{"id":20040,"date":"2017-04-24T20:38:32","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T00:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=20040"},"modified":"2017-04-24T20:39:13","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T00:39:13","slug":"day-4-monday-april-24-north-sarasota-to-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=20040","title":{"rendered":"Day 4. Monday, April 24 \u2013 North Sarasota to Punta Gorda, Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

An overcast, muggy morning greeted us as we pushed away from our hotel. \u00a0A light breeze on our shoulder and the steady roll of rush hour traffic whisked\u00a0us past the beautiful campus of the University of South Florida\"\"<\/a> and into downtown Sarasota. \u00a0Beautiful condos along the waterfront\"\"<\/a> and shiny office buildings nestled among lush landscaping left\u00a0no guess work to the amount of\u00a0money in the area. \u00a0We did not linger, as we had visited\u00a0this area years ago, but a picture stop was a Must! \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0We realized we were on the southside of town, when the traffic congestion reversed it’s flow. \u00a0Landscaped berms, fancy gates \"\"<\/a>and\u00a0tall walls\u00a0were\u00a0all we could see of the homes nestled on both sides of the road.<\/p>\n

Over the bridge from Nokomis,\"\"<\/a> we decided to take a tour of Historic Venice,\"\"<\/a>the Fishing Pier and beach. \u00a0We enjoyed a short rest\"\"<\/a> at Sharky’s right on\u00a0the beach \"\"<\/a>and at the bottom of the pier.\"\"<\/a> \u00a0It looked like a lively place for food, fun and drinks, but our morning\u00a0arrival precluded a party.<\/p>\n

Back out on our southern route, we had a short stretch of road,\u00a0yet untouched by development.\"\"<\/a>A light sprinkle followed us into lunch, but\u00a0after our thirty minute break the sun was out and the wind had picked up. \u00a0With not much to see along the way\"\"<\/a> and a brisk tail wind, our remaining 18 miles flew by. \u00a0We were thankful we were not facing this wind, today<\/em>.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a good, albeit a bit<\/em> long, ride today. \u00a0Thankfully, the weatherman delivered on the promise of a tale wind, so the\u00a0extra miles were not as stressful. \u00a0That does not mean we did not use the 61+ mile day as an excuse for Cajun Jambalaya and Smoked Gouda Chicken Mac and Cheese.\"\"<\/a> \u00a0Also, with the extra miles, we were able to find a place on the water and enjoy our first Florida sunset.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Short day tomorrow…..Nite!<\/p>\n\n\t\t