Florida has been getting some unprecedent cold weather. We wanted to take out time exploring the northern west coast of Florida but not wearing pants. So, we decided to move quickly to the keys making just a few stops. We have never been to Sarasota so decided to give it a try.
Trying to escape the cold weather meant missing some stops along the way and longer cruising days. Our next stop, Sarasota was too long for one day so we stopped in Madeira Beach. After a long cruise we decided to drop the hook and enjoy dinner on Three Sons. An admirals job is never ending, trying to time bridge openings!Lots and lots of bridges along the west coast of Florida.Thanks to the great work of the Admiral, we did well timing the bridges and never had to wait!Along with bridges, plenty of dolphin sightings!First order of business in Sarasota was to help Ship Faced celebrate crossing their wake! We had the music blasting, air horns and some silliness over the loud speaker as they cruised into the marina.Flowers, along with champagne and cake were in order to continue celebrating Steven and Theresa’s accomplishment. After cocktails on Ship Faced we went to Maria Jack’s restaurant for a fabulous surf and turf dinner.Tampa was having a huge RV show at their fairground. We rented a car and took the trek over the bridge to learn as much as we could about RV’s. We would never stop boating but maybe spend some time exploring places that we can’t access by water.We continued celebrating Ship Faced’s crossing at Caragiulo’s Italian Restaurant. The food was delicious and the bartenders were a hoot.We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with the owners of Fat Rabbit, Shawn and Jennifer, who are good friends of Steven and Theresa. The food was wonderful, atmosphere had a great vibe and company outstanding!The Ringling Museum was quite an interesting place to explore and run away to the circus. We were immersed in circus history, and learned the amazing logistics of circus management. We, well Tracy, tried walking the wire but failed standing on a horses back. WOW! The Ca’d Zan was John and Mable’s winter house and a social hub in Sarasota in the 20’s. The mansion was built to impress with 36,000 square feet and 56 rooms, and an amazing view!The most amazing section on the museum was the 3,800-square-foot model circus, on view in the Tibbals Learning Center. The model is a 3/4 scale representing the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. No detail was overlooked and the model includes 42,000 pieces and is 3,800 square feet. The model circus in named “Howard Bros” because permission to use Ringling Bros logos and names on his model was denied.Despite the cool and dreary weather, we took our dinghy over to Cabbage Key, home of the cheeseburger that supposedly inspired Jimmy Buffet’s Cheeseburger in Paradise song.
