Where Did We Go Wednesday? Siesta Key Beach

Siesta Key Beach is dubbed the number one beach in the United States by TripAdvisor. And From these pictures you can see why.

This is all just a couple of weeks after hurricanes swept through the western side of Florida. Our trip was booked over a month before the Hurricanes happened and so we weren't sure what we were even going to get to see and what kind of condition the beaches were in. Yes, there was lots of evidence of debris around in other parts of Florida but Crews had done a wonderful job of cleaning up the beaches right away.

Someday I would love to bring my family back to this beach. We weren't there during tourist season which is the time that all the retirees come. So it was not crowded at all but I do understand that it gets quite crowded especially on weekends and is difficult to find parking which may be another reason to rent a cottage nearby.

We rented a cute little beach cottage bad was literally only a block away from the beach so it was an easy walk but if you are willing to walk that much rather than be directly on the beach you can get a rental at a much more reasonable rate.

We ate in the Siesta Key Village and had a great time. In the bottom corner of the picture above you may be able to see that the Budweiser horses were parading through town for no other reason other than a business paid for them to come it sounded like. It was quite a spectacle to see and a surprise.

It was a wonderful girls weekend and perhaps we will be going here again next year or maybe somewhere else. Due to a mechanical snafu our flight did not leave as scheduled and we had to stay another night in Florida and we're giving vouchers for a future trip which may just be used for our next girls weekend.

Monster Valentine Box

This is my son's valentine box he made for last year's 4-h Valentine Party Meeting. It is a Monster that he made out of a show box. He wrapped it in mint green tissue paper and cut out paper teeth to glue on and made heart ear out of pipe cleaners and glues on eyes and adorned with foam heart stickers. I thought it turned out super cute.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Ringling Museum

 
The Ringling Museum was one of the fun destinations that I went with my girlfriends during a girls weekend to Sarasota Florida this past September.

The Mansion there was absolutely gorgeous and just amazing. It really made me want to go to the circus World Museum in Baraboo to learn more about the roots of the Ringling Brothers and see how they started out and how non extravagant their lives once wer

I took a lot more photos of things inside the Mansion but there is a whole complex of Museum memorabilia to do with circuses, the Ringling Circus in particular but also other circuses.

There is also a building that was filled with a variety of different circus train cars which is pretty interesting to see as well.

I feel happy that I was able to take in a small circus when I was young and that we were able to take my kids too a traveling circus that went to different indoor venues but wonder what it would have been like to experience a grand circus like the Ringling Brothers in its heyday.

Toilet Valentine Box

Here is one of the kids valentine boxes from last year. There was A Valentine Box contest at our 4-H club meeting. This is the one my daughter made and she won one of the prizes.

She used a tupperware bowl as the actual toilet bowl. It took a lot of work for her to figure out how to attached a box to the back as a tank and also make it stand up. You can see she added on a holder for the toilet paper too. Plus she gave it away for the lid to stay open so people could put Valentine's inside.

Happy New Year!

Free clipart image from Clipartix.