Friday, Mar 1, 2013, Sarasota and Siesta Beach, FL

Drove around the art colony in Bradenton, FL, but we must have been too early - it was only 10:00 and it appeared nobody was up and open yet. Continued south through Bradenton to Sarasota. When we got to Sarasota we stopped at Centennial Park which did not allow pets - not a good start. Stopped at the information center and were overwhelmed with the possibilities. Decided we would visit St. Armand's circle. It was very nice.  

Shopping around St. Armand's Circle, Sarasota

St. Armand's Circle, Sarasota

This was the floor in one of the shops.

After walking around the shops we stopped at a park that was dog-friendly. It had a nice walkway, interesting trees, fountains and a view of some really big boats.

Looking out at Golden Gate Point from Sarasota Bayfront Park

This poor fellow had the hardest time swallowing this fish.

He had to bring it back up 3 times before he had success.

We watched a Man Versus Food episode that featured a few Sarasota restaurants. We went to Munchies 420 only to find they don't open until 4:20 in the afternoon. We decided we could spend a few hours at Siesta Beach. It was billed as America's #1 beach and we could believe it after seeing it. Even cool and windy on a Friday, there were a lot of people there for the miles of beautiful white sand. The gulls were so used to people they would hover in the wind only a few feet from you. We hiked a few miles and took a few hundred pictures.  

We got back to Munchies at 4:22 to be their first customers for the day. We split a "Fat Sandy." Two cheeseburgers with chicken fingers, onion rings, cheese sticks and fries chopped up on it and then covered with mac-n-cheese. It was a sloppy mess and it was great.