I’m Having Fun In Sarasota!
This mini-getaway was a milestone for us. It was the first time we’d be in Florida and NOT go to Walt Disney World. We had another agenda for this trip. Over the years there has been a growing list of our musician friends who have flown the coop and landed down on the West Coast of the Sunshine State. Though I absolutely love the glories of New England’s crisp autumn season and warm spring days, the bone-chillingly frigid period between New Year’s Day and Easter can go take a hike. We decided to head down to Sarasota to both thaw out and visit our friends. We were also on a fact finding mission to see if this may be a place for us to eventually “snow bird” when Mr. Jones retires from the day job. Music is a huge part of this area, so of course we’d be checking out plenty of that…and playing a bit ourselves.
Our journey was thankfully uneventful. I looked at a ton of hotels but decided to go with an AirBnB this time. This location was just perfect for our plans and had great reviews. We were not disappointed.
We were righteously hungry by this time. I had already had a spot picked out in the downtown area.
A grabbed a Cappuccino to go walk-about.
The downtown area was lovely and well maintained with plaques describing the history of Sarasota.
Setting up for a show later that evening. We caught a bit of it.
It was time to head over to see the first of our ex-pat musician friends play in their new natural habitat.
We had such a great time watching our buddy holding court over the crowd. He loves his new home in Sarasota. We will be polling our friends about how much they like it here and if they have any regrets. So far: 1-0 loving it.
Next we headed back downtown, not far from where we had lunch. to a bar called Cask and Ale. Our friends Ryan and Lynn were playing with their band Dirty Bird.
This place was just as packed as our first destination, plus there was no real stage so the crowd and the band were co-mingling. We didn’t get any selfies (they really are our friends, honest!) but Lynn is the one crushing Stevie Wonder and Ryan is holding that funky rhythm on the geee-tar.
The people still
managed to
establish a dance
floor.
We got to chat with Lynn and Ryan for a bit between sets. They haven’t been living down here too long, but they’ve already planted roots. The “Absolutely loving it!” score counter: 2-0.
Friends, that was a loooong day. We crashed hard but we were up and at ’em early the next morning. We wanted to check out some sights before going north to see some more music. First we had to get a good breakfast. I saw this place on a list of must-do’s. The locals were waiting in line to eat inside because it was a blustery sixty five degrees out. We got seated outside on the patio right away.
Fully fueled, we drove over to St. Armands Key.
I quickly learned while preparing for this trip that Sarasota and the Ringling Circus are tightly bound together. John and Mable Ringling purchased a home and 20 acres of land on Sarasota Bay in the early 1920s and it became the winter home for the Circus. There are museums, theatres and art schools adorned with the Ringling name all about the city. We will be visiting some of these later in the trip. Back to to St. Armands Key.
St. Armands has a large round-a-bout with a small park in the center known as St. Armands Circle. This area is chock full stores and restaurants and branches off into different directions with more shops on the outside of the circle.
To give you a better understanding of the area, I hopped on to my helicopter to get this aerial photo.
We planned on checking out the shops and such, but we were lured further out of the circle over to Lido Beach.
I planned to visit Lido Beach at some point, but I didn’t have an idea of how close it is to Armand Circle. The white sands and clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico were intoxicating. We enjoyed a long stroll along the beach and took it all in.
Next we hopped into the rental car and drove north east to Ellenton to see yet another set of friends. Liz and John would be playing at Woody’s River Roo. That sounds fun, right?
Woody’s boasts that it has true “Old Florida” charm. I can vouch for that. The place was spralling with tons of outdoor seating under Tiki umbrellas overlooking Manatee River.
These guys were playing under the main tiki hut on a roomy stage. We had such a great time listening to our friends and chatting up the locals.
John and Liz moved down here a few years ago. John was someone we’d known for quite a while. When we met Liz, I thought she was so cool. Maybe we could could even be besties! Then she told us they were moving to Florida. Coincidence? Maybe… maybe not.
We needed to get back to our digs to rest up because we would be playing a real live show ourselves tonight! Our buddy Stephen, who also moved down here five years ago (you’re seeing a pattern now, right?) invited us to join him at one of his gigs on Siesta Key. This was such a cool spot!
This was a pretty large place with porches and a cozy bar out front. The music is tucked into this grotto-like space with just a dozen or so tables. So delightful!
It was a gas just to get to play in Florida, let alone with such a talented friend. Plus, making an appearance to cheer us on were John, Liz and also Ryan who was playing next door!
Plus we got to hang with our non-musician friend Jen who…you guessed it… moved down here a couple years ago. I foolishly never got a selfie with her. She’s gorgeous and tall and I adore her.
Well, I’ve lost count of the number of friends who love living in Sarasota. Let’s go to percentages. So far, it’s 100%. Maybe they all are trying to avoid an awkward relationship with me? Probably not. It’s pretty amazing here.
Next up: We’ll be going back to explore Siesta Key beach and eat all the seafood.
