Admittedly, my “on-the-water” experience in life is pretty minimal.

My family didn’t have a boat when I was growing up, I never mastered the art of water-skiing, and most of the fishing I’ve done took place camping on family vacations (think live worms in a bucket of fresh dirt, squiggling as I baited the hook).

But despite these childhood misfortunes, I knew better than to pass on a boat ride. Especially through Siesta Key.

My neighbor Reggie has a beautiful boat named Belle Vie, and he graciously offered to take me and a couple friends out on the water one afternoon.

It was a gorgeous day, and much to my delight, the skipper and I had the same fabulous taste in ’80s music. In fact, the blaring brass trumpets of “The Heart of Rock and Roll” by Huey Lewis had me all kinds of happy before we even left the dock (“Th. Th. Th. Th. They say the heart of rock and roll is the beatin’…”)!

We worked our way through Siesta Key’s Grand Canal, a 10-mile-long network of canals which allow for incredible views and a significant number of waterfront communities. I’ve ridden my bicycle and walked the key numerous times, but enjoying this view on a boat while gliding on the canal itself was a different, more magical experience.

We made our way to the Stickney Point Bridge (known to locals as the South Bridge) just in time to see the bridge lift for a few sailboats to pass through. Again, I’ve driven across the bridge hundreds of times, but seeing it from the water below is a different vantage point indeed. It lifted right in front of us, and I can’t help but marvel at the size, the construction and the genius of the waterway.

After a quick pit stop for gas, we took the boat all the way down to Venice. It’s a gorgeous ride with channel markers highlighting correct speeds and wakes. Unfortunately, Reggie doesn’t quite have a handle on the appropriate speed zones, and he got pulled over by none other than Florida’s finest Fish and Water Life Sheriff. He was firm but polite, giving our captain a ticket and encouraging him to pay closer attention. I blame Huey Lewis.

And finally, before our afternoon ended, we decided to stop by The Tiki Hut at Spanish Point. Docking the boat before walking into a restaurant is a fairly new phenomenon for me, and this Kansas girl still shakes her head each time it happens.

A few appetizers and beverages later, we headed back to the boat and to Reggie’s home. Although I was prepared for a warm day with plenty of sunscreen, I was clearly red by the time we walked off the boat and wished I’d brought my hat along.

Nonetheless, a little sunburn didn’t dampen my day, and we all thanked Reggie for the ride. He was kind, saying we should all do it again sometime.

And as long as there’s ’80s music on water, you know I’m in.

— Carrie Cox, account executive