We were up and off the boat by 9:30 so that we could walk to the bus stop for the ride to the Ringling Museum. Guess what! Buses don’t run on Sundays in Sarasota.

We walked over to the Visitors Center. But they weren’t open. No help there.

We wandered over to the Hyatt because it was close. The concierge said that we could walk there because it was about a 20 minute walk, one mile. Kelley is thinking that that can’t be so we walk out to valet parking and ask the guys there. They say it is over 4 miles. The van driver said that he would take us there and pick us up for $8 dollars. Deal.

The museum consists of John and Mabel Ringling’s house,

and in the back was their patio and a spot where their yacht would be tied when they were present.

There is also a museum with circus miniatures, made by a man named Howard. He created the whole Ringling Circus, but couldn’t call it that so called it the Howard Brothers Circus. It was incredible.

There is another building with wagons from the original circus, and a huge art museum that is unbelievable. To think that John and Mable traveled all over Europe and brought back the art pieces that they did surprised me.

Sure enough, Virgil returned to pick us up. Needless to say, we paid him for both trips…

After returning to the boat we had hours to kill before dinner. Off come the bikes and we rode over the bridge to Siesta Key and St. Armands Circle.

This is indeed a circle with shops and restaurants filling the whole area. It was a pleasant ride and nice to walk around and look in the shops. Kelley was patient and waited silently as I went in and out of doors. What a sweetie!

Overcast weather. Kelley had something to get at West Marine. He ended up taking the bus there and I walked into the city and went to the Farmer’s Market. Sarasota reminds me of San Diego. Marina Jack is right downtown.

There is a park nearby and the shops and restaurants are interesting to look at and visit. Dinner last night was delicious.

I walked around the park. There is a lot of interesting art work in the park.

Later the rain came pouring down. Kelley and I decided to stay one day until Monday so I went up and added a day. Tomorrow we will go to the Ringling Museum. Dinner tonight at Dos Senoritas.

We navigated out of Stump Pass without incidence. Calling to check with Boat U.S. about the pass was a smart thing to do. Being on the Gulf was easy. The boat has stabilizers…and the water was like a small choppy lake, filled with crab pots. But, Kelley decided that he was going to go in the Venice Pass because it is a better entrance to Sarasota than Sarasota’s. We feared the officer would find us. Upon entering the harbor and a water sheriff waved at us to welcome us. Whew!

The trip through Venice was uneventful! Yeah.

Isn’t Sarasota pretty? Once were tied up and nice couple came down and told Kelley how pretty the boat was. Turns out they had had an Ocean Alexander that was a bit smaller and missed it.

Kelley called the tax office and asked if he could bring in boat information and get a Sojourner’s Pass for Florida. Off he went on his bike. He figured if we couldn’t then he would ask for documentation that he had tried. But: SUCCESS! He showed the lady what information we had; she barely looked at it; she charged Kelley $58.00 and handed him a piece of paper and a green sticker that expires on Kelley’s birthday this year.

We are thrilled to be here and look forward to a great dinner at Barnacle Bill’s.

Watch out, Venice, here we come.

We went to Englewood Beach and walked around the point and back to the dinghy. After a storm the shelling here is suppose to be spectacular, but, not much there today. The walk was about 2.5 miles and really pleasant.

The ride to the park is quick.

We went to the White Elephant for lunch. Last night there was Karoke. Reminded us of Avalon and the music that plays at the local café that is not always good. Tomorrow we leave for Sarasota. We are going out to the Gulf because we don’t want to go through Venice because there is a Fish and Game officer that has been nicknamed the “Water Nazi.” If you don’t have the correct tags he writes you up…that is after a long lecture about the rights to boat in Florida. He retires in June and the city and boaters are thrilled.