Celery Fields – one of our favorite places to view birds, this free park has a few boardwalks into the wetlands and lots of parking. On this visit we saw a huge group of very noisy Nanday parakeets, boat-tail grackles, red winged blackbirds, gray-headed swamphens and several herons and egrets.
Selby Gardens, Downtown Campus – Before this trip, I had purchased a Family Membership to Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, precisely because they offer reciprocal entrance to a ton of other botanical gardens across the country, including Selby Gardens in Sarasota. Considering the family membership was $75 and the Selby Gardens entry fee is $28 pp, we nearly broke even with one visit! Currently, much of the gardens (including the amazing orchid greenhouse) is under construction which was disappointing. However, it was really impressive how much the park has changed since we were last there, probably over 20 years ago!
Apollo Beach Manatee Observation Center – We’ve been wanting to visit this place for years and finally had a good opportunity and timing. It was absolutely packed on the MLK Jr. holiday but we managed to find a parking spot along the road next to the overflow lot. It was a half mile stroll to the boardwalk area where you had to wait your turn to get a glimpse of the hundred or so manatees that had come into the waters near the power plant to warm up. In addition to the manatees, we also saw spinner sharks leaping out of the water, a sting ray (also leaping) and several black-tipped sharks patrolling the area. I think it would have been more enjoyable with less people but seeing so many manatees up close was pretty cool nonetheless.
Fine Arts Festival in Lakewood Ranch – A small arts festival that took over ‘Main Street’ with a mix of photography (lots of metal prints), glass, contemporary art and a few sculpture booths. It was a warm day, mid-80s in the sun, so we stopped into Peculiar Pub for a beer. Their selection was quite IPA heavy, but they did have some other options. Eric got the Strawberry Shakedown (Strawberry milkshake Florida Weiss), and I got an imperial stout.
Selby Gardens, Spanish Point – Seizing the opportunity of an extra weekend day in Florida, we decided to head to the other Selby Gardens location, which we had free entry to (instead of $20 pp) due to our reciprocal garden membership card. The property has an interesting history, including a large shell mound, the remnants of a citrus farm, a butterfly house, and a 1900s estate, plus some nice views of Little Sarasota Bay.
