Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa Bay, Florida
REMINDER: If you would like to enlarge any of these picture, place your mouse on the picture and click. – An especially interesting picture to enlarge may be the Banyan tree , i.e. Strangler Fig., enveloping a statue.
December 8-9. Left Gulfport at 8am and said our good-byes to “Tony M”. We hope to see them in Fort Myers in a few days, but when looping you never know. We plan to dock in Sarasota today. On our way, we passed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge spanning Tampa Bay for 5.5 miles. It may look familiar because it is used for many automobile commercials. It opened in 1987 and took five years to build. The Travel Channel rated this bridge #3 in its special on “Top 10 Bridges” in the World and is considered the “flag bridge” of Florida. This bridge was also used as a scene in the film “Punisher” which starred John Travolta. – We arrived at Marina Jacks, Sarasota, Florida at noon which gave us plenty of time to take our bikes off the boat and get acquainted with Sarasota. – How did Sarasota get its name? I looked it up on the internet and this is what it said in wiki.answers.com: ”Sarasota got its name because Sara got a soda.” I don’t believe that, but it’s kind of a cute answer. – Maps dated back to the 1700′s labeled Sarasota as “Zara Zote”, it’s easy to see how this name evolved into Sarasota.
Our First Sight of Sarasota, Florida (purple)
There’s a wonderful biking trail along the waterway that lead into beautiful neighborhoods. When we started back to the boat, we decided to cross the street and head for downtown Sarasota to see what we could see. Lots of quaint stores (wish we had time to shop, but that’s not in a boater’s itinerary), but we did find a Whole Foods, Yeahhh!! Good food without mold or out of date produce etc.; we’re gonna stock up on
Dolphin Fountain @ Marina Jacks, Sarasota, Florida
some “fresh, healthy” food and eat good tonight!! – There is more to Sarasota than we thought and is a wonderful stop for us. In addition to the beaches, there is art, ballet, opera, and theaters. This is a nice of variety of interests in a comfortable size city, not too big and not too small.
We were intrigued with the Ringling Museum of the Circus and decided to go to this 66-acre estate. The latin word “circus” comes from the Greek word “kirko”, which means a circle or ring. – We got to see posters, photographs, sequined costumes (for people and animals), carved circus wagons, and Mable and John Ringling’s train car, which is at least 3 times longer than any normal size train car that we see today. There was even a hand carved miniature circus, which was an incredible work of art and allowed you to see all that it took to orchestrate such a huge undertaking and how really big the circus is. And that huge tent, they were able to erect in 4 hours. Many times it would be taken down that same night, packed up, and erected again the next day in another location to start the circus show all over again. Running a circus is a huge undertaking. After learning what it takes to make the circus a circus, it’s easy to see why a person would run away to join “The Greatest Show On Earth”. –
Hand Carved Miniatures of The Greatest Show On Earth
Alley Up
Two Heads Are Better Than One. (Aflac!)
What’s amazing is how poor John Ringling started out making harnesses, and how rich he became developing the circus and other ventures. Their art alone is worth over a billion dollars (hey, maybe a donation to the US Treasury would help our economy — …….just a thought). Their 5-story terra cotta, 36,000 sq. ft., 41-room (15 bathrooms) palatial castle-home, is of Venetian Gothic design. Their home contained the first elevator (Otis) in Florida. There’s also a rose garden that Mable Ringling tended, and the grounds had many exotic plants and trees. One interesting tree to view is the banyan tree. Interestingly its seeds germinate and send down roots toward the ground and may envelop part of the host tree or even a building structure, giving them the nick name “strangler fig”. . The exterior is paved with marble terraces with a grand view of Sarasota Bay. – Towards the end of his life his nephew, John Ringling North (the son of John’s only sister, Ida) took over the circus to keep it going. – John Ringling died in 1936 with $400 to his name. So that his possessions would stay intact, he donated it to the State of Florida. There’s a man who went from rags to riches and back again to rags; but what a ride!! – So far, we find Sarasota the highlight of our time in Florida.
LOOK CLOSELY (Point and "Click" on this picture to enlarge) –This Banyan Tree (i.e. Strangler Fig) Has Enveloped This Statue on the Ringling Estate.– Help…
John and Mable Ringling's Living Room at Christmas Time
Waterfront, Sarasota, Florida
December 10. 8am, left Marina Jacks, Sarasota, Florida and heading to Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island. The name means “Big Mouth” in Spanish. — Boca Grande Pass, one of the deepest natural inlets in Florida, is known for Hammerhead sharks. In 2006 a 1,280 lb., 12-and-a-half foot hammerhead shark was caught after 5 hours on the line. Wow . – We arrived at Boca Grand Marina at 3pm. We took our bikes off the boat and toured the island. It’s an attractive community with an immaculate downtown a block from a golf course. With so many unfriendly “signs”, especially ”No Trespassing” we didn’t feel like staying here any length of time.
Back View (Bay Side) of the Ringling Mansion
Ringling Art Gallery
Our View From The Stern of "Magoo", Sunset at Marina Jack, Sarasota
December 11-15. We were sooo fogged in that we didn’t leave Boca Grande Marina until almost noon; our destination is Fort Myers. On the way, we couldn’t help but notice all the signs, yes signs, in the water mounted on posts with speed limit, manatee signs, no power motors over grassy areas and more. There were even telephone pole lines crossing the bays. Are we in a boat in the water or in a car on land?? – As we got closer to Fort Myers we passed many police boats: city sheriff, coast guard, county sheriff, and that’s all I can remember for now. Wow, the Manatee are well protected. –
Santa, Fort Myers, Florida
We arrived in Fort Myers late, at sunset, and was tucked in by nightfall. That was close. – So now we are in the city of Fort Myers, our first time. This city was established in 1886 and is a popular place for winter homes. Three famous winter homes are located here: Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone. – Christmas is a week away; we wonder what Santa will have in store for us (and for the record, we have been “nice” (not naughty); that’s our story and we’re sticking to it!! – We may not post a blog until after New Years. Hope all have a wonderful Christmas and wishing that 2011 is the best yet.
Sunday Morning Breakfast, Downtown Fort Myers, Florida
Sunset, Fort Myers Yacht Basin
American White Pelicans
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