Ringling Museum

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February 20, Friday

This was our day to go do some sightseeing together, so Deb and I hopped on Bear and we went up to Sarasota to the Mote Aquarium. This is a great place, cost about $19 apiece, but worth every penny. It's always a treat to view the dolphins, but after playing with them in the Florida Bay, watching them in a tank just didn't have the same affect. We also stopped by the Selby Botanical Gardens, just south of the main marina in Sarasota, however I decided that another $18 was too much to look at some plants, plus we would not have had a lot of time to gaze. I began looking for a small electric heater, as we had the juice available, and the nights were extremely chilly, but everyone had sold out more than 3 weeks prior, and all the shelves were now stocked with fans and air conditioners. I bought two 50x60" fleece blankets at Wal-mart for $5 each. Back to camp, and another extremely cold night. I am so fortunate that Deb is willing to put up with hardships without fussing or whining.

February 21, Saturday

Today we decided to tour the Ringling Museum. John Ringling, of circus fame, built a beautiful home in Venetian style on the waterfront in Sarasota, winter home of the circus. He and his wife Mary were both art enthusiasts, so he also decided to build an Art Museum. He finished the museum and he and Mary went to Europe to purchase paintings and sculptures to fill it. He didn't mess around over there... He came home with original Rembrandts etc, and this museum is worth every penny to view. In addition to the art, there is also a scale replica, hand carved, of the entire circus, including all the animals, the cook tents, the horse stall tents, the wagons, the train... Everything. This by itself is worth the cost of just under $20 apiece. Another building holds full size circus memorabilia, you can tour the home as well, and on the grounds are a half dozen gigantic banyan trees. These trees put down multiple air roots, which then join together to create trunk size supports for the branches far from the main trunk. These trees were a gift to John Ringling from his good friend, Thomas Edison. I made an appointment for a para-sailing adventure for tomorrow. What a great day.

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