Venice and Sarasota
We departed Fort Myers area the day after Greg's sister Denise left, headed north again. Our first stop was Pelican Bay, where we had spent a night when Denise was with us. We continued to be plagued by every boaters nemesis, strong winds. Fortunately the wind was out of the South for the trip, so following seas and not taking a lot of spray, as we had 20+ knots. Pelican Bay is relatively protected, for this area, and the wind dropped to 10 knots overnight so we had a pleasant night.
Getting out of the winds in Pine Island Sound was a priority so we headed north into the more protected waters of the Gulf IntraCoastal Waterway (GICW) towards Venice. This was a relatively short run, of only a couple of hours, and we had dolphins with us much of the way. We took a diversion on the way into Boca Grande so see what it offered, and came across a beautiful old yacht, We spent the next 3 nights at Venice Yacht Club, as the wind continued to blow.
Venice is a very nice stop, with a good beach and a small town that is really well set up for bike riders. The town really started with an investment by the Railroad Engineers Union in the 20's, to create a retirement haven for their members. Unfortunately, the depression really hit their plans hard and the town declined from a population of 3000 to 300 within 2 years. The town struggled for many decades after that, but really took off in the 60's, but with the plans that were laid out decades earlier.
The result is a very pretty community with a wide, palm lined main boulevard, and residential streets radiating off. Many of the streets have bike lanes and the drivers are very considerate of the riders. Venice is now an island due to construction of the GICW in the 60's and I circumnavigated the island one afternoon on my bike, in about an hour. Appropriately, one of the highlights to see in Venice is the restored train station which provides a good docent lead tour and history of the area.
We departed Venice after 3 nights, headed north for Sarasota, again into relatively strong north winds. Being in a protected stretch of the GICW, it was a pleasant trip, with lots of views of residential area along the water for the short trip.
Sarasota is a really nice place. A bigger city than Venice, but not too big. We had a favourable impression of Sarasota from our time in the area by land, and the visit by water reinforced that. The marina in the heart of the city is very good, although not quite the night life that Key West offers. It certainly helped that there was an Art Festival happening the weekend we were here, with the artists display tents only a short walk for us. Also enjoyed a farmers market on the Saturday morning, with great local vegetables, and strawberries. And a very novel mobile coffee shop! Sarasota was founded by Scots, and we were serenaded by the sound of bag pipes on Sunday night with a band parade to the point in the harbor.
We did get out on our bikes though, with a ride to St Armand's Key, across the bridge towards the ocean from Sarasota. This ride was a good example the value of the electric bikes. This is about a 5 mile ride over a very long bridge, and we never would have undertaken that ride on conventional bikes. We even got out to Lido beach on the west side of the Key. Beautiful beach, but not quite swim-able right now due to the wind and cool-ish temperatures we are experiencing. Okay, highs are in 70's in the afternoon, but I need 80's to brave Gulf water that is now down to 68F. Much cooler water here than the Keys.
St Armand's Key is a really interesting place at it honors the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus which used this area as its winter headquarters from the 20's. The main circle has tribute plaques to the star circus performers. and there must be over 100 of them. There is a great art museum and circus display nearby at the Ringling Estate as well, which we visited on a previous trip here.
From here we will head a bit further north for a few days to the top end of Anna Maria Island, before turning around to get back here to meet our son Sean and a friend, who are coming to spend a week with us.
Getting out of the winds in Pine Island Sound was a priority so we headed north into the more protected waters of the Gulf IntraCoastal Waterway (GICW) towards Venice. This was a relatively short run, of only a couple of hours, and we had dolphins with us much of the way. We took a diversion on the way into Boca Grande so see what it offered, and came across a beautiful old yacht, We spent the next 3 nights at Venice Yacht Club, as the wind continued to blow. 
Venice is a very nice stop, with a good beach and a small town that is really well set up for bike riders. The town really started with an investment by the Railroad Engineers Union in the 20's, to create a retirement haven for their members. Unfortunately, the depression really hit their plans hard and the town declined from a population of 3000 to 300 within 2 years. The town struggled for many decades after that, but really took off in the 60's, but with the plans that were laid out decades earlier.
The result is a very pretty community with a wide, palm lined main boulevard, and residential streets radiating off. Many of the streets have bike lanes and the drivers are very considerate of the riders. Venice is now an island due to construction of the GICW in the 60's and I circumnavigated the island one afternoon on my bike, in about an hour. Appropriately, one of the highlights to see in Venice is the restored train station which provides a good docent lead tour and history of the area.
We departed Venice after 3 nights, headed north for Sarasota, again into relatively strong north winds. Being in a protected stretch of the GICW, it was a pleasant trip, with lots of views of residential area along the water for the short trip.
Sarasota is a really nice place. A bigger city than Venice, but not too big. We had a favourable impression of Sarasota from our time in the area by land, and the visit by water reinforced that. The marina in the heart of the city is very good, although not quite the night life that Key West offers. It certainly helped that there was an Art Festival happening the weekend we were here, with the artists display tents only a short walk for us. Also enjoyed a farmers market on the Saturday morning, with great local vegetables, and strawberries. And a very novel mobile coffee shop! Sarasota was founded by Scots, and we were serenaded by the sound of bag pipes on Sunday night with a band parade to the point in the harbor.
We did get out on our bikes though, with a ride to St Armand's Key, across the bridge towards the ocean from Sarasota. This ride was a good example the value of the electric bikes. This is about a 5 mile ride over a very long bridge, and we never would have undertaken that ride on conventional bikes. We even got out to Lido beach on the west side of the Key. Beautiful beach, but not quite swim-able right now due to the wind and cool-ish temperatures we are experiencing. Okay, highs are in 70's in the afternoon, but I need 80's to brave Gulf water that is now down to 68F. Much cooler water here than the Keys.St Armand's Key is a really interesting place at it honors the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus which used this area as its winter headquarters from the 20's. The main circle has tribute plaques to the star circus performers. and there must be over 100 of them. There is a great art museum and circus display nearby at the Ringling Estate as well, which we visited on a previous trip here.
From here we will head a bit further north for a few days to the top end of Anna Maria Island, before turning around to get back here to meet our son Sean and a friend, who are coming to spend a week with us.
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