Second in a five-part series
By SARA KENNEDY
skennedy@bradenton.com
MANATEE
In almost 30 years of selling real estate, Realtor Michelle Crabtree has seen lots of houses. But when she spotted one for sale in River Bend, she knew she had to buy it.
Sitting directly on the Braden River with its own dock, the land that was once a part of Mote Ranch offers a spectacular view.
“I love my home,” said Crabtree, a third-generation Sarasotan who bought her house along Stillwater Court nearly four years ago. “We had 70 people out here for our wedding, it was wonderful,” she said, gesturing around her backyard, which overlooks a lazy bend in the peaceful river.
As she stood there, an anhinga dried its wings across the way, a gator swam the river and big white egrets flew overhead.
She is one of the lucky ones whose daily life is intertwined with that of the river. Others include a Manatee County commissioner who shrugs off alligators lounging in her backyard; a former owner of the funky campground and restaurant called Linger Lodge; and a member of the family that owns the King Ranch Manatee, who spent his childhood along its banks.
Crabtree, in her early 50s, remembers with a giggle that there was a disturbance during her 2006 wedding ceremony: A party of fishermen motored up the river and noisily caught a huge bass just as she and her groom, Larry Davenport, began to exchange vows.
Crabtree, a broker-sales associate for Michael Saunders & Co., and Davenport, who is in the ice hockey business, laughed it off.
Now, they both work from their home office where they can bird-watch when they take a break from their computers.
“It’s a pleasure to work here,” she said, gesturing at the lush vegetation encouraged by the looping course of the river near Honore Avenue.
Some days they take a leisurely spin on their pontoon boat to Linger Lodge, a long-time restaurant and campground about 30 minutes upriver. There, they order an appetizer of gator meat and drinks. Other days, they go down river toward the Evers Reservoir, where they see wading birds such as ibis and roseate spoonbills.
At home, they regularly spot manatees, otters and osprey.
A tranquil setting
Manatee County Commissioner Donna Hayes lives just down river from Crabtree, and is an equally ardent fan of the river lifestyle.
Hayes hails originally from just north of Pittsburgh, but moved to Florida in 1976. She has been in the insurance business 30 years, and has lived 17 years in the River Landings subdivision, near Evers Reservoir.
“I chose it because it has a fantastic view, yet it’s very convenient to State Road 70 and I-75, and since I’ve moved here, there’s been a lot of developmental changes and commercial centers opened all around me,” says Hayes. “It’s a nice, quiet community where I live.
“I believe the folks in my area in particular like living there because of the view and the tranquil setting,” she added. “Lots of my neighbors have boats. I have a canoe, I go every once in a while.”
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