Lover’s Key Beach – Bonita Beach – Barefoot Beach

Did you know that two of the top ten Florida beaches as listed by the Travel Channel are located in Lee County Florida? It looks like Southwest Florida beaches are IT! Sanibel Island is a given and almost always makes any beach list. Lover’s Key has made the list this year, too. Lover’s Key Beach is just north of Bonita Beach and Barefoot Beach right before Fort Myers Beach drawbridge. Lover’s Key is also connected to Dog Beach, the only pet friendly beach in the area.

I wonder if the people that visit the beaches to nominate them or review them have ever been to Barefoot Beach Preserve. It’s in Collier County, just a mile or two from Bonita Beach. Any time I have buyers visiting the area looking to purchase their own Bonita Springs real estate I send them to that beach. They always report back a fantastic review.

If you’re wondering where the rest of the beaches in the top ten Florida beaches are located:

1. South Beach

2. Siesta Key Beach

3. Palm Beach

4. Lovers Key Beach

5. Clearwater Beach

6. Smathers Beach

7. Sanspur Beach

8. Panama City Beach

9. Sanibel Beach

10. Daytona Beach

The Totem, The Brew & The $20 Salad

If you take a day trip to Fort Myers Beach you’ll find this totem mailbox at the South end of the Island.  It’s about midway between the drawbridge and Santini Plaza, on the gulf side.  For you adventurous types that don’t know the area, there are only two ways to get to Fort Myers Beach.  Pull out a map: the top and the bottom. This is at the bottom.

This photo was taken a few weeks ago.  It was decided for a change that it would be a good idea to run to the beach for lunch.  It was.  It was a lot of fun to people watch and see different sites for the day.  I’ll skip sharing exactly (very near Lani Khai but not at Lani Khai because I am way too old to be chilling there) where I had lunch because I’m about to complain about having a Corona that cost $5.18.  That brew should have been on the wine list at price, so in homage I am putting it on my “whine” list and not having another beer there.  That was like my $20 salad at the Coconut Point mall.  Any wonder why these restaurants are having difficulty staying in business?  When the consumer does finally venture out, they’re punished with $20 salads and $5 beers.  At that price someone should have been spoon feeding me the salad or rubbing my shoulders while I drank that Corona.  Just sayin’.

This rant is officially over. I will now write a letter to the establishment that I consumed these products in, put it in a totem mailbox as a sacrifice and be on my merry way.

Have a great weekend and remember to take your own brewskis to the beach.  Cans only, glass isn’t allowed on the beach or pool decks.

]]> http://lifeinbonitasprings.com/the-sacrificial-mailbox-on-fort-myers-beach/feed/ 3 http://lifeinbonitasprings.com/heres-your-day-trip-idea-bonita-springs/ http://lifeinbonitasprings.com/heres-your-day-trip-idea-bonita-springs/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:38:56 +0000 chrisgriffith http://lifeinbonitasprings.com/?p=681

Hit The Beach, Bonita Springs

It really is an almost free if not a low cost trip. Save your gas cash, pack a sandwich or grab lunch on FMB. You can have an almost free ride on the Trolley from Bonita Springs to Fort Myers Beach for just a quarter. (Unless they raise the price)  The Trolley almost looks like Mr. Roger’s Trolley from like, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood on PBS. You can find it by going to the K-Mart plaza at the NW corner of Bonita Beach Road and hitch a ride on the stop right behind the Dunkin Doughnuts store. You’ll recognize either the half glass/hut waiting booth or something that looks like Mr. Roger’s Trolley.

If you want to entertain your family or friends and you’re pinching pennies hop the Trolley and hit Fort Myers Beach for an ice cream cone at the Square, a brew at the Cottage or, better yet, when you’re waiting for the Trolley to show up run to K-Mart for a few inexpensive kites. If you “kite it” get off the Trolley at Santini Plaza and head behind the Holiday Inn. It’s the widest expanse of beach so you can run and enjoy your kites, the sites and some of the best sunsets in Southwest Florida. You can just sit and watch others with kites, too. Often, there are sandcastle competitions or even amateurs that leave their mark in the sand too. The Holiday Inn offers free live music most weekends and during tourist season on most week days.

Since school is out stop in at Bay Park right by Red Coconut and the elementary school. They’ve put in a few water slides and such. You can’t really make a day of heading out to Fort Myers Beach without fighting traffic, finding a parking spot or dropping money on the petrol.

Don’t forget your sunscreen, it’s been scortchin’!

Bonita Beach Trollee – Bonita Beach Trolley – Bonita Springs

No matter how you spell it, the Trollee in Bonita Springs is a great resource for visitors and locals alike.  The Lee County transportation department offers this great service to the Bonita Beach, Fort Myers Beach and Estero Island areas.  My family stumbled onto the Bonita Springs Trollee a few years ago while vacationing on Fort Myers Beach.  I cut the kids loose with a roll of quarters and they were set for the week.   The kids and their friends were zipping back and forth from Bonita Springs to Fort Myers Beach and saving parents the hassle of long car rides to the Island.

What’s more is as the kids got older and wanted to meet friends at Bonita Beach, Barefoot Beach or Fort Myers Beach to spend an afternoon, they could just take the Trollee down and back.  It’s super easy and super affordable.

The Trollee travels the distance from the Kmart Plaza called The Centre of Bonita Springs to the north end of Fort Myers Beach.   (The Publix Grocery Store is also located in that plaza.)  You’ll find the bus stop – trollee pick up near the Bonita Springs Kmart, sort of behind Dunkin Doughnuts.

There are a variety of stops in many locations in Bonita Springs, plus you can actually flag the Trollee if you need to.  The Trollee is equipped with a bicycle rack, also. So, if you’ve bitten off more than you can chew with your bike ride, you can hitch a ride back on the Lee Tran Trollee System.  You can’t do that in a taxi!  How’s that for being handy?

To learn more about the Lee County Trollee System also read:  http://www.RideLeeTran.com/

You’ll find a printable Trollee Map and the entire Lee County Bus Route Map, too.