Ringling Museum

The Ringling Museum of Art is located in Sarasota, Florida, on about 20 acres of waterfront property purchased by the circus giant himself back in 1911. This multi-facility museum highlights works of fine art, a historic mansion, circus paraphernalia, and a theater.

Truthfully, I never knew this place existed until I read my friend Katy's blog post on her visit about a month ago. She sold me on a visit with all her photos of the dwarf garden. So on a beautiful afternoon last weekend, I went to the museum with my parents to explore the grounds and exhibits...

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Banana Success!

Banana Fail Update: Before I left town, my dad saved the day! He braved the brush, rescued a pile of fallen, uneaten bananas, got 'em all cleaned up, and shared them with the family. I had a bite and flew home. Then my mom made homemade banana bread and chocolate-covered bananas. Um, I missed out on that part.

So Long, Florida!

 

Turns out my three-week trip to Florida was more like 3.5 weeks......

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Views from a Beach

Pass-a-Grille Beach, St. Petersburg...

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My Week in Five Sentences

In Orlando, I played miniature golf with family and my 9yo niece beat me....

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Banana Fail

There's a banana tree in the backyard. And last week there were big, beautiful bananas. I really wanted to try one but never got the chance. Banana fail...

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The Nation's #1 Beach

My husband flew down to Florida for the weekend (jazz hands!!!) and on Saturday we visited the Nation's #1 Beach – Siesta Key Beach. So was it worth the hype?

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Mote Marine Lab & Aquarium

Yesterday I spent the day working from Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota – my first time visiting the facility. If you've read my archived Nat Geo WILD posts, you may remember that Mote assisted with several of my whale shark pieces (including this one on tagging and tracking sharks and this one on the Great Migrations website.)

Mote was gracious to host me and my friend Katy for an inspiration day, as I'm currently gathering content for some new clients (three cheers for *new* clients!). Since Mote was founded in 1955, the facility has become known as a leader in marine science research. Katy and I were fortunate to go behind-the-scenes at many of the exhibits, talk with animal trainers and husbandry experts first-hand, and photograph the animals up-close-and-personal!

I'd love to share with you a few photos from our visit, if you'd like to take a peek?

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GeckoFest

One of my Writing Retreat goals was to take at least two inspiration days to help fuel my creativity and boost my writing ideas. Well, since I like festivals, last Saturday I drove over to nearby Gulfport for their annual GeckoFest. It's a twelve-hour festival with live music, arts and crafts vendors, street food and so forth. Here are some pictures from the excursion...

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Writing Retreat

This week marks the beginning of my unofficial 14-day writing retreat challenge in south Florida! Here are five tips from other writers, and my personal goals for this creative time...

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