Having taken care of the initial chores on Freedom that prepare her for Summer we needed a break. Let's face it, changing oil, pickling the water maker, cleaning the dink, cleaning teak and oiling it doesn't add up to much excitement. So we got in the car and took off for Sarasota. Our destination was the Ringling Estate. Sound familiar?
It should as in the "Greatest Show on Earth" familiar.
The Ringling Organization is doing a great job of preserving what John and Mable amassed with the profits from the entertainment they provided. While the Estate is not as "Victorian" or massive as places the Vanderbilt family put together, I will say the Ringling's taste and collection was impressive to say the least.
The house and the surrounding property is on the shore of Sarasota Bay and for the cash these folks had it seems modest. I say that because the buildings that house their art collection are massive. Anyway the house is accessed via a long path and as you can see Deb was in no mood to wait for me while I took photos because we were in between down pours and she had already showered that day. I had also but I was willing to roll the dice on whether or not I had an extra minute or two. Walking around the first floor, you wonder a little if the circus theme worked its way into the furnishings and collectibles distributed throughout the living space. A pipe organ, and various other amenities all work with the surroundings and you wonder if a trapeze artist is going to come swinging down on you.
They wanted another 20 bucks a person to get up to the second floor and look at their bedrooms. I would have sprung for it but a passing squall laid down a ton of water and all of the exterior marble was soaked and that prevented access to the tower. Let's face it looking at someone else's bed and bathroom isn't all that thrilling so without the extra view of the Bay and property I lost my ability to dig a little deeper. Besides it was still raining.
That meant we were out of the house and back wandering around the property as soon as the rain stopped. The marble deck that abuts the Bay was spectacular but slick as can be in flip flops. The time that went into assembling this alone had to be substantial.
But the art museum. Wow. Here's a shot of the courtyard contained by the museum's buildings. I don't remember ever seeing a collection of art that rivaled the big museums in NYC. And the circus theme was alive and well here if you think about it. The first exhibit that was offered via the walk, took you through a display of art created by forgers. Several of them. It had the history behind their entrance into the practice and several of the works they created hanging on the walls. It was an amusing and enlightening display that shed light on how creative crooks can be when the want to. After this there are collections from various period dating back to the 1400's in room after room after room. Amazing.
But this place was built with cash from the Big Show and someone decided that they'd start a model of the circus environment and the logistics around it. I thought I had some photos of it but it must have been too dark or reflections spoiled the image. Anyway the model contains everything you could expect that is a part of the circus. The 100 car train, locomotive, the tents, the make up tents, the animals the big top name it. It spans the whole top floor of a large building and is very impressive. And it's not done yet!
Indeed even if the circus stopped performing the greatest show is still alive and well.
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