Cheryl's Travels: January 2023

Today started with a bike ride - something I haven’t done in YEARS!! It’s true what they say though, riding a bike is one of those things you never forget how to do. That said, I’m sure a good deal of my success was due to the fact that the trail we were on was very flat, and we didn’t go all that far. Just far enough for me to be very aware of just how uncomfortable bicycle seats could be if overdone (lol)!

Some interesting signage along the way! Trust me, I was on the lookout - but despite my friends telling me they’re everywhere, I still haven’t seen one. Perhaps that’s a good thing…but I’m still on the lookout!

As today was a bit cooler (i.e. still lovely compared to Ontario but realistically not warm enough to spend the day at the beach), we decided to go to the Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy - and it was all that the name suggests!! It is a little museum dedicated to the creative human spirit and raising the importance of whimsical art. It has a growing collection of works of artistic and whimsical importance by mostly living artists. Marietta, an artist herself and a graduate of the Ringling College of Art and Design, is passionate about having female artists displayed equally among the museum’s collection of artwork, which is a collection of light-hearted paintings, sculpture and stained glass. There is also an outdoor courtyard where the whimsical creations continue.

It was here that I found something to remind me of home.

And wouldn’t you know it, right beside the Museum of Art and Whimsy there was a purple house!

After the ‘Museum of Whimsy’ we took a little walk around an area known as The Bay Park. There’s a little trail along the water (Sarasota Bay), and although a bit windy, it was still a nice walk.

Dotted along the trail are these little areas where you can just stop, watch the water, and contemplate anything you want.

This is me ‘contemplating’

A little estuary that opens up from Sarasota Bay

Another place to contemplate whatever you want.

Located here is the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. I’m liking Sarasota more and more…they use purple for one of their major theatres!!

Leaving the waterfront we kept walking and went into the downtown area a bit. Sarasota isn’t ‘big’ (approximately 55,000 people) and the downtown area reflects that. It’s not very big, but does have some nice boutique stores and restaurants. On my very brief walk through the downtown area today I found some public art which is always lovely to see.

The Regal Hollywood Theatre, built in 1926, still operates as a movie theatre today.

Completed in 1927, the Sarasota Courthouse is an H-shaped structure, with a Spanish-Mediterranean Revival style which was very common in Florida in the 1920s.

The modern building (built in 1998) is 11 storeys high and houses 16 courtrooms.

First Baptist Church Downtown, was originally founded in 1902 when the community known as Sarasota was little more than a quaint fishing village without roads or railway connections. The first Sanctuary was dedicated in 1924. So very white - I don’t know how they keep it that way!

Entitled “Sarasota Heroes”, this mural was commissioned by a local artist (Karen Chandler) to honour the healthcare workers fighting on the frontlines of COVID-19.

More ‘unique’ signage in Sarasota.

Back over Sarasota Bay again today, this time to visit a little community known as St. Armands … which was having an outdoor art festival.

The John Ringling bridge, with Sarasota in the background.

Visionary circus magnate John Ringling purchased the St. Armands Key property in 1917 and planned a development that included residential lots and a shopping centre laid out in a circle. As there was no bridge to the mainland at this point, an old paddle-wheel steamboat served as a workboat for initial development work, and in 1925 work began on a causeway to join St. Armands Key to the mainland. Circus elephants were used to haul the huge timbers from which the bridge and causeway were built. St. Armands has its very own version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame - with a roster of more than 140 inductees, St. Armands circular Central Park is laid out with bronze wagon-wheel plaques, each inductee being honoured for the highest achievement in the circus arts.

We have ‘Green P’ parking at home - I like this ‘Purple P’ parking better!

As one is apt to find in a place like Sarasota - a 1929 Roosevelt parked in the valet parking lot of a harbourside restaurant. And around the other side of the restaurant, this was ‘parked’.

“Unconditional Surrender” was sculpted by J. Seward Johnson. It was created to represent the spontaneous and profound joy felt on August 14, 1945, at the end of World War II.

In my wanderings, I came across this really lovely art exhibit/installation, created by a local, non-profit organization called Embracing Our Differences, that uses the power of art and education to celebrate and promote the diversity of the human family. The centrepiece of Embracing Our Differences is this juried international art exhibition featuring 50 billboard-size images created by local, national and international artists, writers and students, reflection their interpretations of the theme “enriching lives through diversity and inclusion”.

Beauty of the World, by Toronto artist Laura Makaltes

I found the artwork in this one just captivating - Refugee, by Justin Bateman from Chiang Mai, Thailand

Doesn’t matter where I go, I’m drawn to banyan trees! I just find them so fascinating!!

Olympic Wannabees, by sculptor Glenna Goodacre

Bayfront Marina

Looking out into Sarasota Bay as I walked along the waterfront.

Wishing I’d had my ‘real’ camera with me - this is a pelican diving in to get its catch.

Hudson Bayou, an inland tributary from Sarasota Bay, now lined with upscale houses.

Some friends who joined me for my coffee this morning - a cormorant (above, enjoying the sunshine as I was) and an alligator (below).

The alligator lives in the little lake behind my friends’ house. Not going to find me swimming!!

Clouds cleared today and so I was off to find another beach. This time I went to Turtle Beach, on the same key as Siesta Beach, just a bit further south. Another beautiful beach, but not quite as ‘popular’ as Siesta Beach and therefore a bit quieter.

I was set for a little beach watching, and yes some swimming too.

Just a few metres up from the beach is a walking trail where you can catch the action on the beach on one side, and the back yard activities of the houses on the beach on the other.

Back to the Van Wezel Centre tonight, but this time inside to see the national touring production of Aladdin. Built in 1970, I’d have to say the acoustics are not that great (and the city is in the process of building a new performing arts centre) but despite that, this place is amazing!! Both inside and out it’s a sea of purple!!!

Oh look - I’m back on a beach again. Funny that! This time Venice Beach.

It looks ‘crowded’ around the lifeguard chairs and near the main public access, but you don’t have to go far away to have the beach nearly to yourself!

This little cormorant, all by itself on the beach.

Royal terns

Lots of inshore fishing in the Venice beach area with snook, redfish, sea trout and tarpon being the most popular fish to catch.

The Venice Fishing Pier is a great location for fishing, as well as a great spot to enjoy a sunset at the end of the day. The pier was originally built in 1966 but was destroyed by a storm in 1981. Rebuilding took place in 1984 with Greenhart lumber from South America - the only place in the world to purchase this weed. It did not have to be treated, nor did it shrink, because it was grown in the swamps. That pier was removed in 2004 and the current pier is now made of plastic wood fibre composite, built to withstand a category 4 hurricane. The pier is 219.45 metres long, and over 6 metres high. The pier is very popular with those wanting to fish as you can fish from the pier without a fishing licence.

Watching this fellow on his electric powered hydrofoil was lots of fun!

From the beach into the city of Venice (population just over 25,000) - City Hall, built in 1925

Founders’ Walkway, dedicated to the legacy of Venice’s hospital’s four founding physicians.

“FantaSea Venice” is a public art project comprised of 22 fiberglass mermaids and 30 fiberglass seahorses. These unique sculptures are adorned and created by local artists and can be found all around Venice. At the end of April they’re going to be auctioned off to raise money for the Venice Art Centre.

Too bad I had to go and find my camera - a minute or two earlier and there was more colour in the sky. Still, sunset at my friends’ house is rather pretty.

My friend suggested that a photo of the lanai at night is interesting, with all the geometric shapes. I agree. Next time (assuming there is a next time) I might try the photo while in the pool, looking straight up.

My last morning - beautiful reflections on a very still lake.

But then the reflections were ‘interrupted’ by the arrival of my friend back again. It’s hard find, but if you look carefully you might be able to see the alligator. (And no, these photos are not upside down, it’s the reflection in the water of the houses on the shoreline.)

We took a different route to go back to Tampa - this time on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay.

The bridge is amazing!! Completed in 1987, the Sunshine Skyway is the world’s longest cable-stayed concrete bridge, with a total length of nearly 7 kms (almost 30,000 feet)! It consists of a pair of long-beam bridges with a central cable-stayed bridge, and spans the Lower Tampa Bay.

It was just so beautiful driving across today!

Time for lunch before my drop-off at the airport - great restaurant called Whiskey Cake.

A good chuckle - the 7 hour long ‘Happy Hour’!!

You don’t see one of these in an airport in Canada, that’s for sure!!

Homeward bound now - end of these travels.

Hard to believe when you’re out on a beach, but January is still winter in Florida, and as such, gardens are a bit on the dormant side. That said, I was still able to find some beautiful flowers, bushes and plants and as always, I enjoy the colour they bring to life!