Sarasota, Florida - Fireworks, Aquarium and Dali Part II

Rebekah had a two-week ballet intensive in Sarasota, Florida, and I went with her. My stepmother, Sue, came down for a few days. David and the boys flew down for a few days to Sarasota. 

Elijah has always loved art and Salvador Dali was one of his favorite artists as a child. We decided to go to the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. I believe it is supposed to have one of the largest collections of his artwork in the world. It was okay as art museums go. Of the four art museums I have found myself in this summer, this was the most expensive and the most underwhelming. There really was only two galleries and a small room with student art. We didn't see a single melting clock painting, much to Rebekah's disappointment. It was just...blah, in my opinion.

I do think Elijah enjoyed it. 

Rebekah and I were on our own for the Fourth of July. We decided to go out a day early to a neighboring community that was doing a fieworks display. The weather was iffy for both days, but our chances of seeing fireworks seemed more likely on the 3rd. We parked at the mall to walk over and were greeted with a violent thunderstorm. We retreated to the mall and waited about an hour. It calmed down and we walked over to the festival that was going on before the fireworks. Our favorite thing was the free pineapple and watermelon -- there were tables full of fresh fruit, and the volunteers encouraged us to take as much as we wanted. Delicious!!

Rebekah found this fun t-shirt in a Sarasota thrift shop.

The fireworks were great. We had front row seats looking over the lake. The fireworks were called soft fireworks and were very quiet. The family of ducks on the lake were completely undisturbed during the show. 

The sunset was amazing, too. I will say this...Florida has some amazing sunsets. I would never want to live there...but the sunsets!

We spent one afternoon at the aquarium when the boys were in town. We saw some impressive sea creatures that you don't see often. They had two sea turtles and an adorable manatee. We also really enjoyed watching the giant crabs and otters. Both were putting on a show. We also enjoyed petting the cute little shark. 

Elijah communing with the lobster. They had a long conversation. 

My stepmother was hesitant; but in the end, she petted the shark. 

I am so glad that the guys got to join us for a few days. We really did have some fun times. The last part to our trip will be posted this weekend. 

Blessings, Dawn