The Not So Long Trailer Goes to Florida - Part 5

The John & Mabel Ringling (of Ringling Brothers Circus fame) estate in Sarasota, FL, or as it is now known, The Ringling, has several wonderful facets to it, and we spent most of a day discovering some of what this property has to offer. For those that don’t know, I am a huge fan of the circus, especially those that once traveled with a massive “big top” tent. The passion that these performers have for their craft is immeasurably. I think that is one of the reasons I find the circus so fascinating. The life of a circus performer is gritty and tough. It is not for the faint of heart. In addition to having a unique talent, you have to truly love what you do. I love watching the old movies about circus life and will watch any and all documentaries about the circus or sideshows.

The Ringling has a five different parts to the property: The Museum of Art, the Circus Museum, the Asolo Theatre, the Bayfront Gardens and Ca’ D’zan (the Ringling’s mansion). You truly need an entire day or more to see everything, especially if you are seeing a performance at the Asolo, like we did. (This summer, The Ringling’s Summer Circus Spectacular 2023, featuring circus performers from around the world, runs thru August 12.)

The Circus Museum was the main focus for our visit, so we spent a good portion of our time there. One massive display that is within the Circus Museum is Howard Tibbal’s “World’s Largest Miniature Circus”. This 3,800 sq ft display is a lifelong work of it’s creator, who spent 50 years painstakingly creating and detailing every aspect of the touring Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus from the 1920s and 1930s. The display is enormous! Mr Tibbals handcrafted nearly 1 million pieces to make up his miniature circus, including 1500 performers, 152 wagons, 7000 folding chairs for spectators, and dishes and tableware to serve 900 people. It truly was his life’s work. (He passed away last March at 85.)

Next up for us on this Florida excursion? We do a little Disney antique shopping and the spend some time at Florida’s Sunken Gardens!

The Not So Long Trailer Goes to Florida - Part 4

Tarpon Springs is another of Florida’s iconic coastal towns that came to prominence in the early to mid 1900s. Greek sponge divers settled in Tarpon Springs when the abundant sponge beds were discovered in the early 1900s. Sponge harvesting is still a big part of the town’s charm and the Greek influence in the town is still most evident in the shops and restaurants.

Hellas Restaurant & Bakery is one of several great authentic Greek restaurants right on the “sponge docks”. Mykonos and Dimitri’s are a couple of more dockside eateries, but honestly there are SO many great food options here! We couldn’t resist picking up few baked goods at Hellas and then stopping in for a quick bite at Mykonos before heading over to Clearwater Beach to try and cool off.

I have to say, the waters of the Gulf in central Florida are practically boiling right now. 🥵 We have been to this part of Florida a few times over the years, and Jeff had been many times before with his family. We have never experienced water nearly as warm as what we had on this trip in that area. We couldn’t understand why there were so few people in the water…until we got in. Holy cow!! It was like a hot tub!

Next up, a visit to the The Ringling in Sarasota - the mansion and circus art museum of John (and Mable) Ringling, the founder of The Ringling Brothers Circus!!

If you know anything about me, you know that in addition to my love of Lucy, I also LOVE circuses, carousels, zoos, vintage amusement parks and side shows. I’ve been SO excited about visiting the Ringling estate ever since Jeff told me about our itinerary!! 🥰❤️

The Not So Long Trailer Goes to Florida - Part 3

When Jeff said we were going to central Florida on this trip, my first question was, “will we be able to visit the mermaids at Weeki Wachee, again?!” 🥰🧜‍♀️

Besides the fact that I love the fantasy of “mermaids”,

I am a sucker for any roadside attraction that came to prominence in the 1950s. (The park opened in 1947.) And the fact that Elvis AND Esther Williams both visited this iconic Florida attraction makes it an even more “must see” for me! (I am a HUGE Esther fan and brought her autobiography with us on the trip for reading material.) We last visited here a few years ago in the springtime. If you go during the summer season, be prepared for much bigger crowds, which means waiting in a long line to be able to catch one of the three mermaid shows that run daily.

This season’s choreographed underwater show of mermaids is “The Little Mermaid”. The whole time I’m thinking, I should be doing that!! 😜🤣😁

The mermaids were wonderful and they liked my mermaid skirt. As a former lifeguard, I think I could ace the auditions they have coming up. I actually was curious as to what they paid their mermaids.

Mermaids start at $15/hr. There was no mention of age restriction other than you have to be 18 of older.

But, I don’t think I’m ready to settle into “merlife” at this time. 😁 I told Jeff he could be a merman, but he said it wouldn’t work out unless he could have a heated wetsuit. 🤣 He’s not a fan of colder water.

Weeki Wachee is open 365 days a year, however mermaid shows are dependent on the weather. If you have kids, they’ll probably ly love the water park, Buccaneer Bay! They also have river boat cruises and wildlife shows.

As a side note, I just MAY have bought a Weeki Wachee mermaid tail as a souvenir. 😁🥰