Lovely, warm Sarasota

It’s a beautiful, warm day here in Lexington, Kentucky but I still can’t help thinking about our lovely girlfriends getaway to Sarasota a few weeks ago. The beaches in the area, the many activities we participated in and the time spent with a couple of girlfriends was wonderful! I decided we needed to return to the beautiful area when I remembered our last visit there and the great stay we had at a condo right at the beach. So I contacted the local press people for Sarasota and they were absolutely wonderful about helping us with our visit. Nate Sweetman, their Communications and Public Relations Coordinator was wonderful and fast with his replies to my email and he arranged absolutely everything I asked for. I know it’s not easy and requires a lot of time to work with a travel writer to arrange one of these press trips and I appreciate all he did for us.

First, he worked with a local hotel and set up a fabulous stay for the three of us. We headed for Sarasota with our car loaded down with all the vital things we needed for a week away and pulled into the wonderful Siesta Key Beach Resort and Suites. It is not a really fancy hotel but we were super pleased with our lovely room with an adjoining bedroom for the one girl in our group who can keep the rest of us awake with her slightly annoying snoring. There was also a small kitchen where we unpacked all our wonderful snacks and drinks to get us through a week.

We were not actually right on the beach but it was a short walk anytime we felt the need to see the entire area.

We had a nice big living room with two queen sized beds for the two of us and another bed in the attached bedroom.

Once we relaxed and unpacked, we decided to visit the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and have a little visit to this beautiful area. Only two of us decided to visit the gardens and we were amazed at the beautiful and lush growth.

The next day, we took one of the many tours of the city with the trolleys from Discover Sarasota Tours which was absolutely wonderful and a great introduction to the city.

City Sightseeing Tour

On this classic City Sightseeing Tour, learn where to tour, shop, and dine! Get an entertaining overview of Sarasota’s rich history, culture, and neighborhoods. The tour guides were wonderful and told us all about the city. Every day we had tons of choices about what to do and where to get our next fabulous meal. There are several museums and we managed to visit a few of them. One of the very best things we did was to visit the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. There were tons of sea life and it was a great morning, just walking around and seeing everything.

Beautiful lion fish!

After the aquarium, visitor can choose to board one of the Sea Life Encounter cruises to see the area and the local wildlife.

Join a marine biologist on this approximately 2 hour cruise through Sarasota and Roberts Bays. Observe our Florida manatees and resident population of bottlenose dolphins while learning about the ecology, history, and folklore of the area. Your guide will lead you on a short nature walk on an uninhabited island followed by a unique opportunity to view pelicans, herons, ibis and egrets in their nesting habitat. The highlight of this trip is the collection of a sample of marine life with a trawl net. Observe and handle some of the curious residents of Sarasota Bay: puffer fish, sea horses, stone crabs, and cow fish to name a few.

Our 45-foot pontoon boats, the Explorer V and Explorer VI, are Coast Guard-inspected covered vessels equipped with on-board restrooms, comfortable seating, cold drinks and snacks available for purchase. This trip is suitable for all ages. Reservations are recommended, and charters are available. Check-in is 30 minutes prior to departure.

The cruise was a wonderful experience and a great way to see the area and some local wildlife. The last couple of days we spent walking the area, and the beach which was quite wonderful. Every restaurant we visited was better than the previous one and we had wonderful food.

We enjoyed every minute of our wonderful visit to Sarasota and would love to go back. If you are planning a beach visit, check out Sarasota!