Bucko's World

Tuesday 11th

Following the long drive yesterday we decide to have a quiet day having a looksie at what  Ft Myers Beach has to offer.  So we set off at our leisure for a stroll along the beach to the Pier, where all the main attractions of the area are located (for attractions read Bars and Restaurants).   And there are lots of them.  It really does feel a little bit like being in one of our favourite Greek resorts where everything worth seeing is a flip flops throw away, with all the best eateries, drinking holes and tat souvenir shops packed cheek by jowl.  Every bar seems to have live music all day, and the menus on offer would give any supposedly posh gaff back home a run for their money.  Factor in that you can walk in to any of them straight from the beach in cheap sunnies and budgie smugglers and they're all on to a winner with me...

So having got all the way to the pier, we are particularly selective about about where we pick to have lunch.  Pointing to the the bar practically under the pier Lisa says "There?"  I say "OK".  And so we find ourselves seated in The Beach Pierside and Blowfish Bar, drinking Sam Adams Summer Ale and perusing a menu that quite frankly belies the slightly shabby (in a good way) exterior of the building.  There is of course every sort of burger the size of your head available, but the fish, and "shrimp", selection would put most places in the UK to shame.  Thinking we we're making a "diet"choice, and both only considering the British connotation of the word Shrimp, we order the eponymous  Tacos with "chips" (American chips that is, i.e. a packet of Walkers Ready Salted comes to mind...)

What turns up beggars belief.  If you were to shell a 1lb lobster and wrap it in a 14 inch taco with lettuce, tomato, Thousand Island dressing and a touch of celery to be going on with, you'd still not quite get how big this "lite lunch" is.  As you all know I have a big gob, but honestly, there is no way I can pick this taco up and eat it, even cut in half.  It seems that to an American, a shrimp is everything from a Dublin Bay prawn via a Tiger to a langoustine.  But I'm still convinced my Taco is mainly Lobster, and it is wonderful.  And it cost $8.00.  Seriously, fuck off.  I have a feeling that we'll be back here sometime soon..

Interestingly, while we are making merry with ginormo-tacos and frosty beers mugs, we get chatting to a waitress about how the outdoor seating area isn't covered over (there is a bit of a problem with birds dive bombing guests' food..) and she tells us that because the weather can change "in the blink of an eye" they only have umbrellas so they can pull 'em down quick if the weather changes.  Sage words as we're soon witness to some amazing meteorological conditions a mere 90 minutes later...

Following our unbelievably good lunch and a quick scoot round Ft Myers eating area, we're ensconced on our balcony with a nice Robert Mondavi Pinot Grigio and a book for Lisa, and a blogging ready iPad for me.  We're gazing out to sea when, from seemingly nowhere, a huge sand storm passes down the beach, and as we look down on the pool area of our hotel, it's as if an invisible hand has borne down from on high and swept all the sun beds and umbrellas up and over the fence round the pool and on to the beach.  It's an incredible demonstration of the power of nature and unfortunately one young lady is caught by a flying sun bed and ends up hauled away in a neck brace by an incredibly efficient ambulance team, who turn up in within a couple of minutes of the whole shocking scenario unfolding.

The evening following such drama can never live up to the events earlier in the day and although we should no better we make the mistake of choosing a bar/restaurant for dinner based on how popular it seemed at lunchtime, rather than checking if it was any good...
And so we end up in the Yucatan Bar and Grill, which, on the surface looks like a great gaff to have a beer and a meal in.  And it is, except, well, I can't quite put my finger on it.  Partly it's the fact that there is no proper air conditioning, just HUGE fans blasting you in the face as you try to sit there and enjoy your evening, making normal conversation impossible and your food go cold, and partly it's the staff who for the first time in all my visits to Florida (now seven if I can count correctly) seem completely uninterested in providing a level of service we've come to expect here.  To be fair the food is superb, and the Yucatan Red beer is sublime, but, well, something just doesn't click.  Neither of us can put a finger on it but the whole experience is not quite up to scratch.  Hmmm...

So, with a long day planned for tomorrow we head off to bed hoping that dining in Ft Myers has more to offer than our first night has shown........