Gearing Up and Cleaning Out

Well, Dick thinks I'd better get this blog caught up before we hit the road  next weekend.  Am having some problems with my computer but the tech guy will be here tomorrow so should be good to go once again.

Yay - it's fixed.  Just a little heads up if you peruse the photos - I could not use flash inside and some of the photos are a little dark and/or blurry (sorry).



For My Sister Judy & Her Hubby Don



We've been spending the last couple of weeks marking things off of our Florida Bucket List.  It doesn't seem possible that winter is over (well, here at least) and we'll be on the road next Sunday.  We're planning on taking a month to get home but that's for our travel blog, so stay posted!

A visit to Florida would not be complete without a visit to the John and Mabel Ringling museum of Classical Art in Sarasota. Many of you are familiar with the Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus, hailed as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” and if you were like me, you could not wait to see this grand performance as a child. 

I don't quite know where to start on this one - there were so many things to see. Maybe a little history lesson ..

Sarasota was the winter home for many of the Ringling family, dating back to 1911. In 1925, John Ringling engaged architect John H. Phillips to design the art museum. The Museum was established in 1927 as the legacy of Mable and John Ringling for the people of Florida. Construction also began in 1927, but was slowed almost immediately by the collapse of Florida’s land boom and later, Wall Street’s stock market crash. Financial misfortune and Mable’s death in 1929 might have ended the dream, but John Ringling instead gained a new resolve to complete the museum, borrowing money as needed, knowing that it would perpetuate the memory of his beloved Mable. In October 1931, “The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art” was officially opened to the public.

The Museum of Art sits on a 66-acre estate looking out over Sarasota Bay.  The grounds include Mable's Rose Garden, the Secret Garden, Dwarf Garden, Millenium Tree Trail, and 13 historic banyan trees, complete with paths and picnic areas.

The most prized items in the museum are sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth century European paintings, including an amazing collection of paintings from the world renowned Peter Paul Rubens. Other artists works that are represented include; Marrioto di Cione, Cranach the Elder, Frans Hals, H. C. Van Vl.  Dick and I were in awe; neither of us were particular excited about the "art" part of the Art Museum but what a blessing that we got to see some of the Old Masters works of art.  On display were also ceramics produced in Vietnam, Thailand, China, and Japan and an absolutely wonderful exhibit of Jade from the late Qing Dynasty.

For photos of the grounds and Art Museum click here.

The Circus Museum as well as the Tibbals Learning Center are home to the largest miniature circus found anywhere in the world. This is one place that children of all ages can appreciate with memorabilia like costumes, photos and posters. The Ringling Museum of the American Circus was founded in 1948 and it a record of the rich history of the circus, giving guests a glance of rare handbills, art-prints, business records, performing props, wardrobe, and many other types of circus equipment.  

Dick and I enjoyed sharing the Circus Museum with my sister Patt as she told us stories of traveling with the circus and of those behind the scenes moments you always wonder about. This is a photo of her husband Tony.  Tony was the first and, as far as we know, the only person to be trained as a Lion Trainer under the G.I. Bill.

I had a hard time dragging Dick away from the miniature circus - it was SiMpLy AmAzInG ...  The Howard Bros. Circus, complete with eight main tents, 152 wagons, 1,300 circus performers and workers, more than 800 animals and a 57-car train, is on permanent display in the Ringling Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center.  The Howard Bros. Circus is a ¾-inch-to-the-foot scale replica of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus when the tented circus was at its largest (circa 1919-1938), and occupies 3,800 square feet in the 30,600 sq. ft.-Tibbals Learning Center.  The “largest miniature circus in the world” was created over a 50-year time span by master model builder and philanthropist Howard C. Tibbals of Tennessee and Florida.

World's Smallest Circus

Also on exhibition in the Circus Museum is the Wisconsin, the private Rail car of John and Mable Ringling built in 1905.  Built during the golden age of rail, the Wisconsin car provides a unique view into the splendid travel accommodations that John and Mable Ringling enjoyed on their travels around the country on business and with the circus. 

For photos of the Circus Museum and The Wisconsin click here.  

An 18^th-century treasure in a 21^st-century venue, the Historic Asolo Theater is a work of art in its own right. The palace playhouse was created in Asolo, Italy in 1798 to honor the 15^th-century exiled Queen Catherine Cornaro of Cyprus.  In the late 1940s, the theater was dismantled and brought to the Ringling Estate in Sarasota. In 2006, after years of painstaking restoration, America’s only 18^th-century European theater was reset in the John M. McKay Visitors Pavilion just inside the historic Cà d’Zan Gatehouse on the Ringling Museum estate.

My favorite part of the Ringling estate was the Ca' d' Zan Mansion (House of John) which stands as a representation of the luxury and romance of the 1920s. The Mansion is a Venetian palazzo encompasses John and Mables' zeal for opulence and their appreciation of European style. 56 incredible rooms filled with art and original furnishings to boggle the mind.  I could hear the laughter and the tinkle of the piano as we walked through the great ballroom, with the ladies in their fine dresses and the men with their cigars and brandy.  I think I was amazed most by the detail in each of the room ceilings - all different; hand painted, gilded, made to look like wood but was a form of plaster.

West Ballroom Ceiling

Ca' d’Zan is 200-foot long encompassing approximately 36,000 square feet with 41 rooms and 15 bathrooms.  The structure is five stories and has a full basement.  The pinnacle of the structure is the 81-foot Belvedere tower with an open-air overlook and a high domed ceiling.  Ca' d’Zan is constructed from terra cotta “T” blocks, concrete, and brick, covered with stucco and terra cotta, and embellished with glazed tile. The original roof was made from 16^th century Spanish tiles imported by the builder Owen Burns.  The bayfront terrace is made of domestic and imported marble.  What a place to hold a party!!!

For photos of Ca' d'Zan click here.

I took my husband on a shopping trip to St. Armand's Key.  I know it wasn't the highlight of his day but it sure made mine.  130 shops around a main square, beautiful lush landscaping, sidewalk restaurants ... shopping heaven.  I did bribe him with the promise of dinner and so we headed for Columbia Restaurant a local destination since 1905.  Ummm good food too!

Inbetween all of these fun times - we had a not so fun time.  I'm sure you saw the storms that buffeted the middle of Florida.  Nine tornadoes touched down; one of them just a mile north of our location.  This particular one hit one of the poorest areas and left a path of downed trees, lost roofs, electric lines down, and a general mess.  There was a semi overturned on the interstate and a few small planes turned upside down at a small airport.  We were fortunate and only saw high winds and rain, rain, rain.  Tracked it all day on the tv until our satellite went out and then switched to the computer.  It was pretty scary for awhile but we had prepared and had everything tucked inside and the slides pulled in on the RV.  There were a few downed trees in the RV park, along with a couple of roofs damaged and awnings torn off.

We managed to squeeze in a Spring Training game at George Steinbrenner Field between the NY Yankees and the Pittsburg Pirates.  What a great day to watch a game ... had the traditional hot dogs / sausage and drinks, cheered for the Yankees, and had a ball.

 

For more baseball and family BBQ pictures click here.

We went to Fort DeSoto dog beach one more time for Harley.  I wish I could get him to go in the water, I know he'd like it!  I guess the time he fell in our pond when he was little kind of ruined the water for him lol.

My Mother Erma, My Aunt LaVerne & Grandma Harmon

Drove over to Apoppka one more time to visit my cousin Pat Rader and her husband Al.  We had a good time going over old family photos while Dick spent the day with Ed Hinchey at a "shoot" for Safariland Armor.                                  

Patt and I had a "sisters day out" - went shopping and had our toes done!

We topped off our winter with a family BBQ with Jo's famous ribs - ummm ummm good, can't you just taste them now!

Dick, Nan, Jeney & Ricky

Well now it's back to cleaning and packing and getting ready to hit the road.  We've accumulated some "stuff" over the last five months and now we need to figure out where to put it all lol ...

One final thing on my bucket list before we leave - We're going to see Jimmy Buffett in Tampa on Saturday, then we'll be heading out for home on Sunday morning.  I'll be switching to our travel blog at that time and hope that you will join us for our journey home.

We hope you've enjoyed our winter as snowbirds - it's been a lot of fun!

 

Happy Trails .... Dick, Jo & Harley

P. S.  The most important thing we learned in Florida:  "Never eat at a Sushi Bar that is located next door to a Bait shop!!"