Laid Back Latitude

Crossing the bright aqua Mantanza’s Bridge on to Estero Island, you’ll see a vast array of colorful buildings reaching for the sky and swaying palm trees as you make your way to the Island.  On any given day you’ll see parasailors flying high over the clear blue Gulf of Mexico. 

 Once on the Island if you make your first right on to Estero Blvd – you’ll find yourself in Time Square adjacent to Fort Myers Beach Pier.  There is public parking at the Lynn Hall Memorial Park right along the Gulf.  With many restaurants and shops it is beach destination Paradise.  Try breakfast at Plaka’s Greek Restaurant, with umbrella tables, open air seating and great Greek food.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner served daily.

 For lunch try the Beach Pierside Grill, great entertainment and a view of the Gulf and the pier.  They have live music and open air seating as well.   

Check out Local Color, a unique clothing and gift shop featuring souvenirs of Island Paradise.  They have clothes for women and men and whimsical island treasures to take home with you. 

Top of Mast is a local restaurant and bar that features their famous Rum Runners drink with a souvenir glass to take home.  They are potent favorites with tourists and locals. Top O’ Mast has weekend live music on their deck facing the Gulf and is a great place to watch the sunset! 

 Citrolla’s is another Time Square favorite with their famous Philly Cheese Steak sandwich – complete with peppers and onions! Yum! 

 From Time Square you can make your way down Old San Carlos Blvd and find more shops and great eateries!  The Shipwreck Museum has beach paraphernalia and apparel and is also a motel accessible by water.

 Yucatan is fairly new Tiki style restaurant with great island food and drinks. The large Tiki statue in the front of the restaurant is a favorite for photos with the locals and tourists. 

Smok’in Oyster Brewery makes their own ale and has some of the best oysters on the island.  Zushi, Zushi is a brand new place with great cocktails and fresh sushi made daily.

Further down Old San Carlos Blvd you’ll find Nervous Nellie’s and Ugly’s Waterside Bar – On the back bay of Estero Island and accessible by boat.  It is a great place for live music and they have a really large menu! They serve some of the best local seafood and have a section devoted to Ridiculous Reubens that will make your mouth water!  Two of our favorites are the Nachos appetizer – served in a cast iron skillet and the Bronze Grouper Reuben on sourdough bread that is to die for and would easily serve 2 people!  The portions are huge! Bring your appetite!!!  Their famous cocktail is the Giant Nervous Nellie – a fruity tropical drink meant to be shared and served in a giant cocktail glass!

 The beachfront at Fort Myers Beach span the 8 miles of the island with snowy white, baby powder sand along it all!  You can rent pedal bikes from Holiday Watersports to take a trek along the water.  They also rent scooters and motorcycles if you are so inclined.

Accommodations abound on the Island. Some of our favorites are the Lighthouse Resort on 5^th Avenue across the street from Times Square. They have 2 pools and a Tiki Bar in the center of the resort where you can find live music and great food.  Their pizza menu is phenomenal!  Great place to stop after a day at the beach.  The bar is open to the public.

Harbor House Suites on Old San Carlos Blvd, is another favorite – fairly new, it’s convenient location and clean colorful rooms help you feel at home while you’re in an island paradise.  Their rooftop pool is great for some quiet sunbathing away from the crowds. 

Oktoberfest in Cape Cora, FL is always a fun event.  We have gone 4 years in a row and this year did not disappoint!  It is held at the German American Social Club on Pine Island Rd. and it runs the last two weekends of October featuring lively German music, performers and the food!  It’s very popular with the locals and garners a packed house!  This year we went on the first Saturday and sat at an umbrella table in the Garden –  it was a gorgeous day about 78 degrees and sunny. 

The bands were great – we listened to The Paloma Band from Chicago who entertained us with their many stories as well as some fun music – even a little “Blue Brothers” thrown in!   And a local band Hafenkapelle from Cape Coral who drew a lot of audience participation!  I think we did the Chicken dance about 4 times!  The Lee County Pipe & Drum did a segment in the Garden too!  The food, as always was amazing!  We sampled flavorful potato pancakes that were crispy on the outside and warm and yummy on the inside served with a side of applesauce.  There were knockwurst and bratwurst with sauerkraut, pulled pork sandwiches with spicy or sweet barbeque sauce – mouth watering!  Schnitzel, sausage dinners and lots of German potato salad.  And the desserts were great too! Apple Strudel, carrot cake and delectable German chocolate cake.  And of course lots of German beer and wine!  We met a group of friends there and did lots of dancing! I think what I liked best was to look around and see people enjoying themselves so much.  There were smiles from little ones as well as the seniors!  The volunteers are always dressed to the nines in their lederhosen and German dresses! We even met Miss Oktoberfest Marcella Schmidt!  She was adorable and so sweet!  Highly recommend it if you are ever in town the last 2 weekends of October! 

The other day Nancy and I were having lunch at Nervous Nellie’s one of our favorite restaurants on Fort Myers Beach. We were sitting outside listening to the band (No Way Jose) and watching some dark clouds rolling in. A few minutes after on lunch was served the rain started coming down. When it rains in Florida it comes down by the buckets full. Everyone started making a mad dash to get inside. I spotted the quick thinking couple next to us as they disconnected the umbrella and lowered it to cover their table. I thought brilliant and followed their lead. We were able to finish our lunch and watch the deluge of rain tucked up under the large umbrella.