Palmetto is a one-main-street town (business district runs from First to Seventeenth Streets) on the west coast.  It lies on the north side of the Manatee River across from Bradenton. There are many mobile/manufactured-home parks, real estate agents, orange groves, tomato packers, several marinas and a rapidly-growing population base. There are some nice parks with softball, soccer and tennis facilities (but, no public swimming pools). Its main attractions are small-town atmosphere, proximity to water and proximity to larger cities (Bradenton, St. Petersburg, Sarasota) and their restaurants, and cultural and recreational features.

The preceding paragraph was written a few years ago.  Since then, most of the orange groves have disappeared, either due to citrus canker or housing developments.  In the meanwhile, poor, little, Palmetto is now awash with $1M+ high-rise condos.

We live in a gated community of about 700 dwellings called, "Terra Ceia Bay Golf and Tennis Club" (or, whatever - the name changes from year to year, depending on the whim of the developer). Within the community there are about fourteen condominium or home-owner associations. Ours, The Fairway Oaks Condominium Association, is comprised of 12 single-story buildings containing 36 residences. Everybody knows each other and most of us have developed a few close friends within the association. On the other hand, condo living, we have come to discover, means that the homeowner has control of the inside of the residence but the Association has control of almost everything on the outside, including shrubs, grass, paint and outdoor decorations. This arrangement takes some adjustment for those of us accustomed to being masters of their domiciles, and leads to strained relations now and then.

Perhaps the nicest thing about the area is the proximity of water and the wildlife that go with it.  Terra Ceia Bay (see map, link above) abuts our development and is just a few hundred yards from our house.  Roy's most traveled kayak route is from a beach by the bridge on Rt. 19 around Bird Island (a no-humans-allowed bird refuge) [from the "19" to the island in the center of the bay].  The bay is shallow, perhaps less than 4 ft. deep, mid-tide, outside of a narrow boat channel.  The red-fish and snook fishing is usually pretty good.  Occasionally, one can spot dolphins.  It is a breeding area for little sharks (too shallow for the big ones [I hope] - which can be found at the mouth of the bay where it meets the Gulf).  Emerson Point is a great, county-maintained, nature preserve on the tip of Snead Island, where Terra Ceia Bay and the Manatee River merge.