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| SPOTLIGHT | | Sandy
beach, is great for diving, swimming, sailing, snorkeling, and windsurfing. |
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Highlights
Up to the early 1900's, Boca
Grande, Florida, on Gasparilla Island was a busy and important place for the fresh
seafood trade. It was a place of colorful characters that earned a hard living
from the Gulf and Bay. Now it is mostly an island of leisure; an island of vacation
homes with perfect tropical charm; an island of sporting Tarpon fishing tournaments.
Some good things have been lost, some good things have been gained. There is still
a touch of yesterday here if you make some effort to look for it. On the road
of life, sometimes it's good to look over your shoulder to see where you came
from and remember the people that made it all happen. Boca Grande is the perfect
place to find quiet sophistication and luxury blended with the charm of old Florida,
the influence of old money and new, without compromising on a beautiful natural
environment with brilliant beaches, clear blue and green water, and lots of tropical
vegetation everywhere.
Boca Grande is
one of those incredible little towns where you have always dreamed of disappearing
to. It's a place you can get lost wandering on the seven pristine miles of sugar
white beach or exploring the back bay during low tide.
Located on the
Grande Barrier Island, Gasparilla, situated half way between Fort Myers and Sarasota,
Boca Grande is a postcard of what island life in Florida was meant to be. In your
vacation rental condo or home your senses will be awakened by the brightness of
the night stars, the rush of the surf and the sweet smell of the salty air. Boca’s
casual style and shops are full of unique treasures.
Galleries with works
of local artists, restaurants featuring the freshest local seafood, coral streets
lined with 80-year-old Banyan trees are irresistible. As well, the 104-year-old
lighthouse will bring you back over and over again.
At left is Boca Grande
Public Beach parking area #2, also known as the Seagrape access. It is of course
exactly between access #1 and access #3. This is a beautiful beach with lots of
white sand, beautiful clear water, some small dunes and a wooden dune walkover
from the parking lot. Within 10 minutes of arriving and taking this photo I saw
several dolphins, some tarpon, some large snook, and a small hammerhead shark
swimming just off the beach. The shark caused a little excitement, but was not
interested in eating anyone. It is not unusual to see single hammerheads swimming
along the beach, especially in the morning. In my experience, when they encounter
people, they make a wide detour around.
Here is the beach at the "sea
grape" access. This photo was taken on a beautiful spring day in May. The Gulf
waters usually display the best color and clarity during the month of May.
Boca Grand Pass is the scene of world-famous tarpon tournaments. Apparently, the
trick is not only keeping the tarpon hooked long enough to get him in the boat,
but also to get him in the boat before the sharks catch him. At left is the scene
of a tarpon fishing tournament in Boca Grande Pass. Yes, there are some mighty
big sharks down below.
Boca Grande is such a warm and hospitable place
to live that iguanas find it delightful. If you have a picnic on any of the tables
near the lighthouse they will surely pay you a visit. This one is about two feet
long.
My favorite street on the island, Banyan street intersects Gilchrist
and is easy to find. The large spreading tropical ficus trees cover the entire
street. The temperature under the trees feels at least twenty degrees cooler than
in the sun. The foliage in all the neighborhoods on Boca Grande is lush, much
like Naples. Park your car at the end of the street by the Gulf and take a slow
stroll under the trees. It will do you some good. These trees withstood the winds
of Hurricane Charlie, whereas many of the ficus trees in Naples were toppled during
Hurricane Wilma in 2005. My guess it that these trees in Boca are much older and
are in deeper soil. Naples probably has limestone rock closer to the surface,
creating a shallower root system. Just my guess.
At left is a view of
the Gulf of Mexico at the end of Banyan Street. The water is beautiful and clear
and full of fish. Notice that there is no beach here. That is because of the seawall.
Seawalls destroy beaches. But this island had most of its development done back
in the day when it was thought that seawalls protect the shore. Experience has
shown otherwise. I'm going to bring a kayak back here for a different perspective
of Gasparilla Island. | |
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Top Beaches |  |
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Carmel Beach | | Carmel Beach, for one,
is a tranquil cove of blue water bordered by soft white sand and cypress-covered
cliffs (the tides are deceptively strong and dangerous, so be careful if you chance
a swim). | | |
| Hermosa
Beach | | Have fun with volleyball, paddleball
or beach ball, while creating a golden tan or toning up. Surfboarding, skateboarding
or boogey boarding are all here. | | |
| Long
Beach | | As you drive along the coast
of Long Beach, don't be fooled by the sight of the bright pastel islands just
off shore; far from natural, they're actually oil-drilling platforms in disguise. |
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| Surfrider
Beach | | Surfrider Beach here was the
surfing capital of the world in the 1950s and early 1960s, as seen in the Beach
Blanket Bingo movies of Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon (the surf is at its
best in late summer). | | |
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Malibu | | Malibu, at the top of the bay
twenty miles north of Santa Monica, is a whole other world, its beach-colony houses
owned by those famous enough to need privacy and rich enough to afford it. |
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Zuma Beach | | Five miles along the coast
from Malibu Pier, Zuma Beach is the largest and most crowded of the Los Angeles
County beaches. | | |
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Point Dume State Beach | | Adjacent Point
Dume State Beach, below the imposing promontory of Point Dume, is a lot more relaxed. |
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| Pismo
Beach | | Just outside San Luis Obispo,
on Pismo's 23-mile stretch of prime beachfront, flip-flops are the shoes of choice
and surf wear is the dominant fashion. It's all about beach life here, so bring
your bathing suit, your board, and a good book. | |
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Ocean Beach | | Ocean Beach, six miles
northwest of downtown, rivals Pacific Beach in its surfing and party atmosphere,
although Ocean Beach has a more down-to-earth, bohemian feel, and is replete with
excellent secondhand music shops. | | |
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La Jolla | | A more pretentious air prevails
in La Jolla, an elegant beach community just to the north that mystery writer
Raymond Chandler once described as "a nice place - for old people and their
parents." | | | |
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