Venice Fishing Pier and Sarasota, January 18th and 19th

One of Paul's goals for this trip was to learn about fishing in salt water. On the Venice pier, one can fish without a license and observe others who are experienced. He has spent several mornings casting out into the gulf from the pier and now feels ready to do more "serious" fishing next year when we return. We constantly refer to this trip as our "shake down cruise." He did ask questions of other fishermen and they were very helpful. We laughed because within 30 minutes of his first cast, people were asking his advice. He caught bait fish like croakers and blue runners


and Spanish mackerel, which are supposedly good eating


and learned if he wanted to catch shark, he would have to fish at night. Next year, he will purchase a license and fish from the beach. I sat close by and observed, made friends with a tern

and enjoyed watching Paul have fun.

A gentleman from New Jersey fished with him last Sunday and was really fun to visit with and gave advice freely.

After we finished with the pier, we made a stop at the Venice Area Audubon Rookery, which is a very small island in a very small lake located right within the city limits where anhingas, herons, ibis and egrets nest and raise their young. What a treat for us to view the egrets in their breeding plumage. If we were here in February and March, we would be able to see more, as the breeding season is just getting started here.


On Monday, we went with Beth and Gary to Sarasota. Our first stop was the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

In 1911, John Ringling, who obviously amassed a fortune from the circus, and his wife, Mable, purchased 20 acres of waterfront property in Sarasota to build a winter home. Their first project was to build a Venetian Gothic mansion, Cá d'Zan.

They had traveled extensively and had developed an affection for Venice, Italy, so the buildings on the estate reflect the Venetian architecture they fell in love with during their travels.
The grounds and gardens surrounding these buildings are wonderful.

John Ringling gradually acquired a significant art collection, including an extensive collection of paintings by Rubens.

He built a palace for his art treasures, which is now a 21-gallery Museum of Art.

We toured the Art Museum and enjoyed walking through the courtyards within the museum walls.

It really is Italy tranferred to Sarasota.

No expenses were spared to provide the best possible surroundings for their art collection.




Being collectors, they collected not only art, but plants and so brought back trees from around the globe that would grow in the climate in Florida. The grounds include some magnificent banyan trees from Asia.

Mable Ringling's Rose Garden is one of the most beautiful spots on the entire estate.

We were lucky enough to be there when the garden was in bloom.

The garden is 27, 225 square feet

and was completed in 1913.

As can be expected, it is patterned after a traditional Italian circular garden design.

As we toured the grounds,

we were able to observe artists as they worked on their paintings of the gardens.


We walked down to the water's edge to see the mansion.


One can only imagine how this piece of architecture must have stood out in the early 20th century in this location.

The terrace in front of the mansion provides a beautiful view of Sarasota Bay.

It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place.

And, we must come back to see more, as we only touched the surface of what there is to offer.


We were ready for lunch, so headed to Columbia, a popular Spanish restaurant in Sarasota.

Why not sit outside on a beautiful afternoon and sample a few things from the Spanish menu?



Then, down to the water to see the sights. A few pieces of local art, just for fun,

and of course, boats, both big

and small.

Sarasota is a beautiful city on the water and provided a great day of entertainment!


We are now in our final days in Venice and are really quite sad to have this part of our journey go so quickly. Since our day in Sarasota, we have had some wonderful dinners with new acquaintances and have enjoyed some great time on the water. Tuesday, we will travel to Carrabelle, Florida and stay for several days. We look forward to exploring that area.
We will keep you posted!

Venice, Florida - January 15-17th

We continue to enjoy our stay in Florida. Not every day is warm and sunny, but Paul and I don't mind! We still do not consider this weather to be cold.

We spent an afternoon with Kent and Margie and Beth and Gary and their friends, starting out at Snook Haven,

a local establishment by our campground. Every Thursday they have a volunteer group of banjo players perform in an outside pavillion by the Myakka River. We all came back to our campsite for a picnic lunch.


As you can see in the pictures, it was sweatshirt weather that day.


The boat ramp is located very close to our campsite here at "Camp Venice Retreat." Several of the RVers have "foldable" boats they use for fishing here on the Myakka. As you can tell, the tide affects the water level here.



Here is a view of our campsite, complete with the tree that is covered with resurrection fern and Spanish moss.

Our campsite is right on a canal, which opens to the Myakka.

And, here is our campsite from the walking path across the canal.

We have nice "neighbors." An armadillo,


and a group of black vultures that hang out in the mornings near the water.

Oh, and we had a "bare" sighting Sunday evening, but that is a different story and I run a family friendly site here.


On Thursday evening, Kent and Margie

invited Beth and Gary and Paul and me to their home. We have had a pool table in the family for over 40 years. It seems hard to believe it has been that long, but this will be my 40th high school reunion this year and Dad bought this table used during one of our last years on the farm. It has moved with the family several times, which is a challenge because the slate is very heavy. When our parents moved out of their last house, Beth and Gary brought the table to their home and Gary did a wonderful job refinishing it, discovering it had some beautiful inlays and different woods that were covered up with age. You can see some of the detail in this picture.

When Beth and Gary moved out of their home in Danube, the table made the trip to Florida and now lives in a beautiful room in Kent and Margie's home. They have done a wonderful job restoring the table as well. They learned from the person who came to redo the felt and cushions that it is probably about 100 years old.

I am so glad the table has found such good caretakers and homes in our family.

While Kent was diverted by a pool game with Gary and Paul, I took over his grill in their wonderful outdoor kitchen and grilled and simmered some bratwurst from the Geier Sausage Kitchen, a delightful touch of Germany down here on the Gulf Coast.

This is the nicest grill I have ever cooked on in my life. Thanks, Kent!!

On Friday, Paul and I headed to Myakka State Park, north of Venice on the river. We did the tree walk in the canopy.

We toured the park and did some hiking and birding while we were there.

We still are amused by the alligator warnings. People are stupid. People who need these signs also need to be told that coffee is hot.

We are learning to identify many of the wading and shore birds in this geographical area.

And, if you look carefully in the following picture, you can see the eyes and the snout of a 'gator. Do not try to pet or feed this animal. Duh.


On Saturday, Beth and Gary

gave us a lesson in the fine art of retirement. They are good mentors.

We went to a local art fair

and visited the local vegetable stand, which I think is one of the highlights of the city!

We stopped at a pub in downtown Venice for a libation

and then walked out onto the jetty pier to watch boats, birds, fishermen and just people.

Paul loves the water, so he is completely convinced we will be back here next winter.


We then went down to Sharky's on the fishing pier to catch the sunset. We had a table right on the water. I think one could call this a perfect day. I am with you, Paul! This is the life.

Paul has done some fishing on this pier, so we will share some pictures with you soon. We leave here next Tuesday and will be heading to the Florida Panhandle for a few days.

We will keep you posted!!!