Arriving in warm, sunny florida

We're finishing up a delightful 10 day stay in downtown Sarasota, Florida. We were fortunate fo find a small boutique hotel whith lots of urban charm. Hotel Ranola is the only hotel in the heart of downtown Sarasota. Originally built in 1926 as an apartment/hotel, it offered snowbirds an escape from harsh Northern winters. Ranola has now been revived (by a delightful young couple - Kim and Robert) and it's just what we were looking for. We booked it for ten days which would allow us time to check out the area as a possible place for our next move - after our year of travel. The outside of the building has an old look to it until you notice that the window treatments are each a different color. Inside, it's been lovingly restored to its original look and decorated in a true retro style, but with all the modern conveniences (flat screen TV, cable, wi-fi connections, i-pod receiver with adaptors and hookup, etc) The accommodations are non-smoking and feature luxury linens and pluish pillow top mattresses. It's the perfect plece for nightly or extended stays. All rooms include a sitting area, private bath and walk-in closet. There's also a full kitchen with stove, microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker, cookware and utilities; and, there's a roof-top garden for reading or watching the sunset. We've enjoyed walking to many of the fine restaurants, art galleries and theater (we attended a Nana Maskouri concert at the Van Wezel theater); plus small cafes that are in convenient walking distance. Typical of Florida this time of year, we've had warm sunny days, cool sunny days, rainy days (when a front passed thru) and low and high humidity. Just the way we remember Florida when we lived here .

Easter was spent attending the Venice Presbyterian Church, followed by dinner with fourteen friends, and the rest of the afternoon, spent playing Trivial Pursuit.

We've checked out the real estate market here and discovered some very nice bay view condos in the city that are within our established price range, and have all the ammenities we've come to expect. Sarasota is still on our list of possible places to live when we finish our year of travel. We'll see. We still have lots of places to visit and lots of time to decide.

So, now we're off to the Bahamas (Hope Town in the Abacos) for a week of laid-back sun in the fun. This will be our first time to return since celebrating my big birthday there in 2003 and we're looking forward to a real beach and snorkeling fix. We're allso looking forward to the conch salad and cracked conch served with Bahamian peas & Rice, cole slaw and macaroni & cheese. The best! especially with a Bahama Mamma drink on the side.

There will be ten of us sharing two villas and we're looking forward to meet Dawn's friends that she's invited.

We'll see if I still have what it takes to stay in the water snorkeling for hours and possibly spear a fish for dinner. Perhaps we'll at least find some conch to clean and cook for dinner. As Jimmy Buffet would say, we'll be "wastin away again in Margaritaville."

No worries, mon.