Florida Beach Getaways 2008

dress of comedian Phyllis Diller along with the original Howdy Doody. Its gift shop, complete with Three Stooges, Gomer Pyle and Marx Brothers merchandise, has all manner of kid-friendly road-trip gags that parents appreciate for their ability to keep the back seat occupied. Although party boats still run daily ﬁshing excursions, there are plenty of other opportunities for families that want to get out on the water. Dolphin-watching and shell-hunting excursions are popular, as are pirate cruises and a nighttime haunted cruise. Casino cruises cater to visitors who are feeling lucky. When it comes to accommodations, you can still ﬁnd retro beach lodging like the Schooner Motel and the Beach Flower, which take you back to the days when Mary Ann wore midriffs and pigtails. tages of Park Circle Bed & Breakfast, both across the street from the Gulf on North Redington Beach. They may not serve their drinks in coconuts at the Key West-style Conch Republic Grill & Raw Bar, but the libations ﬂow and the crew is entertaining. If upscale dining is your priority, try the Wine Cellar, a traditional restaurant known for its gourmet menu. Wells loves to cook (and often catches her dinner) but when she does eat out, one of her favorite restaurants, the Lobster Pot, is just down the road from her teal beach cottage in Redington Shores. Her home is within walking distance of the locals’ ﬁshing spot, the Redington Long Pier. Nachman’s Native Seafood & Marina, a family-owned restaurant on the docks, serves up fresh ﬁsh at its own restaurant and provides fresh-caught ﬁsh to many other restaurants in the area. Visitors who have kitchenettes and want to cook local ﬁsh can check out the offerings at the family’s ﬁsh house. Winding north through Indian Shores and Indian Rocks Beach, the island narrows to a spit of land, with the Intracoastal Waterway hugging one side of the road and the Gulf visible on the other. Life is slower here, and the weathered bungalows and small motels that have been mainstays here illustrate what most of these beaches were like when Wells moved here in the early 1970s. No high-rises are allowed on Indian Rocks Beach, making it possible for smaller hotels to survive. The Great Heron Inn and Sun Burst Inn are the kind of (good) kitschy mom-and-pop places that harken back to the days when Gilligan’s Island was ﬁlmed. With fewer than 20 rooms each, they John’s Pass Marina are mid-century gems with efﬁciencies opening up to a central courtyard and pool. If you’re looking for something modern with that same open, Old-Florida style, check out the Colonial Court Inn. Wells wasn’t the ﬁrst celebrity to set foot on Sand Key. In the 1950s, newlyweds Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio vacationed at the former Tides Hotel and Bath Club on North Redington Beach. That resort, developed by Charles Redington, put the Redingtons on the map, drawing the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and Ronald Reagan, as well as baseball legend Babe Ruth, who had spring training in St. Petersburg. The triplet towns, Redington Beach, North Redington Beach and Redington Shores, make up a four-mile stretch along Gulf Boulevard and are small enough that you might miss one. The sleepiest sibling, Redington Beach (the original Redington), remains primarily residential. Restaurants, motels and the Doubletree Beach Resort are just steps north in the busier North Redington Beach. For those who prefer an Old Florida lodging experience, there are two options -- the Malibu Resort Motel, which allows pets, and the 1940s-style cotPerhaps no place on the beach embodies the live-and-letlive spirit of the place more than Mahuffer’s, an eclectic bar on Indian Shores, where resident cats sleep in overhead ﬁsh nets and a table top rests on a snowmobile. You may ﬁnd scruffy, grey-haired Sloppy John, as John Susor likes to call himself, inside at the bar, where you are required to tip the bartender every time you swear. Susor, a ﬁxture on Indian Shores for decades, sells videos of himself and his eclectic home decorated with recycled mementos (he lives on the property). Since losing a race for mayor by a few votes in 1998, Susor has been battling with the man who won. You can read about them in the newspaper articles plastered on the bar’s walls. Look for the colorful old car with a makeshift canopy parked out front. At the other end of the spectrum, the ﬁre-grilled seafood at the Salt Rock Grill on Indian Shores qualiﬁes it as one of the best high-end dinner spots in the Tampa Bay area. Beach Getaways 25

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Florida Beach Getaways 2008

Florida Beach Getaways 2008 Contents Shorts: Sea Schools, Beach Events Travel File: Boat Tours Books: On the Water Deals: Seasonal Florida List: Lifeguard Stands Water: St. Lucie Inlet Key Biscayne Redington Beach Others: Ad Index Others: Florida Map Looking Back: Casinos

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