Every few months, we try to get up to Boca Grande to have lunch and just look around. It's one of the best kept secrets on the west coast of Florida. It's been a playground for the rich and famous (and multiple presidents) since the early 1900's when access was only available by boat and later only by railroad. It was a deep port for hauling phosphate out of the Peace River basin for years, but now the railroad is gone and access is by boat and car. By boat, before gas became an issue, it's an hours mile ride from our house. By car, around Charlotte harbor, makes it an hour and a half, 71 mile ride from home. The map below shows our route on Sunday.
The entrance to the island is via a 'private' toll bridge and causeway that parallels the old railroad route across the bay. Yes, the sky and water really is that color. These photos are untouched, and raw. Temperature was in the high 70's today and we wanted to take some photos to show friends what a 'stay-cation' is like in our neck of the woods. Click on any image to enlarge... the photos are huge, so sorry about that.
Our first stop was a water-side hotel where friends of ours frequently stay when fishing the area. Normally we come down into these areas by boat.
Yes, that IS an Eagle, not an Osprey, sitting in that tree-top right across from the marina where we are standing.
Lunch was at Miller's Marina, in the upstairs restaurant. The whole place was renovated after the hurricanes a few years ago so it's not the boating dive it used to be years ago. Very nice and well managed now. Great place to pull in and eat when out in your boat.
After lunc, we just walked around the center of the island and took photos of the houses and sights
Chief means of transportation around the island is by golf cart.
Kids drive at any age on the dedicated paved paths, as do bicycles and walkers.
The beach is one of the most beautiful and best kept in the whole state. Because there is little public parking and a toll to get on the island, the number of day-trippers is thankfully at a minimum. This is a rarity in Florida anymore.
The funky 'downtown' area is where there are some low-key shops, a couple of off-water restaurants, fly-fishing shops, and most important, where they have two ice-cream shops. Basically most of the place is like it was 30 to 50 years ago. Old Florida. Boca Grande is where the rich and famous have come for over a hundred years to fish in the pass for giant Tarpon. It's why people came here originally...sport fishing. And, they still come for the fishing.
Check out the kid in the back of the cart, above left, eating the ice-cream. Life is good!
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Above is the Gasparilla Inn, where the Bush family stays when here for family get togethers and fishing trips. The golf course is right on the inter-coastal and back bay. The hotel has cottages besides the main hotel. Very 'upscale' and very, very Gadsby.
Below is the hotel dock space and the water-way bisecting the golf course and main island, which winds through a waterfront housing area. There is a lot of water-front property, but the prices now put it out of reach for all but the wealthy.
Yes, you too can live here...for a million and way up...but you can rent on the beach and below is one of the places we have visited and friends have stayed in the past.
And finally....the reason to be here...the beach.
