As many of you know now, I spent the Easter holiday in Florida with my family. Some of this time my Mom and I set aside to do some exploring of our own. I think my Mom is my favorite travel buddy right now because we have very similar tastes and travel habits. We love the beaches, the sunsets, and all the usual hang out in paradise activities you would think of from a vacation to Florida or somewhere similar. However, we also like exploring the unusual and cultural attractions of an area too.
From Port Charlotte, we made our way the hour or so to Sarasota where we visited The Ringling museum. This extraordinary place may sound familiar to you if you’ve ever heard of the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling does have two buildings showing off the amazing history of the circus complete with inter-actives that kids will love but the true gem of the museum is the fine art collection!
We wandered through gallery after gallery of priceless art from nearly every era and style. Renaissance, Enlightenment, Contemporary, and so much more… If you’re a lover of beauty in all its forms this place is well worth the visit! Of course, you can’t take pictures in these galleries so I highly recommend checking them out on Instagram to see at least some of the treasures they share! (not sponsored) In between the buildings are gorgeous gardens filled with roses and towering banyan trees.
Most of the art collection in the galleries were from John Ringling’s personal collection which he bequeathed to the state of Florida when he died.
We didn’t walk through the Ca’ d’Zan which was the home John Ringling built for his wife Mable but the exterior was gorgeous. The reason we didn’t go in was that we were running out of time and they charge an extra fee for that particular tour. However, if we ever go back and we have more time I would love to take the tour.
As a final stop on our way out of town, we visited this unique sculpture down by the docks. Its name is Unconditional Surrender!
On the way back to Port Charlotte we grabbed a quick snack at Chick-fil-a 😂 my Mom had never been to one before so the ordering process through the drive-through was a new kind of experience. They did have amazing customer service though and I would wholeheartedly recommend any of their food any time!
Our flight home was also extremely early in the morning. To the point that my Mom, my siblings, and I did not want any kind of conversation with anyone really for the rest of the day. By then I was also really sick with whatever vacation bug that caught up with me but I’ll tell you more about that later…
Thank you, fellow adventurers! You can follow the lilmissbearpaw blog page on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @lilmissbearpaw for sneak peeks into upcoming posts and my adventures. This will also be a great place to share your own adventures!