Living in Sarasota, Florida

Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant

Marc Rasmussen — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:07:00 +0000

I took my wife to eat at the new Ceviche's on 1st in Sarasota a few weeks. I cannot remember what I ate but I do remember that it was good. I will go again and give you some recommended dishes to try. The old building has been rehabbed nicely with a lot of character. I would give it a try. The outside bar on the 3rd floor is a great setting.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Marc Rasmussen — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:04:00 +0000

I have not put much time to writing in this blog. I have said it before but I will make a better effort of writing about life in Sarasota. Perhaps, I am having too much fun to bother writing about it. In actuality, it has been a busy season.

Happy Easter

Marc Rasmussen — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 11:40:00 +0000

Happy Easter to everyone. I hope you have a great one.

Going to Disney World

Marc Rasmussen — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 12:35:00 +0000

I am taking the family to Disney World today for a weekend getaway. If you love the theme parks of Orlando one of the benefits of living in Sarasota is that you are only about 2 hours away. We are staying at The Contemporary hotel so the kids can easily ride the monorail. Through the eyes of a 3 and 1.5 year old that will be one of the coolest things they see this weekend.

Warm, sunny and miserable

Marc Rasmussen — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:34:00 +0000

This morning I read an amusing article from David Grimes of the Sarasota Herald Tribune. I thought you might enjoy it as well.

Yes, it's 75 and sunny, and yes, it's early February, but we're not as happy as you would think.

There is always the threat of a cold front. Occasionally, the temperature will plummet to a frigid 62. This is cause for universal alarm and panic. Extra blankets are hauled out of the closets. Air conditioners are turned down to low. Furniture is burned in a futile attempt to stay warm.

Oh, yes, you Northerners scoff at our travails, but you have no idea. It has been dry lately and our lawns are looking a little brown. Your lawns are covered in snow. Looking out upon a semi-green lawn in February is so depressing, we sometimes forget to use sunblock and get over-tanned.

Driving is another reason we're miserable. Since it has been warm and sunny recently, we have been obligated to drive with the tops down on our convertibles. This has resulted in mussed hair and additional over-tanning. It is also hard to hear our Beach Boys CDs when the wind is ruffling our Hawaiian shirts.

I have lived up North in February, and it is a beautiful thing. You start the day by hacking the ice off of your car. Then you slide down the road into a 12-car pileup. Then you return home with the flu. This pattern repeats itself until early April.

Because of our nice weather, we remain disgustingly healthy here in Florida, which gives us little to talk about.

While you folks up North get to commiserate at parties about your colds, flu and general ague, we are left to discuss the stock market, real estate prices and Hillary Clinton's emotional stability. Trust me, these conversations seldom turn out well.

People think coming to Florida for a winter vacation is a good idea, but they are wrong.
Everyone here is sunburned and cranky. The real estate market is in the tank. Our roads are lined with orange construction cones. Jimmy Buffett isn't as young as he used to be.

When I go out and fetch the paper in the morning, I shiver.

Not because it's cold (it isn't), but because I know I'm going to have to squeeze a dozen oranges from the backyard tree for our Sunday-morning screwdrivers.

Who can put up with that kind of pressure?

Call it! Friend-o

Marc Rasmussen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:28:00 +0000

I saw No Country For Old Men when my sister was visiting me last month from out of town. It was directed by the Coen brothers who made Fargo. If you have seen Fargo it has that same type of feel. The movie has some violence so if that turns you off I don't recommend you seeing it. I enjoyed the movie, especially the villain Anton Chigurh played by Javier Bardem. It looks like he may win an oscar for his performance. This is one of those movies you need to see twice.

I also saw There Will be Blood with Daniel Day Lewis. I did not care for it. However, Daniel Day Lewis did a great job of acting.

I saw this at Burns Court Cinema. It has been probably 10 years since I have been to this theatre. I am not the foreign or artsy movie type. The theaters are charming and homey. If you are into foreign movies go to Burns and enjoy one.

Lunch today

Marc Rasmussen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:06:00 +0000

I just noticed that my last post in this blog was in late November. Sorry for the laziness. December was one big blur with the holidays. I also several Canadian clients in town and was busy with them. Their dollar is very strong right now so I am getting inundated with real estate calls.

I will get back in the groove of writing more posts. Amazingly enough I was showing a unit in The Renaissance in downtown Sarasota when the potential buyer told me he read this blog and appreciated some of the posts about Sarasota that were not real estate related.

I had lunch with another SKY Sothebys associate, Tom Kelley. We ate at Carigiulos on Palm Avenue in downtown. I had a tasty chicken sandwich. Tom had the steak salad. He ate it like it was his last meal. If you have not eaten there give it a try.

Happy Thanksgiving

Marc Rasmussen — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 16:12:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I hope all of you have a wonderful day. My wife is doing most of the cooking at our house. I did help by making a wild mushroom, chestnut and sausage stuffing last night. It is pretty tasty. Here is the recipe.

November Chill

Marc Rasmussen — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:01:00 +0000

I woke up this morning to a pleasant change in the weather. Right now it is 60 degrees and breezy outside. The high today will only be in the high 70's with moderate humidity and the low will be 56. I am sure a lot of people in Florida are welcoming the cooler weather. My family, dog and I are jumping in the car now to go play in the park.

Driving down Longboat Key this week I noticed several trucks carrying down the vehicles for the snowbirds or as another Realtor in my firm put it "northern aristocrats".

St. Armands Circle is looking good

Marc Rasmussen — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:22:00 +0000

I had a nice lunch at the Columbia today with an associate and noticed how nice St. Armands Circle was looking. They have made some great improvements by beautifying the common areas by adding new vegetation, seating areas and brick pavered cross walks. If you have not been out there lately go do some shopping or dining and see how nice it looks. Go to St. Armands Circle real estate to see all of the homes for sale.

Sarasota Farmers Market

Marc Rasmussen — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:57:00 +0000

I had not been to the Saturday morning Farmers Market in many years. At the advice of a friend, I took the family there last Saturday. It was great to see all of the happy people, dogs and especially the band of young people playing music. I bought some tasty treats for the football games on Sunday.

If you are not familiar with the Farmers Market it is held every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 12 noon in downtown Sarasota. Their products range from fruit, vegetables, cheese, plants, seafood, flowers, arts, morning breakfast and coffee. Even if you don't need to buy anything it is fun to visit. The Saturday market is located on Lemon Avenue at the intersection of Main Street.

Lakewood Ranch Cinemas

Marc Rasmussen — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:54:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of seeing The Bourne Ultimatum at the Lakewood Ranch Cinema yesterday. It was the first time I saw a movie in these theaters. These are nice facilities and worth seeing a movie there. I thought it was interesting that they serve beer and wine. It reminds me of the old cinema draft houses back in the 1980's where you could eat and drink while watching a movie.

If you liked the first two Bourne movies you will like The Bourne Ultimatum. It was nonstop action with a good story.

Why does everyone think Florida is so hot?

Marc Rasmussen — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:38:00 +0000

As a Realtor I frequently work with buyers from outside of Florida. Potential buyers make comments about how hot Florida gets in the summer. Sure, it gets hot here but at least we are prepared for it. When was the last time you were in a house, car or store in Florida that did not have air conditioning? Quite a few of the homes up north don't even have air conditioning.

If you have been comparing Florida temperatures with the heat up north you may have noticed that it actually has been hotter up north.

High temperatures for August 9th according to weather.com:
Sarasota, FL - 92 degrees
Richmond, VA - 99 degrees
Nashville, TN - 104 degrees
Washington D.C. - 94 degrees
New York - 82 degrees (remember, few air conditioners)
Charlotte, NC - 104 degrees
Atlanta, GA - 101 degrees
Miami, FL - 91 degrees

Interesting video

Marc Rasmussen — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:25:00 +0000

This video does not have anything to do with Sarasota but it is interesting to watch. I saw this on the nightly news tonight. It is an amazing video of lions, buffalos and a crocodile in Africa. It is great to see the adult buffaloes ganging up on the lions to save the baby buffalo.

Video

Tasty rasberry tea

Marc Rasmussen — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 01:00:00 +0000

Two other Realtors from my office and I walked from our offices on Gulfstream Avenue to El Greco on Main Street. Even though it is almost August the heat was not too bad. It's nice working downtown and walking to lunch. It is a pleasant change from what I am used to.

Other than the good food one reason we decided on El Greco was the rasberry tea. It is very tasty.

Beach Bistro on Anna Maria Island

Marc Rasmussen — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 19:49:00 +0000

Last Sunday night I had the pleasure of eating at the Beach Bistro on Anna Maria Island. The restaurant sits right on the beach with windows overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. We had a lobster appetizer which was very tasty. I had the grouper entree and my wife had a fish dish. I can't remember which one but she liked it. The food and atmosphere was great. I highly recommend it. Bring your wallet.

July 4th Boat Races

Marc Rasmussen — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:30:00 +0000

The Suncoast Offshore boat race was held on Sunday July 1st off the coast of Sarasota. The Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix Festival is one of Sarasota's largest events annually attracting hundreds of thousands of people to Sarasota.

The family and I dodged rain and lightning bolts the Friday night before the boat races to see the parade in downtown Sarasota. My boys loved seeing all of the big boats.

We spent the 4th of July up in St. Petersburg beach at a friends house on the water. Our friends have a great weekend home up there sitting right on the open bay. We took our jet ski up with us and had a blast.

Marc Rasmussen — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 19:40:00 +0000

I was playing on the computer a few minutes ago and my wife and kids told me about the Sandhill Cranes in the back yard. I went out and snapped a few pictures of them and fed them some bread. They were screaching at another Crane on the other side of the lake. This is one of the joy's of living in Florida.

Tyler's First Birthday

Marc Rasmussen — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 19:37:00 +0000

Here is a photo of Tyler and Dylan. Tyler (left) turned 1 on the 1st of June and we had a birthday party for him. He had the joy of smashing a cake with his hands. Dylan had the joy of eating it.

Tarpon in Sarasota

Marc Rasmussen — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 20:38:00 +0000

I took a half day off and went tarpon fishing this morning. Two friends and I met this morning at Marine Max on Lido Key at 6:00 a.m. We spotted between 10-15 groups of tarpon "greyhounding". I learned today that greyhounding is when they are migrating in one directions and not stopping to eat. They are definitely off shore right now but evidently weren't hungry this morning. Regardless, we had a great time on the water.

Dr. Beach names Siesta Key one of the best beaches

Marc Rasmussen — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 20:03:00 +0000

Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, also known as a"Dr. Beach", came out with his top 10 beaches for 2007. Siesta Key made the #10 spot on the list. If you go here you can see his pick for the top 10 beaches in the country.

Dr. Leatherman is a professor of environmental studies at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami and serves as the director of FIU's Laboratory for Coastal Research. In 1998, he released his twelfth book, America's Best Beaches, describing and depicting many of the nation's finest beaches regionally and by category (e.g., best swimming and best walking beaches). He also has written more than 200 journal articles and scholarly reports.

A good meal at the Dry Dock Restaurant

Marc Rasmussen — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:28:00 +0000

On monday two buddies and I ate at the Dry Dock Restaurant on Longboat Key. I have been eating there on and off for over 15 years now. I can always count on a good meal. The restaurant is located on the south end of Longboat Key with wide expansive views of the Sarasota bay. Not only are the views great but the food is very tasty as well. One of my favorites is their Fish Camp Chowder. If you have not eaten before there give them a try.

New stores added to Ellenton Prime Outlet mall

Marc Rasmussen — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:21:00 +0000

Those of you who love to shop at the Ellenton Prime Outlet mall should be happy to hear about 7 new stores opening up there. Addidas, Perry Ellis, Starbucks, J. Crew Factory Store, Kenneth Cole, Luggage Factory, Dooney & Bourke are scheduled to open in various stages. Coffee lovers can enjoy a Starbucks as early as this coming weekend as the new store will be opening.

Prime Outlets at Ellenton opened in 1993 with 123,000 square feet and 40 stores. The outlet mall has grown to about 477,000 square feet with 130 stores. Plans call for a Main Street-type addition and more upscale names at the center, which already has a Saks Off Fifth.

Bull Shark Caught

Marc Rasmussen — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:49:00 +0000

A nine foot bull shark was caught last Saturday in St. Petersburg. The fisherman who caught it estimated the weight at 650 to 700 pounds. He caught it off the dock in the back of house located near Vinoy Park in St. Peterburg.

Bull sharks are in bays and inland waters this time of year to give birth to their "pups." After the effort they are hungry.

Though populations of some sharks are dwindling, the bull is common in area waters.

It is a shame the shark could not be released. The man who caught the fish was on the radio and he did not intetionally kill the shark. It died from exhaustion when it finally reached the dock.

Bonefish Grill for dinner

Marc Rasmussen — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 11:03:00 +0000

I took the family to the Bonefish Grill last night for dinner. All I can say is YUMMY! What a great restaurant. I always have a good meal there and highly recommend it if you have not eaten there. I had the pork tenderloin which was very tasty.