Recently, Scott and I took a quick trip to Sarasota on the west coast of Florida. Scott’s uncle lives just north of Sarasota and we decided to make a weekend trip out of it since we have never been to Sarasota. The drive took us about 4 hours going straight across the state on I-75.
We stayed at the Westin, just overlooking the bay. I picked this hotel because it has a rooftop bar and we would finally be able to see a sunset! Looking at the image below (facing southeast) you can see how FLAT Florida actually is!
Finding a place for dinner
Sarasota has a few very well known areas with great restaurants. One very popular area is St. Armands Circle on Lido Key.
Unfortunately, the traffic to get to Lido Key was nuts, so we decided to walk down to the marina and grab a bit to eat there. Our first attempt was at O’Leary’s Tiki Bar. Sounded cool, however, there’s no table service. You actually stand in line for your food and drinks – no thanks. So we headed back to the other side of the marina and found Marina Jack’s. We had a great view, some live music and the food and service was just okay.
There’s a park along the marina walkway and they have constructed a giant statue of the VE Day moment when a sailor randomly kissed a nurse.
After dinner, we hurried back to the hotel to catch our first sunset since being in Key West last December. It did not disappoint!
Kayaking with the manatees in Sarasota
Since moving to Florida, I have rarely seen any wildlife. I saw one manatee in the Bahamas when we arrived at Atlantis, but that has been it. No dolphins, no whales, no sharks (guess that’s a good thing). We booked our kayak trip with Sea Life Kayak Adventures and they were fantastic! I would highly recommend them! Scott and I took an Uber to the park, because we knew parking was very limited.
Our instructor gave us a brief introduction and then we were off! We had about 15 people in our group.
We left Ted Sperling Park and began to circumnavigate Otter Key in search of manatees.
I am so glad I wore my lightweight water shoes for this trip. They work as tennis shoes and also are water shoes. You can buy them here!
During the trip, our instructor stopped and dove down to bring up sea urchins! He actually handed them to people to hold. What?! I thought they were spiny and dangerous?
The trip was nearly done and we were feeling defeated, but suddenly our guide spots a group of manatees. So we all paddled as fast as we could and before we knew it, about five of them were under our kayaks. It is important to remember that they are still endangered and you can’t touch them or come into contact with them. Watch our video for the footage of our encounter.
The mangroves
As we were heading back, I mentioned “look at those tunnels in the mangroves – I bet you can take a boat back there”. Next thing I know, we were in that tunnel!
I got tangled a few times and then at one point, Scott says, “Oh, wow, they are everywhere”. What are everywhere I wonder!? Then I see them – Mangrove tree crabs. YUCK. They are everywhere – get me out of here! Watch the footage – it’s pretty funny.
The entire trip took about three hours and I would definitely do it again.
When in Sarasota, go to the circus
Let’s be honest – I hate the circus. They treated animals horribly, but their story is pretty fascinating. Scott and I had to go to the Ringling Museum and mansion as that is what founded the city.
The Ringling is the former estate of John and Mable Ringling. It features a museum of art, circus museum, Ca D Zan (the home of john and Mable), the historic Asolo theater and the bayfront gardens.
I recommend spending time in the Tibbals Learning Center. As you enter through the front lobby you are greeted by a giant mural entitled “The Greatest Show on Earth” painted by William Woodward in 1990 which captures the excitement of the ringling Bros and Barnum & bailey experience.
You’ll be transported back in circus history as you stroll through the poster gallery. As you walk thru the museum, you will come upon the Howard Bros Circus Model. It consists of more than 42000 pieces and covers 3800 square feet. The model is a historically accurate rendition of an early twentieth-century circus. The logistical engineering required to move the circus’s entire “tented city” from town to town each day via the railway was nothing short of a miracle.
From there visit the historic circus galleries featuring John and Mable’s magnificent turn-of-the-century private Pullman railcar, the Wisconsin, historic circus wagons of all kinds, an artistic display of painted wagon wheels, and a sideshow bannerline.
The Ringling Mansion
From this museum, we walked through the gardens and toured the first level of the mansion. The photos don’t do it justice, so be sure to watch our video (see link below).
The estate is massive and the mansion was beautiful. Everything about it was designed to the finest detail.
The stained glass windows are the original glass and considering these face out onto the water, it’s amazing they are still in tact.
For a kitchen during the 1920’s, this would still be considered a gourmet kitchen today!
Overlooking the bay in Sarasota
The tour finished outside the mansion on the palatial patio overlooking the bay. I can only imagine the parties they hosted here.
There were so many Banyon trees and they were giant! I walked through one that reminded me of a fort. Unfortunately, I was not digging the weird black lizards!
Scott and I finished our tour of the Ringling by walking through the gardens. One museum we did miss was the Art Museum. We’ll have to check it out next time as we hear it’s amazing.
Our impression of Sarasota
We finished our final day in Sarasota enjoying a great dinner at Clasico Italian Chophouse and we wrapped up our weekend with one more amazing sunset.
This was a great trip and we are looking forward to returning to explore more. With it’s abundant things to do on the water, Sarasota is a great destination for boaters and land lovers. We’ll be back!
As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel (link below) and our boating blog. Follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney.
Cheers, Scott and Ally
