Winter in Crystal Beach, Florida

Quick Tips:

How warm does the west coast of central Florida get in the middle of winter - specifically the first week of February? If you are like me - from southern California - it's no big deal. However, if you hail from Canada, the mid-west, northwest, or east coast of the United States, it's easy to see why there are so many "snow birds" spending their winters here in Florida.

Be prepared for variable weather...when we arrived on Saturday Feb.2, it had been in the 80's so Sunday was still nice. By Thursday, it ws 71 degrees and pouring rain from morning until the early afternoon. It was otherwise mainly in the 60's - very comfortable for touring and cool in the evenings once the sun went down - jacket/sweater weather.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best part of this experience was that all the other people who eventually came into the restaurant appeared to be families and other locals, so we knew that this was a great find. The atmosphere is like a sprawling house. You are seated either outside in front of the house or outside in the back of the house. The weather in this part of Florida is such that air conditioning could just mean that all the windows are opened to the elements. If you're ever in the area north of Tampa on Alternate Highway 19, do drop in.

Ybor City is supposedly "HOT" on nights and weekends. 7th Ave. is closed to traffic then. There are lots of storefronts "night clubs" in the area. According to one native, there's a "Bourbon Street" type of atmosphere and activities every weekend. We didn't check this out.