Spring Break 2021 looked much different for us! This year, there were no event tickets purchased, reservations made or luggage packed. And that was okay. Without those things, we were determined to still pack in a ton of fun and that is just what we did! We had 9 glorious days of exploring local places and trying new restaurants as well as ones that are our favorites! By the end of those 9 days, my pants were fitting tighter but I had no regrets!
Let’s begin on day 1! This particular day, I can take no credit for. My husband planned for a staycation on the water just 10 minutes away from our house. It was magical as I love surprises and there was nothing he missed! He booked the perfect room with a balcony to watch the sunset. Watching the sunset is one of my favorite things! As I happily entered the room, I was shocked to find that he had set the room up with a beautiful pajama set, slippers, my favorite chocolates, a bottle of wine and a charcuterie platter! It was perfect! I especially appreciated that I didn’t have to do any of the planning or organizing! That was a real treat! It was a dream to watch the sunset from the private balcony while listening to live music in the park nearby. We spent the rest of the evening walking around downtown Punta Gorda while listening to more live music, eating, drinking and just enjoying time spent together.
The following day, we drove a couple hours to Clearwater Beach. This was an area that neither of us had previously explored. As I love to visit new places and research all the happenings (especially restaurants) in the area, I already had the entire day planned! First stop was the mall. I was impressed with the size of this mall. There was a variety of shops as well as an ice skating rink and movie theater that were all open! From there we continued on to The Alley of Antiques. After all that shopping, we were ready for some food! I had been looking over many menus in the area. Frenchy’s caught my attention with their crab fries! And they were so delicious! French fries seasoned with Old Bay seasoning and covered in crab meat, what’s not to love! I also had the tastiest grouper bites while Nelson had a soft shell crab sandwich. Everything was very good.
The rest of the afternoon and evening were to be spent at Pier 60. Here they have a sunset celebration every night with vendors and performers. The beach is huge and has so much going on. There are tons of restaurants, shops, inflatable slides and lots of sand! I was impressed with the large number of lifeguards and police that were everywhere. I will say it was one of the busiest beaches I have ever seen! The sunset though…. Wow, there are no pictures that can accurately capture the beauty that we witnessed! It was incredible! We then headed home to get some sleep before the following day’s activity. This activity was going to be a first for our family!
We were up and at them early! Today we were heading to Sarasota Polo Club for a St. Paddy’s Day themed horse polo match. We have never been before and had no idea what to expect. It was $15 per person for general admission. We arrived a couple hours before the match began. And my, oh my, you could tell we were first timers! The “regularers” had tents and folding chairs and spreads of food. Us? We had one umbrella and a couple chairs. But that wasn’t going to stop us from having a fun time!
There were a couple food trucks, a bar as well as very clean and well maintained portable bathrooms. Food and drinks were reasonably priced. Everyone was extremely kind! The announcer did a wonderful job of explaining the game. One of my favorite parts was going out on the field to “stomp the divots”, it was just like in Pretty Woman. Well except I wasn’t a prostitute! We’ll definitely be returning but we will be better prepared.
We are now on day 3 of our culinary journey. Do you see a theme? Yep, food! I had read about Owens Fish Camp in Sarasota years ago when I was researching where to get lionfish at. Well years later and we still hadn’t made it there. But that was about to change. Owens is only open for dinner. We arrived about an hour after they opened. We had a 30 minute wait which was perfect as we walked around and explored the area. It was artsy and adorable! When our table was ready, we were seated and that’s when the vibe of the place really came to life. There was so much history here in the building! It was filled with old pictures and funny sayings. We started with smoked fish dip, which is one of my weaknesses! And it was so, so delicious! Perfectly served with saltine crackers and hot sauce. Nelson had a po boy sandwich that peaked his interest due to the pepper jelly that comes on it. He was very pleased with his selection! I devoured my Camp Basket of fried oysters, shrimp and fish! All I can say is you’ve gotta try Owens!
Our next meal was an oldie but a goodie! We stuffed ourselves with all the fabulous meats and sides at Ember Korean BBQ in Ft Myers. I’m telling you this place is more than an amazing meal, for us it’s the service, the ambiance and the music which ranges from 90’s hip hop to Taylor Swift and everything in between!
Day 6 of our culinary journey finds us celebrating St. Paddy’s Day. Being part Irish, I look forward to my corned beef and cabbage along with Irish soda bread. I spent the day slow cooking the beef, potatoes and cabbage to perfection. The house smelled so good! I cheated and bought soda bread from Publix! It was a delightful dinner that provided yummy leftovers for the week!
On this day, I wanted to include an activity along with the meal. So I packed a picnic while Nelson loaded the fishing equipment in the car. We drove to a local pier and enjoyed the fresh air. While the food was good, the biting of the fish was not. Nelson caught the largest catfish either of us had ever seen. Other than that, the fish just weren’t biting that night. But we still had an enjoyable evening.
The next day was another day of firsts! I love experiencing new things. We met friends at The Blue Rooster in Sarasota. The menu was reminded me of a combination of Kentucky and Louisiana cuisine and that excited me! The table was filled with fried green tomatoes, a fish sandwich, fried chicken biscuit sliders, shrimp and grits and a BBQ sandwich! It was a yummy meal! The Blue Rooster also has live music in the evenings. Unfortunately, we left before it started as we had a trolley to catch…. A haunted trolley!
Nelson and I love to do haunted tours when we vacation. We’ve also done a few locally. But we had not done one yet in Sarasota. They have both walking and trolley tours. Our original plan was to do the walking tour but that was already sold out. So we went with the trolley tour. It worked out great because it was actually cold and windy out that night. The trolley tour is more expensive though at $40 a person. It was a clean trolley that had plenty of space for all the guests. It included beer or wine at the trolley station before the start of the tour. I don’t want to give away too many secrets but I will say that it was not scary. It was very interesting and entertaining as there were some surprise guests! The guide was incredible and kept the guests engaged!
I can’t believe this is the last day of our journey! This was another activity that we had been talking about doing for years whenever we are in Vegas but never got around too. No excuses though as we have been 15 times! I bet you’re wondering what we didn’t get around to doing in Vegas that we are going to do right here in southwest Florida! Any guesses?
The answer is Dim Sum! We pulled into the South Plaza in Fort Myers. It’s your average strip mall with a Burlington, a furniture store and a consignment shop. I’m beginning to second guess myself. I don’t want to end this amazing 9 day adventure on a flop! We hope for the best and walk into the Ginger Bistro. I am blown away at how cute and stylish this place is inside! And then I see the ducks roasting with all the juices dripping and I know we are in the right place! I started with the most refreshing lychee iced tea. We were then given the dim sum menu to mark our choices on. Oh my goodness, the food here is dynamite!! So many options and so fresh! It was a delightful meal! They also have a location in the Cape that we now want to try. Our waitress was helpful and sweet! We never felt intimidated since this was our first experience with dim sum.
We had a blast exploring local tourist spots, new restaurants, old favorites and slowing down to just hang out! It was refreshing to not need a vacation to recoup from Spring Break. Am I looking forward to traveling out of southwest Florida? Yes! Do I regret Spring Break 2021? No! I will continue to explore locally and seek out fun spots close to home. I encourage you to do the same! You’ll have a blast and make great memories!
