Clearwater to Sarasota

(Friday, Dec. 10 – Dist: 57.6 mi; Avg Speed: 9.8 mph; TTT: 6:00 hrs)

After a relaxing and fun week in Clearwater, we fueled up and headed further south. This top up of 260 gallons was the biggest in quite awhile. That was the cost of crossing the Gulf in the daylight as opposed to going trawler speed for 20 hours. In my books it was worth the extra cost.

The Gulf Intra Coastal Waterway (GICW) in this part of Florida is quite populated; there are houses,

some of them mansions, along the ICW and the many canals that shoot off the main waterway. Even a Holiday Inn, complete with boating slips, is right on the water.  We did have to cross Tampa Bay which allowed us to make a little time but for the most part we had to go slow and even slower through the many “No Wake” and “Manatee” zones.  There were also a couple of bridges which we needed to be opened but for the most part we timed them well and never had to wait.   It was a fairly nice day to travel with only a light chop on the protected waters and we arrived at Marina Jack’s in Sarasota by mid afternoon.

Marina Jack’s (the low blue glassed building in the centre) is a modern, even fancy, facility right in downtown Sarasota. There is a good restaurant/bar right at the marina which we enjoyed a couple of times, especially the live entertainment on Saturday. My cousin and one of his sons were able to visit one day. It was neat to visit under these pleasant circumstances because it seems that we only see each other at funerals any more. They also introduced us to O’Leary’s Tiki Bar. You must try the Buffalo shrimp, the best.  That night was the Christmas Boat Parade right in front of the marina.  It is the first one that we have seen and I must say that some of the decorations were very impressive.  I didn't even try to get any photos in the dark....you will just have to take one in some day.

During our few days in Sarasota we had an opportunity to visit more local establishments but the highlight was the day at the Ringling Bros Museum.  There is huge display of a miniature circus set up that took the creator many, many years (ie. 20+ years) to do the current display.  He is still working on it.  The circus boggles the mind, especially the logistics involved in getting 1300 people and an unbelievable number of animals to a new performance each day.  In another building the original wagons and such were on display and finally there was Bill Ringling's summer house on the property.  The circus used to winter in Sarasota but has moved....to Venice if I remember correctly.  Bill Ringling willed all the property and his most extensive (and expensive) art collection to the State of Florida when he died with $311 in his savings account.  Since then the University of Florida has been responsible for the property, the art and the displays.  It was a most interesting day.

I will end with a bunch of photos from the Ringling Bros Circus Museum.

 

 

Here are a couple from the Rose garden on the property.  Because of the cold many of the roses were in bloom.

Now some photos from the Art Gallery on the property.