New Condo

We've decided to set up camp in Sarasota and have rented a condo.   We looked at a few other towns and in the end it was a hard call.  Sarasota is definitely a sleepy place compared to Portland, but it is a reasonable size, has a lot of good restaurants, beautiful beaches, an active sailing club, nearby mountain biking, and I'm hoping some excellent boating.

We had wanted something closer to the beach, but long term condo rentals are fairly rare here and we just couldn't find the right combination of location and a newer building.  This particular building is only 8 blocks from downtown, and a short ride over the bridge to the beach.

We're on the 15th floor:

Gotta love the pool:

The building has its own theater that residents can reserve for their use:

We don't have anything to put in it, but residents can rent out a portion of the wine cellar:

We are still unpacking boxes, so we haven't had time to use any of the great amenities, but hopefully that day will come soon.

One side note in the interest of full disclosure; I "borrowed" these photos from a real estate web site.

Jungle Biking

Today, we rode at Alafia Park, about 40 miles from Sarasota.  These trails have been adopted by SWAMP, the local mountain biking club, and they've done a great job of building trails here.  Lots of roots, very tight, technical trails, some with descents that are silly steep.

One point of interest is that these are biking only trails.  This is a complete change from trails on the West Coast, many of which started as hiking trails and where bikes are tenuously tolerated.

Sweet Dreams

We've been on the road for about 6 weeks and we've seen a lot of hotels.  Some were good, a few were bad, but most were not memorable at all.  The Holiday Inn in Sarasota is a standout exception. This may be the nicest Holiday Inn in the country.

Although the condition of a property is an important element in the experience, more often than not, it's the small things that matter.  For instance, the Sheraton on Ft. Lauderdale is a nice hotel, but the $10 per day for internet access is only one of the many ways they are constantly trying to squeeze money from the guests.  Another example was the Fairview Inn in New Orleans that tried to rent us a moldy room while a very nice room on a higher floor sat empty.

There haven't been any surprises at this hotel.  Everything is nice, clean and very comfortable.  In fact we've extended our stay a few days.

Here is a link to a story about this hotel in the local newspaper:
holiday-inn-owner-explains-his-motivation/

Attack of the blobs

I'm swimming in the Gulf, off the coast of Destin, when I feel something nipping at my heels.  I take a look and see a little fish.  That was no problem, a bit odd, but no problem.  A bit later however, I start to feel some stinging feelings; on my side, right leg, left leg.  Within minutes, I am out of the water, and realize that I must have ran into some jelly fish.  The pain wasn't terrible, a bit less than a bee sting, and within about 30 minutes all the pain had subsided.

The next day, this is what the beach looked like; thousands of Moon Jellies washed ashore.

Sources on the internet indicate that the Moon Jellies have a very mild sting; I would argue that.  In any case, these are creatures to be respected.

Mountain biking without mountains

We spent a few days in Destin.  This is a nice town to visit; reasonably priced hotels, clean beaches and clear water.  I don’t think I’d want to live here as the town is geared primarily towards the tourists. 

With a bit of internet research, we found a nearby mountain biking opportunity.  Eglin Air Force Base is about 15 miles inland and has a reported 26 miles of trails built specifically for mountain biking.  To gain access, we needed a permit which requires watching a short video to learn what to do if you find an unexploded ordinance (leave it alone, as if that wasn’t obvious).

At one point, this guy was blocking the trail.  He was meaner than he looks. 

Someone has built a few ramps and other features.  

We rode for about two hours and didn’t see all the trails.  Surprisingly, the riding here reminded us of Bend, Oregon in that the trails were twisty and fun, although there are certainly no mountains here.