- A weekend sunshine escape to Punta Gorda-Englewood
By Forrest Fisher
As winter stubbornly hangs around parts of the Northeast and Midwest this year, many travelers are beginning to wonder if spring simply forgot to show up. Snowflakes in April and freezing mornings in May have a way of crushing dreams of a luscious springtime. With flip-flops afoot, we found that Southwest Florida has the cure — and it comes with soft sand, warm Gulf water, shark teeth, and grouper dripping in lemon basil butter sauce.
Sometimes all it takes is a quick three-day getaway to reset the soul. Better yet, several airlines recently discovered they still have seats to fill with the transportation void going on, and travelers lucky enough to notice can be rewarded with bargain airfare prices. Suddenly, escaping the cold became less fantasy and more “Why aren’t we packing already?” So, we did.
We found that beaches near Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota are very popular, but the real hidden gems sit farther south around the Punta Gorda-Englewood Beach area. Especially near Manasota Key and Gasparilla Island. Here, visitors trade traffic jams and crowded resorts for peaceful beaches, warm Gulf of America waters in the low 80s, and accommodations that won’t require a second mortgage.
Even sweeter, some of the summer season rates are already kicking in and that means less cost. Some rental properties are already offering discounts. Budget travelers may want to sit down before hearing that.
The beaches themselves are reason enough to visit. The sand is soft, the clear surf is gentle, and the shoreline hides one of Florida’s most unusual treasures — fossilized shark teeth. Millions of years ago, prehistoric sharks cruised these waters, and today their age-old fossilized teeth regularly wash ashore. Visitors armed with nothing more than sunglasses, sunscreen, flip flops, a towel, and a resealable plastic bag can spend hours combing the beach like pirate treasure hunters. Imagine discovering shark teeth from the era of 5 to 20 million years ago! We did it. So cool.
Finding a few shark teeth is common. Finding dozens is exciting. Finding hundreds over a long weekend? Entirely possible. Somewhere along the way, grown adults begin competing like contestants on a reality show called America’s next “Top Fossil Hunter.” It’s a bikini battle at times, all in fun.
Eventually, yep, thirsty pallets and beach hunger arrive. The good news is that this area shines brightest once dinner begins. Many choices for beverages and top tier menu alternatives. Some of the best chef choices are on the blackboard menu as you enter the eateries.
One standout stop was the legendary Lock ‘N Key Restaurant, sitting directly across from Englewood Beach. In fact, it’s so close that showering after the beach almost feels optional. Sand in your flip flops? Nobody notices. The outdoor seating, tiki-style atmosphere, and reggae music lingering on their roadside patio, yea, makes the entire place feel more Caribbean than Florida. We loved it.
Then there’s happy hour — a magical stretch from noon until 5 p.m. featuring pull tabs where drinks can cost as little as 50 cents — if you’re lucky. Somewhere, beach bar accountants are weeping tears of joy, because this is a popular ploy.
The Lock ‘N Key has been beautifully renovated following recent hurricane seasons and offers both indoor air-conditioned comfort and the outdoor tiki seating. The menu reads like a love letter to seafood fans.
One dinner selection originally featured tripletail Oceana, but when the kitchen ran out of tripletail, they substituted grouper instead — a swap that I did not complain about. The thick-cut fish (one-inch plus) was topped with shrimp bathed in lemon basil butter sauce, accented by Roma tomatoes, and served alongside rice with carrots and asparagus. Calling it “delicious” almost feels disrespectful. It was the kind of meal that causes conversations at the table to stop because everyone is too busy smiling and chewing. Mmmm-mmm-huh. You know the conversation.
Several nearby dining options kept our culinary momentum rolling.
Ken & Barb’s Grove City Kitchen delivered chef-inspired comfort food inside a lively atmosphere that felt like an episode of Cheers. We loved that bar seating arrangement choice but chose a table. Everybody seemed to know everybody there, and if they didn’t, they were pretending convincingly by dessert.
Not far away, Farlow’s-on–the-Water offered a more upscale dining experience with expertly prepared fresh Gulf seafood and polished presentations worthy of food magazine covers. It’s the type of place where you briefly consider ordering something sophisticated before realizing you’re still wearing flip flops and sunburn.
We met Keith Farlow on our visit there. He shared stories about how his fish comes to the restaurant. He shared his love for Caribbean style food and the adaptability of the chefs at the restaurant to help satisfy any menu desire for their customers. All their food is made fresh daily and the herbs in their delicious dishes are grown in a garden right there at the restaurant. You’re allowed to tour the garden! The service staff was entertaining about describing their seafood and assorted meat menu options, and cocktail beverages were not faked. Full pours of the real stuff. By the way, the Triple Tail here was delicious.
Between these restaurant stops; breakfast almost became unnecessary. The dinners alone seemed capable of fueling an entire shark tooth expedition the following morning. And did for us.
Accommodations also played a major role in the getaway success. Rental homes through Tarpon Real Estate provided spacious, hassle-free lodging perfect for families or groups of friends.
Many of these homes sit near the water and feature multiple bedrooms, private pools, peaceful surroundings, and all the comforts of home — except with palm trees and considerably better sunsets. Many of them are for sale, too, in case you had thoughts of escaping the north for all time.
That may be the greatest appeal of the Punta Gorda-Englewood area. It doesn’t try too hard. There are no giant theme parks, no overwhelming crowds, and no exhausting schedules. Instead, visitors find warm water, uncrowded beaches, excellent seafood, hidden shark teeth, tropical drinks, and enough relaxation to forget what day it is.
And honestly, if you return home with a bag full of prehistoric shark teeth and lingering dreams about grouper in lemon basil butter sauce – that sounds like a successful weekend. We made our stay a 4-night expedition, after all, how often do we do things like “go away?”
What day is it?