Spent most of the day in the Sarasota area; once again the weather did not cooperate for a beach day but we made the best of it. There’s a from scratch small batch bakery near where we stayed with amazing pastries and candied bacon, so we walked there for some breakfast treats. Erica then had some admin stuff to do at the local library, so I took my time showering and packing up since I had had a run earlier.
We left Terry, our host with the most — his lovely parting gift to every airbnb guest is a Siesta Key tee, and a lifelong discount to stay at his place again for only $50/night — and headed to the historic downtown arts district. We found a charming little place for a panini lunch and then wandered into a thrift/consignment shop benefiting the local arts groups. I have never seen a more organized, well stocked thrift store EVER. There were employees everywhere and the clothes were even sorted by size and color! Just like the dish and kitchen ware. Quite an operation.
From there it was to Siesta Key Rum’s tasting room, where one of the owners took us on a private tour and explanation of the distilling process. It’s a small craft-based operation and Jim took some time introducing us to some spirits in the various tanks at different stages of the operation. The rum was also pretty good! It’s available at Total Wine and More, so next time you’re looking for a special rum, try the spiced variety from Siesta Key Rum!
We had arranged for tickets to see James Turrell’s Skyspace project at the Ringling. Called Joseph’s Coat Skyspace Sunset, it involves a peaceful room with a square opening in the ceiling. Visitors are encouraged to lay on the ground or sit on one of the benches around the perimeter of the room as the lights in the room change. As they do, the sky appear to change colors as well — the perspective of the different and changing colors alter the square of sky that’s visible. This goes on for about an hour as the sky begins to darken after sunset. It was serene and so interesting to see how the sky would turn yellow when the space we were in was blue and then go to blue when the space was red. It’s definitely a performance piece.
We left the Ringling and drove to where we are tonight — Gulfport, FL — a really charming and pretty artsy little village from what we can tell. Had a great dinner at a little place down the street from our airbnb that had it’s early beginnings in NJ and the Maryland shore. Our host tonight is Carla, and her home is a an amazing work of multiple bits of art. The ceiling in the bathroom is moss like you’d find in the bottom of a hanging basket, and the baseboards are rows of twigs. We will have much more to look at tomorrow.
The room for the Turrell exhibit
Sunshine Skyway heading into St. Pete