Tootsie Yr2: Sarasota, FL
Feb. 16th, 2023 08:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taz_39**Long post, many pics**
The bus ride to Sarasota was uneventful, except for the fact that every single time the driver braked it was like he was about to rear-end someone. Every use of the brake was to SLAM it. So there was no dozing, and much ginger candy to prevent yarfing all over the nice clean seats due to this guy's lead foot.
Anyway, we got there.
And this hotel is the polar opposite of the Best Western Roach Motel.
Spacious, clean rooms. Working air conditioning.
No fist-sized holes under the sink for creatures to come waltzing in.
And, AND! Free breakfast every day until 10am!
Coffee and tea 24/7! Cookies and apples at the front desk for guests!
What a dream!
Truly, we don't experience many hotels with that level of accommodation.
After last week's war on palmetto bugs and damp, musty-smelling bedsheets, I'm SUPER grateful for this hotel.
We arrived with just a few hours to unpack before sound check.
I grabbed the latest rental car and drove Paul (drums) to the theatre, which is a huge purple building right on the Sarasota waterfront.
The view:
The sunset:
The rather purple theatre:
(photo courtesy Molly)
The weather is lovely. Too bad we're only here for a few days.
Sound check was fine, we have Soto (MD) back with us so don't have to worry about the missing keyboard part any more, and our reed 2 player is feeling better as well. The show went nicely, it was an enthusiastic audience. Always great to be able to tell the audience is having fun!
-----------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, I gave the rental car keys to Paul because he needed them for an outing.
I had a slow morning, and took advantage of the hotel's breakfast which saved me having to do dishes, that was nice.
Spent some time responding to emails and trying to do some research for my stepmom who's selling some of my dad's things, in preparation for eventually selling the house. It's good that she's being practical and trying to move forward. I hope I can help with the process.
Then some data entry, and then I was feeling antsy so walked to a Goodwill even though I don't need anything.
It's always fun to look!
And Lo, this time I did find some nice grey plaid pants from Forever 21 that fit perfectly!
And they are very comfortable. Should be nice for travel days.
When I got back to the hotel Paul was back from his outing, so I stole the keys back and went downtown.
It's very clear that Sarasota is too bougie for the likes of me.
Everything is super clean, no riff-raff, no graffiti, quaint cafes and boutique shops on every street.
I felt like a Suspicious Person in my shabby thrifted pants and sweaty "Broadway Serves" tee.
First stop was OfKors Bakery. They had beautiful pastries and confections, big homemade marshmallows and napoleons and pavlovas.
I only wanted a drink, so tried a "beetroot bloom" which was supposed to be beet juice with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and almond milk.
The picture showed a dark red spiced drink. What I got was pale pink and pretty flavorless. Disappointing, especially at the price.
Ah well. I'll bet their pastries were exceptional. They LOOK exceptional.
Next stop was Whole Paycheck again just for some Mezcla bars for travel.
From there I found a random antique store and poked around for a while, having fun looking at all the neat stuff.
Some derby hats:
We're in Florida so naturally, alligators.
The pattern on this ice bucket(?) gave me MASSIVE nostalgia.
I KNOW that we had something with this pattern on it when I was a toddler, I just don't know what it was.
Just as I was about to leave a pile of children's books caught my eye.
Right on top was an absolute gem: "Miss Piggy's Guide to Life"!
I thought, "I'll just have a look and take pics of a few pages."
But every page was FASCINATING. Every paragraph was absolute GOLD.
It was five bucks. It was coming home with me.
I mean look at this. This is some of the best life advice, ever.
A true role model, Miss Piggy is.
And in between quips on fashion, and finance, and food, and more, there are plenty of photos of Miss Piggy showcasing all the best hair and clothing fashion statements of the 80s.
I cannot WAIT to share a quote from this book every single day for the rest of the tour.
What an absolutely magical find!!!
My last stop in downtown Sarasota was Owen's Fish Camp, a highly rated restaurant serving a variety of homey seafood dishes.
I got the spicy creole fish gumbo with crawfish tails. It isn't much to look at, but it was VERY good.
Loads of flavor, and they didn't skimp on the seafood either.
Big chunks of whitefish, jumbo shrimp, the sweet crawfish of course, and I think there may have been some crab meat in there as well.
Then there were tomatoes, peppers, okra, celery, white rice, and a variety of spices and herbs.
It made a lovely dinner once I got back to the hotel.
At the theatre we had a nice Valentine's Day show.
Kathy (actress) brought in some heart-shaped giant cookies for us to enjoy!
Members of management put together little packages of candy and tiny squishy toys for us.
Coincidentally I got a little squishy pig! How appropriate!
That little packet of paper hearts with my name on it is a "book of love", a project that our covid officer Katie came up with.
A few days ago we each filled out the hearts with anonymous compliments for each other.
Then Katie assembled the hearts into little "books" and handed them out to us.
It's a very sweet way for us to be kind to each other, and maybe get to see a little of the good others see in us.
I was humbled by some of the beautiful sentiments that I received.
Many of them had to do with my "dedication" and "passion" for Megan's Foodie Finds.
Looks like someone wants to do their own version of it for bars along our route.
This is something that has bothered me because I know nothing about what makes a good bar, so I have felt that my foodie list wasn't accommodating this specific need for the group. I hope this person does it!!
Two compliments had to do with being the only female musician in the pit this year.
Though being female has little to do with my musical abilities, I do try to be a good representative for our sex through my behavior and professionalism. Thanks, people!
The little book had probably around 20 compliments, and I can't post them all, but each one was wonderful and made me feel undeserving, but also noticed and loved. This was a great idea by Katie, to spread some love and positivity.
Overall February 14th in Sarasota was a way more interesting and good day than I was expecting :)
Oh, and since it was Valentine's day, here's a memory from five years ago when Jameson and I had a romantic V-day gig together.
--------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I got up eventually and had breakfast, then some data entry before walking over to Mama G's Coffee.
Bill (trumpet) found this place while looking for good coffee near our hotel, and recommended it to me for the baked goods.
Ya know, it's amazing what DOESN'T come up on Google Maps. I always search "bakery" in every city we visit. This is a highly rated, local German bakery owned by a woman who makes ALL of the pastries and meals in-house, from scratch, fresh every day, and yet Google didn't feel that I needed to know about it. WTF!
That's why legwork is important.
Anyway, it was only a mile so I walked over. Supposedly some of the band guys were going to carpool over around 11, so I started walking in time to get there by 11.
When I arrived the boys were nowhere in sight, so I enjoyed the view in the pastry cabinet.
I was sorely tempted by this apple strudel.
But then I noticed these VERY fresh Berliners on the back counter, cooling below the wall-mounted bread racks.
I ordered one of those and a German pretzel (that'll be my carb for the travel day) and waited around to see if the guys would show up.
Finally it got to be about 11:20, and I said "screw it" and started walking back.
By the time I got back to my room Bill had posted a pic of coffee and a croissant he'd gotten there. WTF!!!
I guess we missed each other by minutes. But they'd said 11, so...idk. I should have texted to get their ETA. Next time.
This doughnut was amazing.
Incredibly fluffy and light, not oily at all.
The filling was rosehip jam, but it wasn't overly flowery and it wasn't "sugary" like American doughnut fillings either.
It was fresh and floral and just subtly sweet.
Honestly, it was the best doughnut I've had in a really long time.
It was very big, so I weighed it on my food scale (113g) and used the weight, MyFitnessPal, and some Berliner recipes online to calculate the calories. Settled on 350 calories and made it my lunch along with some egg whites.
After that, stole the car key again to do laundry. Could have waited for the next city but I hate packing sweaty clothes in my suitcase.
Started working on the Foodie Finds for Cincinnati, which I've decided to make two pages as we're there for two weeks and there are hundreds of incredible restaurants around.
Back at the theatre we had a good last show.
Soto (MD) is going to head back home after this; since Sam (keys) can mask up he should be able to rejoin us after just 5 days instead of 10. We packed up and loaded out. I filled the rental car with gas and finished packing most things, and tried to go to bed around midnight.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It's Thursday morning and almost time for the bus that'll take us to Tampa (we are right next to Sarasota airport so idk why we're not flying out here). From there we fly to Birmingham (again...there's an airport in Huntsville so....why...) and then take a longish bus ride to Huntsville. When all is said and done we arrive at 4pm Central Time. Sigh.
It's been a really nice week.
Oh, and if you're friends with me on social (or even if you're not, most of my posts are public) look at my Stories on either Instagram or Facebook to see sage advice and quotes from Miss Piggy's Guide to Life :)
The bus ride to Sarasota was uneventful, except for the fact that every single time the driver braked it was like he was about to rear-end someone. Every use of the brake was to SLAM it. So there was no dozing, and much ginger candy to prevent yarfing all over the nice clean seats due to this guy's lead foot.
Anyway, we got there.
And this hotel is the polar opposite of the Best Western Roach Motel.
Spacious, clean rooms. Working air conditioning.
No fist-sized holes under the sink for creatures to come waltzing in.
And, AND! Free breakfast every day until 10am!
Coffee and tea 24/7! Cookies and apples at the front desk for guests!
What a dream!
Truly, we don't experience many hotels with that level of accommodation.
After last week's war on palmetto bugs and damp, musty-smelling bedsheets, I'm SUPER grateful for this hotel.
We arrived with just a few hours to unpack before sound check.
I grabbed the latest rental car and drove Paul (drums) to the theatre, which is a huge purple building right on the Sarasota waterfront.
The view:
The sunset:
The rather purple theatre:
(photo courtesy Molly)
The weather is lovely. Too bad we're only here for a few days.
Sound check was fine, we have Soto (MD) back with us so don't have to worry about the missing keyboard part any more, and our reed 2 player is feeling better as well. The show went nicely, it was an enthusiastic audience. Always great to be able to tell the audience is having fun!
-----------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, I gave the rental car keys to Paul because he needed them for an outing.
I had a slow morning, and took advantage of the hotel's breakfast which saved me having to do dishes, that was nice.
Spent some time responding to emails and trying to do some research for my stepmom who's selling some of my dad's things, in preparation for eventually selling the house. It's good that she's being practical and trying to move forward. I hope I can help with the process.
Then some data entry, and then I was feeling antsy so walked to a Goodwill even though I don't need anything.
It's always fun to look!
And Lo, this time I did find some nice grey plaid pants from Forever 21 that fit perfectly!
And they are very comfortable. Should be nice for travel days.
When I got back to the hotel Paul was back from his outing, so I stole the keys back and went downtown.
It's very clear that Sarasota is too bougie for the likes of me.
Everything is super clean, no riff-raff, no graffiti, quaint cafes and boutique shops on every street.
I felt like a Suspicious Person in my shabby thrifted pants and sweaty "Broadway Serves" tee.
First stop was OfKors Bakery. They had beautiful pastries and confections, big homemade marshmallows and napoleons and pavlovas.
I only wanted a drink, so tried a "beetroot bloom" which was supposed to be beet juice with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and almond milk.
The picture showed a dark red spiced drink. What I got was pale pink and pretty flavorless. Disappointing, especially at the price.
Ah well. I'll bet their pastries were exceptional. They LOOK exceptional.
Next stop was Whole Paycheck again just for some Mezcla bars for travel.
From there I found a random antique store and poked around for a while, having fun looking at all the neat stuff.
Some derby hats:
We're in Florida so naturally, alligators.
The pattern on this ice bucket(?) gave me MASSIVE nostalgia.
I KNOW that we had something with this pattern on it when I was a toddler, I just don't know what it was.
Just as I was about to leave a pile of children's books caught my eye.
Right on top was an absolute gem: "Miss Piggy's Guide to Life"!
I thought, "I'll just have a look and take pics of a few pages."
But every page was FASCINATING. Every paragraph was absolute GOLD.
It was five bucks. It was coming home with me.
I mean look at this. This is some of the best life advice, ever.
A true role model, Miss Piggy is.
And in between quips on fashion, and finance, and food, and more, there are plenty of photos of Miss Piggy showcasing all the best hair and clothing fashion statements of the 80s.
I cannot WAIT to share a quote from this book every single day for the rest of the tour.
What an absolutely magical find!!!
My last stop in downtown Sarasota was Owen's Fish Camp, a highly rated restaurant serving a variety of homey seafood dishes.
I got the spicy creole fish gumbo with crawfish tails. It isn't much to look at, but it was VERY good.
Loads of flavor, and they didn't skimp on the seafood either.
Big chunks of whitefish, jumbo shrimp, the sweet crawfish of course, and I think there may have been some crab meat in there as well.
Then there were tomatoes, peppers, okra, celery, white rice, and a variety of spices and herbs.
It made a lovely dinner once I got back to the hotel.
At the theatre we had a nice Valentine's Day show.
Kathy (actress) brought in some heart-shaped giant cookies for us to enjoy!
Members of management put together little packages of candy and tiny squishy toys for us.
Coincidentally I got a little squishy pig! How appropriate!
That little packet of paper hearts with my name on it is a "book of love", a project that our covid officer Katie came up with.
A few days ago we each filled out the hearts with anonymous compliments for each other.
Then Katie assembled the hearts into little "books" and handed them out to us.
It's a very sweet way for us to be kind to each other, and maybe get to see a little of the good others see in us.
I was humbled by some of the beautiful sentiments that I received.
Many of them had to do with my "dedication" and "passion" for Megan's Foodie Finds.
Looks like someone wants to do their own version of it for bars along our route.
This is something that has bothered me because I know nothing about what makes a good bar, so I have felt that my foodie list wasn't accommodating this specific need for the group. I hope this person does it!!
Two compliments had to do with being the only female musician in the pit this year.
Though being female has little to do with my musical abilities, I do try to be a good representative for our sex through my behavior and professionalism. Thanks, people!
The little book had probably around 20 compliments, and I can't post them all, but each one was wonderful and made me feel undeserving, but also noticed and loved. This was a great idea by Katie, to spread some love and positivity.
Overall February 14th in Sarasota was a way more interesting and good day than I was expecting :)
Oh, and since it was Valentine's day, here's a memory from five years ago when Jameson and I had a romantic V-day gig together.
--------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I got up eventually and had breakfast, then some data entry before walking over to Mama G's Coffee.
Bill (trumpet) found this place while looking for good coffee near our hotel, and recommended it to me for the baked goods.
Ya know, it's amazing what DOESN'T come up on Google Maps. I always search "bakery" in every city we visit. This is a highly rated, local German bakery owned by a woman who makes ALL of the pastries and meals in-house, from scratch, fresh every day, and yet Google didn't feel that I needed to know about it. WTF!
That's why legwork is important.
Anyway, it was only a mile so I walked over. Supposedly some of the band guys were going to carpool over around 11, so I started walking in time to get there by 11.
When I arrived the boys were nowhere in sight, so I enjoyed the view in the pastry cabinet.
I was sorely tempted by this apple strudel.
But then I noticed these VERY fresh Berliners on the back counter, cooling below the wall-mounted bread racks.
I ordered one of those and a German pretzel (that'll be my carb for the travel day) and waited around to see if the guys would show up.
Finally it got to be about 11:20, and I said "screw it" and started walking back.
By the time I got back to my room Bill had posted a pic of coffee and a croissant he'd gotten there. WTF!!!
I guess we missed each other by minutes. But they'd said 11, so...idk. I should have texted to get their ETA. Next time.
This doughnut was amazing.
Incredibly fluffy and light, not oily at all.
The filling was rosehip jam, but it wasn't overly flowery and it wasn't "sugary" like American doughnut fillings either.
It was fresh and floral and just subtly sweet.
Honestly, it was the best doughnut I've had in a really long time.
It was very big, so I weighed it on my food scale (113g) and used the weight, MyFitnessPal, and some Berliner recipes online to calculate the calories. Settled on 350 calories and made it my lunch along with some egg whites.
After that, stole the car key again to do laundry. Could have waited for the next city but I hate packing sweaty clothes in my suitcase.
Started working on the Foodie Finds for Cincinnati, which I've decided to make two pages as we're there for two weeks and there are hundreds of incredible restaurants around.
Back at the theatre we had a good last show.
Soto (MD) is going to head back home after this; since Sam (keys) can mask up he should be able to rejoin us after just 5 days instead of 10. We packed up and loaded out. I filled the rental car with gas and finished packing most things, and tried to go to bed around midnight.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It's Thursday morning and almost time for the bus that'll take us to Tampa (we are right next to Sarasota airport so idk why we're not flying out here). From there we fly to Birmingham (again...there's an airport in Huntsville so....why...) and then take a longish bus ride to Huntsville. When all is said and done we arrive at 4pm Central Time. Sigh.
It's been a really nice week.
Oh, and if you're friends with me on social (or even if you're not, most of my posts are public) look at my Stories on either Instagram or Facebook to see sage advice and quotes from Miss Piggy's Guide to Life :)
no subject
Date: 2023-02-16 04:14 pm (UTC)That valentine sentiment booklet that Katie put together is a sweet gem, and I kind of love that you were in a purple theatre for valentine's day.
I'm loving that bread display, too. Lots to love in this post, haha.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-16 08:03 pm (UTC)But seriously, it’s funny and heartwarming, quintessential Muppets :)