The Ringling Museum of Art

One of the main free things in the area that everyone tells you to do is going to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. That's right, the same family that started and ran the Ringling Brother's circus. We talked a little bit about the Ringling family grounds in our post about our first day. Well the art museum is apparently free on Mondays, so we were sure to fit it into our schedule while Kirk was at work. There are other things on the Ringling grounds that you can see as well, like a circus museum and entry to one of their mansions. But we just stuck with the free stuff.

The courtyard in the center of the art museum

View of the courtyard from the other side.

We did go inside the art museum too. We just didn't take any pictures because of course our favorite sections were the ones where no photography was allowed. Overall it was better than I expected. I'm not that great at judging and appreciating art, but I do love the stories and history that usually come with each piece. 

A pretty sweet treehouse-like playground.
And YES, we did climb up in it and go down the slide.

Katie found herself a shaded swing

Mable's Rose Garden

Walking up to the Ca' d'Zan 

The Ca' d'Zan was one of the Ringling's mansions.

On the backside of the Ca' d'Zan was a patio overlooking the Sarasota Bay.
Katie found a nice shaded spot to enjoy the view.

Ending our visit with some relaxation by the bay.