Places Visited:

Florida: Sarasota

Thursday, December 22 through Wednesday December 28: Sun N Fun RV-Resort in Sarasota, Florida $35.30 FHU with 50-amps, paved interior roads N27° 20.66' W82° 24.96'

Christmas is just a few days away and the roads around Sarasota are clogged with last minute shoppers frantically searching for objects to put under the tree. Traffic jams are the norm. We are sticking close to Sun N Fun.

We are having fun learning to cook more of the Latin American vegetables that we see in the markets. We have caramelized plantains down pat and have been doing a good job on chayote squash. Next week we are going to work on prickly pear pad "green-beans" and French fried prickly pear. I will let you know how that works out.

Christmas day began with some rain that quickly gave way to sunny skies and warm temperatures. We wandered over to the pool at Sun N Fun around 2PM and it was full of snowbirds with the lounging area being occupied by sun worshipers. While Joyce and I were in shorts we didn't think it was swim suit weather. However, we were in the minority. As always Sun N Fun brings in a "Buffetesque" type entertainer on Sunday afternoons to perform around the pool. Most of the Buffet wanna-bes are employed as entertainers on area cruise ships and perform here while on shore leave. It's a nice touch for the RV-Park to provide this entertainment every Sunday afternoon.

We spent another day enjoying the marina area in downtown Sarasota. This area is a city park with good paved walking trails, plenty of parking and the ambience provided by docks full of yachts.

Sarasota offers so much to see and do for the winter visitor. Joyce and I stay busy enjoying this unique slice of paradise.

Sailfin Catfish an exotic thriving in south Florida ponds

On Christmas Eve I was fishing in a lake not far from the RV-Park when I snagged this weird fish. It was living in fresh water, it was a foot long and weighed somewhat short of a pound. The shape of this fish resembled a salt water sea robin. The pectorial fins large and full like a sea robin. The head was bone hard. It had large heavy duty scales like a carp. The spines in the fins were like the spine of a catfish. The mouth was on the bottom and resembled some kind of sucker fish or bottom feeder.

If you have any idea what kind of fish this is please let me know. Remember it was in a fresh water pond in Sarasota, Florida.

Friends on the Rec.outdoors.rv-travel newsgroup quickly identified this creature as a Sailfin Catfish once a South American native but now residing in ponds and streams across southern Florida. I would have never guessed a member of the catfish family because of the heavy duty armoured scales.

Great Egret on the hunt in downtown Sarasota

This great egret has decided to hunt for lizzards, frogs and snakes in a grassy area instead of fish in the shallows.

WW II Memorial in Harbor Park Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota has recently added this memorial to the harbor park. You will recognize this statue as a replica of the famous picture taken at the end of WWII.

Lesser Scaup in pond near Sun N Fun RV-Resort in Sarasota

These lesser scaup are wintering in a pond not far from Sun N Fun. In all there are several hundred of them.

Ficus trees in Harbor Park in downtown Sarasota, Florida

These beautiful ficus trees are in the marina park in downtown Sarasota.

Condos along Sarasota Bay near downtown Sarasota

These are condos located on Sarasota bay near downtown.

Condos and a bank along Sarasota Bay near downtown Sarasota

A bank and several condos located near the marina area of downtown Sarasota.

Tamiami Trail in downtown Sarasota, Florida

Traveling south on the Tamiami Trail aka US-41 near downtown Sarasota.

Great egret standing guard at a fish cleaning table at Harbor Park in downtown Sarasota, Florida

This great egret was keeping a keen eye on several fishermen cleaning fish nearby. Any morsel that falls on the dock is immediately scarfed up. I was lucky to get the above picture of that great egret as he made his way across the dock to retrieve one of those tidbits.

Brown Pelican at the marina in downtown Sarasota, Florida

This pelican was also keeping a sharp eye on the fish cleanng table.