Fort Myers - An Unexpected Treasure

Memorable moments: driving along the Sanibel Island coastline, stopping whenever we pleased to walk along more pristine beaches and take in all the natural flora that this island has to offer. Walking through a bawdy t-shirt shop in Times square and seeing one of the funniest t-shirts ever. There was a black t-shirt with white lettering; front said FBI and the rear of shirt said Lay down and spread em'.

For a longer condo stay, I recommend shopping inland at the Fort Myers Super Wal-Mart; this will save a lot. For something a little more convenient (and more ), shop at TOPPS SUPERMARKET on ESTERO BOULEVARD. One-eighth of a mile south of the Pointe Estero and Gullwing resorts, there's a very reasonably priced Eckerds (on Estero Boulevard) where you can find sunscreen and hats for cheap.

The best time to stay in Ft. Myers is during the rainy season since hotel rates are low and it typically doesn't start raining until 4 to 4:30pm each day, so you get a full day of sun and then the rain cools you off late in the day. All the while, you get to enjoy "rainy season" rates. For a quieter trip, stay in a hotel/condo property on the more southerly end of the strip; for active partying, stay on the more northern end of the strip - closer to the San Carlos bridge.

This is a three-diamond resort that afforded us a partial ocean view; spacious, screened-in balcony; luxurious master bath complete with large Jacuzzi tub; blow dryer; upscale, Ralph Lauren furnishings; and a roomy living and dining area complete with wet bar; cable TV and DVD player; full kitchen (modern, flat-top stove); full-sized, en-suite washer/dryer; and much more. King bed in the master; fresh resort robes hanging in the closet; Bath and Body Works toiletries; outdoor heated pool; and an oversized, adjacent hot tub overlooking the beach. We had paid for a one bedroom suite. However, after check-in, we realized we were going to get more for our money. A two-bedroom, two-bath unit instead of the one-bedroom we were paying for. We were delighted to be paying $139 per night for a luxurious, half-million dollar, two-bedroom beachfront condo!

On our first day out, we took a walk along this extremely wide, striking white beach. We found that the resort rents cabanas by the day or week out at the beach. The cabanas are lovely and include two wooden, oversized, well-padded lounge chairs for approximately $15 a day. We had hoped to find a few nice shells on this beach, but found only a few small shells here. The ocean here is blue green and semi-transparent. The beach behind the resort was not crowded. This beach is so wide that it's almost a hike to get to the ocean.

The staff here is very pleasant, welcoming, and accommodating. At around lunchtime, you'll often find a resort employee or two cooking up free hotdogs and providing ice-cream to resort guests. There is a picnic area right next to the pool, along with a few BBQ pits.

We found the majority of guests to be from various southern states. However, one couple we met at the pool was from Germany. We spent half our week chatting with them poolside.

You won't find a restaurant or room service here. However, there are soda and snack machines just outside the elevators in the pool area. While this resort is conveniently located to many restaurants, the restaurants are really not close enough to be within walking distance.

If arriving after hours, the resort will place your room key in a lock box at the entrance door to the resort. They will provide you with a coded combination to enter next to the lockbox which will open the box, allowing you to retrieve your room keys.

As picky as I am, I could really only find one drawback to this resort...they really didn't make the pool large enough. As a result, we often found it crowded and with no available lounge chairs. Get out there early!

This restaurant was (by far) the best bang for our buck when it came to fresh seafood in the Ft. Myers beach area. We returned here again and again. At these prices (just under $30), this was by far the best seafood restaurant for lunch. Expect menu prices to double at dinner. Matanzas offers a romantic setting with tables overlooking the water (indoors or out, whichever you please). Check out the boats and yachts in their slips while here (look out the window while dining, or walk outside down the pier). You'll find both friendly and shy pelicans just outside this property on the adjacent pier (see pics).

The lowest-priced, most delicious seafood item we found here for lunch was the fish sandwich (fresh fish that is deep fried, broiled, or blackened for $8.95). If you're more adventurous, you could always try the "Gator Tail" dish...yes, alligator tail!

I also tried the stuffed grouper, as well as the seafood platter. The gouper was fine, but a little on the bland side; the fish sandwich was better. The fried seafood platter was fine, but a little too greasy for me (I don't care for a lot of things fried). A fried seafood lover probably would give it much higher ratings. Overall, I found myself returning again and again to the fish or crunchy grouper sandwich.

Waitresses here are generally very experienced and will take good care of you; they are friendly as well. You'll find many of the locals dining here.

It was so hot outside the day we dined here that we chose inside seating rather than outside. The tables and chairs inside were rattan with fabric padding on the seat. Nice, but not fancy. There was a large outside deck with tables plastic chairs for outdoor seating with a waterside view.

The offerings here are mostly seafood cooked the way the locals like it. The menu also includes burgers, and there is a kid's menu. I chose the grilled grouper. It sounded like an excellent choice, but, truly, it was on the bland side. My husband chose fried shrimp, which he said was just so-so. Just as we were finishing our meal, we watched as yet another strong storm came through, toppling and blowing away the plastic chairs outside on the deck.

Lunch will run about $15 per person and I'd say it was worth that. However, I wouldn't come here in the evening when prices double because I do not feel the food quality here lives up to the evening prices. Service was above average.

We noticed this restaurant as we arrived on our first day. It is touted as one of the leading, quality steak and seafood houses in this area. The outside has a rustic look and you can tell this establishment has been here quite awhile. There is really no view, but it is close to the beach (across the street).

After spending the day at Sanibel Island exploring various beaches and shelling, I felt too tired to cook dinner at the condo. Trying out Charleys seems to be a good idea. After showering at our condo, I slipped on a pair of dress jeans and a pastel print jacket in anticipation of dinner at Charleys.

As we enter the somewhat noisy and boisterous environment at Charleys, we realize that this is as much of a bar and party environment as it is a restaurant. There are a few locals mixed in with the tourists here, and it seems that many are having a liquid dinner mixed with an appetizer or two.

After we were seated right next to a loud party of four adults who had already obviously had too much to drink, we waited for our server…and waited…and waited. Finally, after about 30 minutes, a waiter shows up. No apology for the wait. We ordered our iced teas and the stuffed mushroom caps as an appetizer. We proceed to peruse the menu. Twenty minutes later, the waiter shows up with our drinks and takes our entree order. My husband ordered the filet mignon, while I desired the shrimp scampi. An hour and 20 minutes later, our main course arrives. I was hoping that the main course was going to taste better than the mushrooms caps had. I found the shrimp rubbery, cold, and greasy. My husband stated that the steak he had was of poor quality, dry and tough, and yet bloody in the middle (he ordered it medium-well; not medium-rare). The steak was sent back. Twenty minutes later, my husband was presented with the same tough, dry steak - minus the bloody middle.

In summary, the food was barely edible, and, had we not been so hungry, we probably would have walked out. Total tab was just over $100, and we didn't have any alcoholic beverages. The bathrooms were not clean and service was extremely poor. It was a sore disappointment since the reviews on this establishment had been so good. Therefore, I wouldn't recommend this restaurant unless it's convenient for you and you just want appetizers with drinks.

Once we blew into the Ft. Myers airport, we speedily picked up our rental car and were on our way to the resort. It was around 9:30pm and we had not eaten since breakfast; hunger embraced us. So we stopped off at The Waffle House located just off of the main beach strip. The waitress looked at us and said, "Ya'll just have a seat anywhere." My husband and I looked at each other and surmised that she was a Texas transplant because of her accent. We then began noticing that almost everyone here had a Texas accent. Ultimately, we realized that, in fact, the locals here sounded like us Texans, but were actually native Floridians. Their good hospitality was much like ours as well. This was a plus as far as we were concerned! These people were neighborly, genuine, warm, and kind.

The next morning, I found myself gravitating toward the balcony of our high-rise condo to get a good look at what has to be one of Florida's widest, white sand beaches. Just beyond the sparkling, white glare of the sand, I can see the resplendent, emerald ocean; unlike any I have seen anywhere else. The closest thing I have seen to the color and clarity of these waters is in the Bahamas. That makes sense because the Bahamas are only about 60 miles off the coast of Florida.

Soon, we were zipping down the elevator to the pool; later finding ourselves beachcombing in this serene area of Ft. Myers. The quiet bliss of this beach (just north of Naples, FL) is a rare find indeed. For the week that we were here, there was never a crowded beach. It was in fact, quite the opposite. Generally speaking, there were 10 to 20 other people here daily. If you stay at the Gullwing (or anywhere south of this resort), you will find expansively wide, uncrowded beach areas.

Just yards away from where we stood, my husband and I watched pelicans dive for fish. I thought, Heck, in Texas the pelicans will often wait around by the pier we are fishing on and count on us to catch fish for them; leaving the caught fish laying on the end of the pier for the pelicans to eat. I have to admit that it is fascinating to catch a fish, remove it from the hook, place it at the edge of the pier, back up a few yards and then watch a pelican swoop down right in front of you, stab the fish with its bill, and fly away - leave it to a redneck to pull such a stunt.

I realized pretty quickly that in this area of Florida, it is quite hot and you can expect winds here to be to one extreme or the other. You will find that you have no breeze at all, or winds strong enough to bend palm trees almost all the way over. The landscape here is flat. Hence, when those afternoon rain storms come in (about 4 or 4:30pm alost every day in the rainy season), there is really no barrier within the terrain to block those high winds. The resort we were in was built to withstand hurricane force winds - and it's a good thing since some of those afternoon storms had hurricane force gusts. The rain was often a gratifying relief from the stagnant, high heat we were experiencing early each day. We stood on our balcony to watch these fascinating storms every afternoon.

There is really more here to do than I expected, such as daytrips to near-by Sanibel Island, visiting the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge (like alligators and snakes?), shopping at the open-air Times Square Shops (conveniently located on the beach), taking a drive to one of the Naples beaches, touring the Edison-Ford Estate, checking out Lover's Key State Recreation area, seeing the endangered West Indian manatees at Manatee Park, taking an airboat day safari, and so much more.

If you're young, young at heart, or simply love to party, I highly recommend booking your hotel in the party zone at the northern end of the Ft. Myers beach strip near the Holiday Inn somewhere. By all appearances, this is where all the nightlife and action is. This area is also very convenient to a large, open-air shopping complex (including some designer fashions) as well as within walking distance to many restaurants. If you seek more solitude and romance in an uncrowded beach area, book yourself somewhere more southernly on the strip such as The Gullwing resort.

For many years, I didn't believe that Florida was as wonderful as advertisers were leading us to believe - after seeing it for myself, I'm sold!