WWTBAM Bored

I'm going to Sarasota (FL) for a long weekend on Thursday, as part of a "VocationVacation" I won in a sweepstakes. (I'll be testing out voice-over work with a pro there.) Has anyone here been there? Is there anything I shouldn't miss in the all-too-short time I get to be there, including good places to eat? Thanks!

Make sure you go to the keys (Lido, Longboat, etc.). The best restaurants are there. I don't recall where I ate though.

I went to high school in Sarasota, but haven't been back for many years. Lido Key and St. Armond's (which is a fancy shopping area on the key) are where the high end restaurants are.

If you are into art, going to the Ringling Museum is worthwhile (there's a separate tour of the Ringling mansion available too).

If you are into art of a different sort, you can visit the adult theater where Pee Wee Herman's career went up in flames.

I very much enjoyed Ringley's museum. I think you will as well.

Driving through the keys is interesting and may not be horrible this time of year. In the winter, it just takes way too long to get from one place to another.

Thanks guys! I will definitely be hitting Siesta and Longboat Keys; my VocationVacation "mentor" actually lives on Siesta Key and will take me on a walk on the beach Friday morning before getting down to business, and I do want to see the manatees at the Mote Aquarium on Longboat Key. (It may be too late in the season to see manatees in the wild, which is one of my dreams, including swimming with them.)

Ringling's museum is also definitely on my list, along with the mansion (Ca D'Zan?) and everything attached to it. I'd also like to take in Sarasota Jungle Gardens (where they care for rescued "exotic" animals) and buy a little something or two in Armand's Circle. I'd think about going to nearby St. Petersburg, Clearwater, or Tampa, but my time is so short that I think I'll stick to more local pursuits.

PeeWee's "fun house," however, will probably have to wait for another lifetime.