Sarasota

When Doug and I realized that he would be working in Florida for almost three weeks this winter, we decided to book a weekend there for Cameron and I as well.  We thought that it would be the perfect break to the cold, snowy winter in Indiana.  When I went to make the flight reservations, however, Cameron decided that he would sit this trip out.  The weekend that we had planned to be in the Sunshine State, he was already scheduled with plenty of activities.  Tonight there was a boys' basketball game, tomorrow night was the Valentine's Day dance and Sunday he had plans to watch the Super Bowl at Samuel's with his friends.  

Since Cameron wasn't going to join me on this mini-vacation, I changed my usual Friday night flight into Tampa for one landing in Sarasota.  It was a little further for Doug to drive, but it got in eight hours earlier.  Doug was more than happy to take an afternoon off work to pick me up.  I had been to Sarasota many times before when Granny and PawPaw lived in Arcadia, but Doug had only visited it once.  Thus, we were looking forward to having some time to check out the sights in Sarasota.

I arrived at the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport at 1:30.  It was definitely smaller than most that we flew in and out of for our trips to Florida which I really appreciated.  I got my luggage easily from baggage claim and quickly changed into cooler clothes.  The weather forecast had predicted temperatures in the low 70s today, but it had already passed that by the time I landed.  Doug arrived shortly afterward and we connected fairly easily.  

Before I left this morning I had searched through the Trip Advisor app for its recommendations on what to do in Sarasota.  The #1 recommendation was The Ringling Museum.  We had already visited the circus museum on our previous trip, so we decided to pass on it this time.  There were also a lot of positive reviews for different beaches in the area, but neither Doug nor I were interested in those.  I found an area called St. Armond's Circle filled with shops and restaurant online and we decided to try it.  

The circle was only fifteen minutes from the airport and we enjoyed it very much.  We stopped at Daiquiri Deck for lunch.  It was a great spot with plenty of outdoor seating and delicious crab nachos.  We walked around the circle afterward checking out the shops.  We found a hot sauce store called Pepper Palace.  We bought Cameron a bottle of wing sauce to try.  He had been making his own and we knew that he would enjoy it.  

We only stayed a couple of hours in Sarasota, but it was fun to visit.  I would definitely go back, but probably wait until after they finished the construction leading into Lido Key.  It was hectic getting in and out of the city because of it.  Otherwise, it was a fun afternoon with plenty of sunshine and great company.