Bruce and I took a snowbird adventure to Florida. On the way down we stopped in Georgia for a few days. Who knew that Georgia would be covered in snow? It wasn't quite as cold as it was at home, but it wasn't the balmy temperatures we were hoping for. We had planned to spend a couple days hiking, but spent the first day touring the Etowah Indian Mounds since the roads leading to the trails were covered in ice.
By the second day, the sun managed to melt off most of the ice, but there was still quite a bit of snow on the trail. Luckily I had all my heavy winter clothes with me that I'd been wearing when we left St Louis.
Moving on down the road, we met up with the Road Scholar group in Venice, Florida (just a bit south of Sarasota). At least it was warmer, but the warmer temperatures also made it very foggy. I had been a little nervous about going on this bike trip, because I hadn't been on my bike since summer, but it turned out that the emphasis was on sight seeing rather than mileage. The bike was just a mode of getting from one place to another.
For example, the first morning we only rode for 15 minutes before our stop at the old Venice train depot. It was very interesting how such a small town could have so much history. We kind of take roads for granted these days, but back when the town was first established, trains were the only means of getting from one place to another unless you went on horseback or walked.
After our tour of the depot, it was back on the bikes for a somewhat hair-raising ride through town to the old San Marco Hotel. I ride my bike a lot, but I'm usually alone on a dedicated bike trail. Riding in a pack with 20 other people is a real challenge - somewhat like driving in stop-and-go rush hour traffic. I really didn't notice much of the town we rode through, because I was trying not to run into the bike in front of me while staying clear of the other cars and pedestrians on the road.
Luckily our next stop was the center of town for lunch. Venice, Florida is known for its Mediterranean architecture - very ornate with the signature pastel colors Florida is known for. I actually went back later to this spot with my sketchbook and paints.
After lunch, we rode out to the fishing pier. There were a ton of people out enjoying the sunny weather - some laying out on the beach, but many of them in the beach bar (I think snowbirders are very social people).
We rode back to the hotel, but before we left for dinner we listened to a performer do an interpretation of Bertha Honore Palmer. I'd never heard of Bertha Palmer before, but she was instrumental in the founding of Sarasota having bought and developed 80,000 acres in 1910. She was the wife of Chicago millionaire, Potter Palmer, who built the Palmer House Hotel and Marshall Fields (now Macy's). It was an incredibly fascinating talk.
The next day we got off to a bit of a late start due to some early morning rain. Our guide was afraid the bikes would skid on the wet streets, though I think more people tipped over on their bikes due to riding too slowly (it was very hard to ride in a large group). We rode out to a little nature park and had a gourmet picnic lunch (the food was catered and it was delicious!). We didn't get much free time on this trip, so Bruce took advantage of the lull after lunch for a little nap.
Then we rode off for a tour of Clyde Butcher's Studio. (This is not Clyde in the photo; it's his son-in-law.) Clyde Butcher is supposed to be the Ansel Adams of Florida. He's known for his black and white photography.
Then back across town to an orange grove. Our leader wanted everyone to try the orange juice, but several people drank their token glass and then headed over to the orange ice cream stand . She did manage to get everyone together for a group photo, but that was after rustling up the people who'd wandered off into a thrift store. There are thrift stores every where in Florida. Someone said it's a good place to shop, because all the rich Europeans who come to Florida for the winter donate their old clothes before heading back home.
The next day we headed out to the North Jetty. Right when we rode up, I noticed a group of people clustered under some trees. They were having a painting class (acrylics, I think). They looked very cold, because they were in the shade.
I went over to the picnic tables in the sun with my sketchbook. Pretty quickly an egret joined me at the table. I think he was smelling the granola bar in my backpack. He sure didn't seem to be afraid to be that close.
After that we rode about 10 miles along Casey Key. It's a tiny little sliver of land that runs along the Gulf from Venice to Sarasota. Back in the 50's, people built simple mid-century modern little beach houses, but the snowbirders have bulldozed most of them and replaced them with McMansions. This is one example.
I couldn't get the whole house in one picture, but I didn't want to forget the castle turret on the left side of the house. It's quite a bit "grander" than the one-room cabin we had at the lake.
We finally got to our lunch spot - the Casey Key Fish House. Almost everyone had the crab cakes. Yum.
While we were waiting for lunch, I snapped this photo of the trees just outside the restaurant. They were loaded with pelicans. I'm guessing they were waiting for the leftovers.
You'd think after that long ride that would have been enough activity for one day, but we headed off to Spanish Point for a tour of Bertha Palmer's estate.
It was very impressive, but a little disconcerting as it was built on top of a prehistoric Indian mound. I guess it technically wasn't a burial ground, but it still seemed like a strange place to build a vacation home. This was one of her gardens.
The next day we went to Myaka State Park. I was totally dumbfounded by the number of alligators we saw sunning themselves along the water. There are literally hundreds in this park.
Bruce and I had originally thought of going back to hike over the weekend, but I nixed that idea. I get enough willies from snakes. I don't need to add alligators to the mix.
After another picnic lunch in the park, we went to the Royal Lipizzaner Stallions training stables. It was very impressive watching them go through their routines.
The program was supposed to be over at that point, but the leader gave everyone the option the next day of riding out to the Audubon Rookery we'd missed from the delay on Day 2. At that point, I was beat. I opted out in favor of heading over to McDonalds for lunch. It was a great, jam-packed trip, but I'm looking forward to a little down time during February.
