Need a Facebook cover? Check this out

I'll admit upfront: Facebook is not my friend. So it takes a lot to grab my attention enough to want to blog about it.

Thanks goes to Web Developer William Winter. He has created Bradenton Herald Facebook Covers for you to use on your own Facebook page.

Who wouldn't want these beautiful scenes gracing their Facebook page? I mean, how lucky are we in Bradenton?! The image above of Robinson Preserve is exactly one mile from my front door...

You can download these images by right-clicking on the picture you like, then selecting "Save Picture As..." or "Save Image As..." and saving it to your desktop. And Facebook has these instructions to help you from there.

Let us know if you see one of our photographers' images you'd like us to consider adding, too. We have bragging rights to this slice of heaven.

What joy to share a Happy Mother's Day

It's a glorious Mother's Day here, a picture-perfect day as they say. And it has been a special treat for me, with my best friend, her daughter and her daughter's new mother-in-law all visiting for the weekend.

Joyce and daughter Jen have been here before, and never stop raving about our beaches, fried grouper and my magic margaritas. Cammie paid her first visit, and fell in love with everything except the grind called Manatee Avenue (yep, another chance to take a shot at that mess, as this previous blog post still holds true!).

This morning, I expected everybody would want to make one last trip to the beach and work a bit more on those tans before they head back home -- to Boulder, San Francisco and Fritch, Texas (I'll let you find that dot on the map). Instead, Jennifer took us to Mother's Day brunch -- "my three Moms," she declared.

I've known her all of her 27 years, through thrills and tears and triumphs. And those words made me so proud and humbled.

The same emotion runs through Vin Mannix's Mother's Day column today. Whatever you do today, make sure you hug your mom. Or hug somebody's mom. Or have a conversation with your moms, wherever and whoever they may be.

“Twas heaven here with you.”

That's Joyce next to me, with daughter Jen across from her with Cammie.

Best grouper in town? That's easy

Welcome to Week Two of "Our Manatee Beaches" -- the Bradenton Herald/Bradenton.com's lens on the beaches along Anna Maria Island.

This week's focus: the Rod & Reel Pier.

The pier, according to island history sites, dates back to at least 1947. The Rod and Reel Restaurant is the most northern eatery on the island, with its unimpeded view of Tampa Bay and the Skyway Bridge. And it has the best grouper sammies in town (in fact, it's the first restaurant I was taken to during my job interview 12 years ago!).

Here's a link to the gallery by Grant Jefferies. Enjoy.