Wallenda Walks Sarasota Wire

We just couldn't resist. It's in our own backyard after all. So we braved the traffic and the estimated 10 to 12 thousand people who crowded the Sarasota Bayfront, and watched as our hometown superstar Nik Wallenda wowed us once again.

On a cloudless but slightly breezy Tuesday morning, the famed circus family member accomplished what he set out to do, showcase Sarasota some 200-feet above thousands of adoring locals, tourists and fans.
U-S 41 was shut down to traffic for about 45-minutes as Wallenda studied the 5/8th inch, 500-foot long cable strung from a crane near the Unconditional Surrender statue, across the 4-lane roadway and attached to the top of a 15-story high rise condo.

We had a front row seat in the park and right under the wire where Wallenda gathered beforehand with his family. After a prayer and hugs, Wallenda crossed the street and was hoisted to the top of the wire in a yellow cage.  He wasted little time climbing a hanging ladder the final few feet, and set off carefully, one foot in front of the other, without a safety harness or net, for the roughly 15-minute high wire stroll.

Just before reaching the other side, Wallenda, whose been known to add even more drama to his stunts, knelt on the thin cable for 30-seconds or so, then quickly covered the final few feet to a relieved, but cheering crowd.
~ BT

Photos by Lido Shorians Susie and Bob Thill, glass reflection photo by Elliott Himelfarb.