Anna Maria Island Adventures

The best key lime pie is not on Anna Maria Island ; I'm sorry to disappoint you. The best is found just over the bridge from AMI on Longboat Key at Whitney's Cafe . It used to be a gas station -- that was an iconic landmark for the folks on Longboat Key -- and refurbished into one of the trendiest cafes on the island with indoor and outdoor seating. It has since changed management and the new owners developed the best key lime pie -- ever! Its triple layers feed three people, so just ask for three forks! It has a yummy graham cracker crust, luscious key lime filling, topped with whipping cream and white chocolate shavings. Life is short, so eat dessert first! On the weekends, Whitney's Cafe serves brunch and has live music outside, which is a great place to bring guests when they visit. And right across the street, of course, is our favorite beach -- Whitney. There's plenty of parking at the restaurant and it even has an outdoor shower to wash the sand off before you...

People ask me all the time, "When is the best time to visit Anna Maria Island ?" Fall, of course! Today is the first day of fall and the temps have dropped into the high 80's! Smile. The water is warm and calm; the tourists have gone; the snowbirds aren't back yet and so we have the island to ourselves. Now until the second week of October we can reclaim our space and enjoy the beach without the crowds.  Our favorite beach is actually just over the bridge from Coquina Beach; it's Whitney Beach on Longboat Key . There are many public beaches on Longboat Key and I'll be discussing all of them in future posts, but this one is our favorite because of the shelling, no crowds (ever) and it's basically like a deserted "island." This summer it underwent beach restoration, which actually made it bigger and longer. No more Beer Can Island . Its peninsula now looks like Bean Point on AMI ; you can see sunrise and sunset. The other half of the island rem...