July 17, 2025 – CountUp

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my morning drive from Sebring to downtown Arcadia, and then from there down to the end of U.S. 17 in Punta Gorda to visit the Military Heritage Museum. And the trek continues on that Tuesday in June.

I headed north via Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) out of Punta Gorda, across Charlotte Harbor, through Port Charlotte, out of Charlotte County, and into Sarasota County.

My next stop was the Venice Museum, and it was a second-time visit. My first visit was 6 years earlier in May 2019. This time I actually talked museum business with the friendly docent at the front desk. I revealed myself as a fellow museum volunteer, Social Media Director, and on the Board Of Directors. We had a good discussion about things that are working, and things that are not working. They have a modern museum there with lots of fun bells and whistles. Like my museum – they are open 3 days a week – Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays – from 10 AM to 4 PM. During the busier Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons they are also open on the 1ST and 3RD Saturdays of the month from 11 AM to 3 PM. They are owned and operated by the city of Venice Florida.

My next stop was my hotel for the next 2 nights in Laurel Florida – an unincorporated census-designated place (UCDP) adjacent to Nokomis – another such UCDP. My hotel and the hotel across the street both had Nokomis street addresses and Nokomis in their name, so for the purposes of this blog – I spent 2 nights near Nokomis. (Both Laurel and Nokomis have rich histories that date back to settlers in the late-19TH Century.)

For dinner I headed a couple of miles south back into Venice to Darrell’s Restaurant – which I also ate at 6 years earlier in May 2019. The place was busy and getting busier. The service was good. The food was great. I ordered a sweet tea with the “Pulled Piggy” – a half-pound of hand-pulled pork with two sides of my choice. I chose mashed potatoes and gravy and collard greens. Cornbread completed the meal. And it was a hearty meal, but not too big that I couldn’t handle; although, it took some time to enjoy it all. Any future trip to Venice will include another visit to Darrell’s.

After dinner I headed west to the beach – where I spent a lot of time when I vacationed across the street from the beach 6 years earlier. I thought to myself while walking on the beach that it was perhaps my favorite beach in the world. (It used to Fort Myers Beach.)

Sunset was at 8:28 PM that night (the latest of the year), but there was little to no chance that a visible sunset would actually appear on the horizon due to leftover thunderstorm clouds in the sky. I spent 35 minutes on the beach, and then I headed back to my hotel near Nokomis. After all – “America’s Got Talent” would start at 8 PM.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about Casey Key, Siesta Key, and Sarasota – including my fascinating ride on the trolley. Let’s keep traveling together.