The Circus Is Coming To Town

 Much as I enjoyed the good food and good friends in Ft Myers, it was time to leave the Shady Oaks RV Park and head elsewhere.  I moved up to Horseshoe Cove RV Park in Sarasota, Florida.  This park, even though it was a traditional RV park was very nice.  They even had their own island where Miko and I could wander.  It was like our own personal island.  We had sea views, we had jungles.

I just liked this palm tree

Junior Ranger alert: Sarasota has the DeSoto National Memorial commemorating de Soto, a Spanish explorer, landing on the shores of Tampa Bay in 1539.  It was quite the big expedition - nine ships, 700 men, women and children, 220 horses, war dogs and a herd of pigs.  These pigs are the ancestors of all of the wild pigs in the Americas today.   

A pleasant walk along the sea

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On a happier note, Sarasota is where John Ringling of Ringling Brothers fame, decided to spend his winters.  He built a seaside manor in the Venetian Gothic Revival style, which he called Ca' d'Zan which means House of John in Venetian. He also added on an art museum to house his extensive art collection.  The art museum was ok - it was mostly1800's art, most of which is dark and not my favorite.  They did have one Yves Tanguy painting.  I am a huge fan of Tanguy.  

Les Nouveaux Nomades

Sea side

The seaside plaza (the back of the house)

The front of the house

The most exciting part of the grounds, though, was the Circus Museum.  Who doesn't love a circus?  the very bestest part was the extensive circus model.  Harold Dunn, starting in the 1920's and Howard Tibbals, starting in the late 1950's, collaborated and built a circus village.  Tibbals, at 87, is still adding to the model.  The model depicts a circus train arriving in a town, the back lot of the circus, the side show and the big top. It was amazing in it's scale.  For example, there are hundreds of horses and I don't think I could find two that were alike.  

The circus people's dining tent

The performers lining up to enter the big top

The Side Show

Each of these folding chairs actually folded.  This is only one section of the audience seating.

Center Ring

One of the horse barns

It actually continues around the corner up in the upper right. 
See the people for scale.

Besides the model, there was plenty of other circus sights.

Posters

Costumes

Remember shooting the guy out of the cannon?

Circus wagon wheels

Miko liked Sarasota