Freedom on The Loop: Fun in Fort Myers Beach & Fort Myers

We purchased FREEDOM 4 years ago in Fort Lauderdale, FL. We have spent 3 of the 4 winters since then in the Sunshine State and I must say it has never been more vibrant. From the Panhandle to St. Pete to Stuart the restaurants were bustling, shuttered storefronts have re-opened their doors and the traffic: Yikes! Even before snowbird season began things were hopping.

We had a very good winter in Florida. I already posted about our time on the Panhandle and in St. Pete, and I am way overdue on a Fort Myers beach post. So here it is, in words and pictures......

We had never even heard of Fort Myers Beach until someone along the way suggested we stop there this winter. So happy we listened. It has just enough beach shops, bars and restaurants to keep it lively and the colorful homes and storefronts give it a Key West feel with out the Key West craziness and pricing.

The Cottages of Paradise Point look about perfect to me

Another colorful house

24/7 you could hear Jimmy Buffett music playing from the deck of this whimsical inn

A false front hides the parking area for a row of townhouses

Palm trees line the beach

Outdoor cafes, live music and a sunset ceremony keep the "Times Square" area of Fort Myers Beach lively day and night.

And the beach -- it was lovely. I am not usually a big fan of beach sitting or even sand, but the Fort Myers Beach sand was soft and white and it was always hard to pack up my things and leave after a few hours of sunbathing.

Moss Marina, our home from mid-February to mid-March was perfect. We docked on a T-head giving us a front and center view of the bayside activity. A steady stream of boats passed by from morning to night, even mid week: pleasure craft, shrimpers, tour boats, the local Pirate Ship, and the Big M Casino boat.

After dark departure for a shrimp boat

We saw a few commercial tugs and barges, but they looked small after what we had seen on the Mississippi!

The Coast Guard Station across the bay sent out training and rescue ships almost every day. The rescue boats always left in a hurry -- leaving us to bounce in their wake.

Pieces of Eight, the local Pirate Ship, passed by at least once a day. We knew when to Hurrah! and when to Aaarrrrggghhhh! and when the Limbo contest would start. It always sounded like fun....

The was the view of the Big M Casino boat form our side deck as she returned to the dock. Yikes - one day she came so close we almost abandoned ship!

The activity was not only in the water....the marina has a few large boat storage sheds. All daylong the dockhands removed boats from their stacked slips, drove them to the water and launched them.

Where Boats Fly: Moss Marina, FMB

The marina is family owned and even the great grandchildren of the owner, GT, work in the office and on the docks. A handful of the dockhands live on site -- one on a boat, with Ham's arch enemy Moola the dock dog, and others in a camper in one of the large storage sheds. It was a lively place. There was so much to look at on shore and in the water that many days I never made it to the beach.

The Annual Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Fest took place just before our month was up. A morning parade was followed by a two day craft fair, a Shrimp Queen contest, and a shrimp eating contest. We might not have eaten any shrimp at the shrimp fest, but we certainly had our fill from the local fish market Trico's. With a fleet of shrimp boats right out their back door, we figured it couldn't get any fresher (other than the shrimp I bought directly from the shrimper in Mobile).

King Neptune led the Parade (kinda scary at 10AM)

Neptune's Shrimp Court

The Red Cross is always at the ready

A big ovation for these local beauties

Everyone stood up and cheered for our armed services

I loved this boat

We took a break from the parade and wandered over to the food tents. Lots of shrimp, crayfish and grouper on the grill

Meanwhile, back at the parade the topless women showed up -- advertising the local tattoo and henna parlour. We had never seen a topless float -- yes they were tastefully hennaed, but it was a bit shocking....( there were children in the crowd!)

Finally, the clothed members of the yacht club appeared.

With our bellies stuffed with shrimp and grouper and a little more sand on the decks, FREEDOM departed Fort Myers Beach on Monday March 16th, destination Fort Myers. We were thrilled to learn that a block party was on tap for St. Patrick's Day. I've never seen so many green shirts and wigs in my life.