Sarasota Livin'

Rhonda, Rachel, Murillo and I did this walk Sunday about noon. We parked at Selby Gardens as it is close to our house. We walked up along Selby Gardens which is very scenic. Moving around to the bay (past bum beach..we found a few sleeping on benchs..) it was a great sunny day. The wind was pretty strong but there were lots of people. We miss the “Season of Sculpture” (it’s nice we still have the “picture frame”) which I understand will be back in November.

The new bridge and the condo's on Golden Gate Point are really nice looking. This is one of the best views in Sarasota. There are great sidewalks along the bay with lots to see. Once you get up to Main Street it is pretty easy to cross US 41 but you still have to hurry. Walking down Main St toward Pineapple is very nice on the north side lots of attractive retail. The south side is pretty barren walking along walls and construction at Main and Palm.

South on to Pineapple is another few blocks of "empty space" just big buildings and parking lots. Once you get past Ringling Blvd you get into another great walking area down to Oak St. Burns Court and the shops around it are certainly an area with an urban village feel. Unfortunately everything was closed on Sunday but having been in many of these shops it is fun walking by. We didn't walk on Burns Court but I think some of the restaurants were opening up. Another landmark is Herald Square and "Citrus" cafe. This is a great part of Sarasota architecture.

South on to Orange is more barren parking lots and office buildings. Crossing US 41 at Orange is very unpleasant once across you get to Selby Gardens. The new fence and landscaping makes for nice walking back to car.

We all agreed this is a very nice walk we will do again when the shops are open.