We spent Sunday to Thursday in Sarasota at Marina Jack. From a work perspective, the internet here was fantastic, and we both had great data on our phones.

Laundry was on the expensive side at $2.50 per wash and $2 per dry. There were three washers and the dryers, though one washer was out of service.

Whole Foods was about 0.3 mile away, and easy walk. Publix was about a mile away in either direction. There were several restaurants in walking distance, and plenty of retail. Sarasota is adorable. We really enjoyed our time there.

There’s a park protecting the marina, and it was busy throughout the day and until sunset. Joggers, wallets, boat gawkers, and other very fine people seemed to enjoy the area.

A few things that stood out included O’Leary’s, a restaurant next to the marina. The drinks were really good, the food was okay, but the musician was fantastic.

We also enjoyed Duval’s Seafood, where Silvia made me one of the best mojitos I ever had. For our final dinner in town, we went to Owen’s Fish Camp, which was wonderful! If you have to wait an hour for a table, the restaurant better provide you with a place to sit and something to drink (like a good Wisconsin super club!). This place had an outdoor courtyard with an appetizer and beverage bar and live music. We ordered Lynchburg lemonade for me, soda for the guys, and some chargrilled oysters. We sat at a table and listened to more good, live music. Dinner was fantastic, and we all loved the fish we ordered. Owen and our son had dessert, and both loved their key lime pie and Mississippi mud pie. On this day we bought the first souvenir of our 4-month trip. Owen bought an “Owen’s Fish Camp” hat.

We did more than just eat in Sarasota. I spent a day at The Ringling. It’s a circus and art museum at the former home of John and Mable Ringling. The museum was a 3.8 mile walk from the marina. The first part of the museum was dedicated to the circus and included a 3,800 square foot scale model of the “Howard’s Bros Circus.” One man spent 50 years making over 40,000 individual pieces. You just have to see it to believe it.

We rented a car on Thursday so I could drive to Fort Myers to pick up our son from the airport. It was about a 1.6 mile walk to Enterprise. We had a pickup with only 165 miles on it!

We had fun at Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf. There are live alligators there that guests are able to feed. Even as the loser of the day, I thought it was a nice course.

I wish we’d have had time for the botanical gardens and other destinations Sarasota has to offer. I guess we will have to come back!