Huck and I had a work meeting in Sarasota, Florida last week. We left early Wednesday morning to make our way across the state. It was over three hours of fields and cows. Really, there is nothing in between Stuart and Sarasota. It’s pretty and boring at the same time.
We arrived early to speak to a few new people about what it’s like working for our company/carrier, what to expect, etc. Huck loved it. He loves speaking in front of people. At one of our meetings a few years ago, he got so nervous and started panicking because we had to stand up and say our name and where we lived. That was it!
Once we were finished, we dropped our stuff off at the hotel. We stayed at the Hampton Inn, and HIGHLY recommend it if you’re staying in the area. Good location, great staff, nice rooms, and warm cookies at check-in! I was sold with the warm cookies!
Our first stop of the night, Big Top Brewing Company. It was about 10 minutes away from our hotel. Another win for Hampton.
We tried a flight with the Key Lime Wheat, Sun Coast Pale Ale, Circus City IPA, Ashley Gang Outlaw Imperial IPA. The Key Lime Wheat had a very strong Key Lime flavor. It would be perfect in a Key Lime Pie. The other three beers were good. We bought a 6 pack of the Circus IPA to bring back with us, to share with friends.
Sarasota was the head quarters for the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus. My parents always tell me about the time they took me to the circus, and I cried the whole time, and we ended up leaving early. That’s what happens when you take a three year old anywhere.
I sent this picture to my parents with the message “went to the circus and didn’t cry”.
After we finished our flight, we headed back to our hotel to meet up with some of the people from our company. We were a little early, so we went to World of Beer while we waited. We decided to share a Fat Point IPA. It was good. Fat Point Brewing’s taproom is scheduled to open in November in Punta Gorda {north of Fort Myers}.
Once we finished our beer, we walked over to a bar next to our hotel. The only real craft beer on the menu was JDub’s Brewing Company’s IPA. It was a great IPA. Their brewery is located in Sarasota. Our plan was to go to their taproom on Thursday night, but we actually decided to drive back after our meeting ended Thursday. We missed two whole days of work and needed to get back.
When I travel to a new city, I like to search for interesting things to do in the area. I’m sure you guys have noticed, breweries are usually top on the list. Yesterday, Brew Trail started following me on Twitter. I checked out their website, and instantly fell in love. You can type in a zip code and it pulls up a list of local breweries. You can print a map with each of the breweries to create your own, self guided, brewery tour. I started planning our own tour for NYC.
Leave a Reply