I hope you enjoy this entry for the Wednesday Walk challenge created by @tattoodjay as much as we did! This is a short walk around a small park, but we spent many hours here as it's a great place to relax and enjoy the people and wildlife and as you may have guessed grom the title, squirrels. This is a spot called Bayfront Park and it's located on Sarasota, Florida.
The park is most famous for its "Unconditional Surrender" statue commemorating the end of World War II. It's 25 feet tall and my partner stood next to it to show just how big it is.
The bay winds in and around the park as there is a marina on one side and boat parking even out into the bay. I say boat, but most of these vessels are yachts. This next picture shows the view right in front of where we parked in the lot.
We had the day off on Saturday this week so it is a pretty busy place and very popular for professional photo shoots. There were 3 quinceañeras here to take photos while we were here. One of them arrived by limo.
It's a short walk from parking to the park and you are first greeted by this monument indicating the start of the fitness walk. The plaque on top is in remembrance of the Olympic torch passing through Sarasota before the 1996 Olympic games held in Atlanta.
I did mention in the title that this walk is for the squirrels. We had one greet us as soon as we walked onto the grass.
There is also some fun and interesting artwork throughout the park, beginning with this painted bicycle.
There are paved walks throughout the park and plenty of open grassy areas and lots of trees. There is also a restaurant and a playground for the children.
This day was relatively cool for a summer day, but even on a warm day it is going to be pretty comfortable here with all of the readily available shade.
There is a bronze sculpture right next to the playground titled "Olympic Wannabees"
The South side of the park has another painted bicycle by the water. We especially enjoyed this one painted all white with 6 white flamingos and a white pigeon perched on and white flowers all over it.
Did I mention squirrels? Here's one splooting on a tree.
There are also herons, parrots, gulls, and scrub jays that are commonly seen here. This was the best picture I could get with my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra of a scrub jay. They have brilliant blue wing feathers.
Oh yeah, there are squirrels here too. Lots and lots of squirrels. Here's one enjoying a snack sitting on a tree root.
There are also a lot of dogs that come with their people to walk for the park. There was a St. Bernard that was so disappointed he couldn't play with the squirrels. Another dog decided he wanted to jump in the water and cool off.
This tree looks like the perfect place to throw down a blanket and have a picnic or read a book or take a well deserved nap.
There is a fountain at the furthest point from the entrance depicting 4 jumping dolphins. They are my favorite!
Since it's been a while since we've seen a squirrel, check out this one sitting in a tree.
I love how these trees continue to create additional roots.
I didn't catch the name of this sculpture that sits in the middle of the most open space in the park.
There must be a lot of wealth in Sarasota as there are lots and lots of yachts!
As we come to the end of our walk today, let's pause for one more cute squirrel pic. The squirrels here are pretty much dependent on being fed by people and we saw many of them hanging out near the restaurant hoping for scraps. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of what types of food is good for them. The same rule applies for them as us and processed foods are toxic. Their much smaller size makes the impact much greater. They eat more than just nuts, but we didn't see any nut trees in the park so we brought a humble offering of raw, in the shell peanuts. My partner has rehabbed a couple of squirrels and their playfulness and curiosity always brings her joy. I've come to love them as well now that I've been observing them a lot closer.
I'd love to hear about your love for animals, too. Which are your favorite?
WOW that is a tall statue, and such a beautiful park thanks for sharing it with us
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)