Page Updated: September 19, 2023
Sarasota
“Unconditional Surrender” - Sarasota FL
With amazing dining, live music, great shopping, a vibrant art scene , and a variety of white-sand beaches to chose from, Sarasota has shifted from retiree haven to a fun and eclectic city that’s a draw for the younger crowd.
On September 28, 2022, Category 4 Hurricane Ian made landfall near the island of Cayo Costa, FL. Damage to the island and the surrounding greater Fort Myers area was catastrophic. Many communities lost businesses and homes. The determined began the arduous process of rebuilding. Others have chosen to move on.
After a morning of beach hopping up the coast, we took an Uber from Siesta Key Beach to Bayfront Park in Sarasota.
Since it was 2 o’clock when we finally arrived, we decided to finally make time for lunch and stopped at O’Leary’s Bar and Grill. It was a hot and sticky day, so we dined in the shade of the tiki bar. The live music was a bonus.
After lunch we explored some of Bayfront park and came across couple pieces of quirky bike art. The works are the art of William Pearson - aka Dr. Nik - and convey his joy of life on two wheels. The local artist reportedly has 36 unique works peppered throughout the city of Sarasota.
We braved the heat and walked a teeny of the Marian-Jack Trail. Seeing Unconditional Surrender (pictured in header), we poked around it for a bit before moving on for drinks at Marina Jack.
Our seats on the patio gave us the perfect vantage point for viewing the beautiful yachts and boats docked in the marina.
Our plan had been to walk to St Armands Key . Since it was so hot, we grabbed electric scooter bikes for the 2.5 mile trek. First time renting these little things. Worth it!
St Armands Circle is full of boutiques, galleries, and restaurants. We perused a number of shops. And, I found the statues of the circle were a neat addition.
This day was jammed packed hopping from spot to spot. We’ve decided we can safely scratch Sarasota off the list of potential relocation points, and we think we saw enough of the area to believe we’d likely not return to vacation. Still, a fun place to explore for the day!
-b&b
Beach Hopping Sarasota County
Kreie Preserve
