish swimming around on the flats. My hubby pulled up the empty...

Sarasota county sold foreclosures for the last year:
March, 2010: 172
April, 2010: 167
May, 2010: 187
June, 2010: 209
July, 2010: 149
Aug, 2010: 176
Sept, 2010: 185
Oct, 2010: 162
Nov, 2010: 136
Dec, 2010: 191
Jan, 2011: 185
Feb, 2011: 195
March, 2011 (Mar 1-10th): 36

Total foreclosures sold in Sarasota county in the last 12 months: 2114
Average sold each month: 176
Average sold each day: 6...