What should I do? Ft. Myers - Day 2 - Naples

It rained overnight and is overcast now. Bummer. I seem to bring precipitation where ever I go on my vacations (it rained in the desert in Israel, it's raining here). So I'll have to find something I can do that doesn't require lots of sunshine.

So after a lazy morning I decided to drive to Naples. I took a scenic drive, through Fort Myers Beach. Little touristy shops, restaurants, hotels, and motels dotted the way.

In Naples, I stumbled upon a seafood shop which also happened to make something out of their fresh catch (Captain Kirk's Stone Crabs Fresh Seafood Market). The very friendly lady at the counter was very helpful in explaining the choices and letting me know that they catch their own seafood every morning. I saw no tourist anywhere in sight and was encouraged by the constant stream of locals some who purchased the fresh catch and some who had lunch. I ordered seafood bisque and seafood salad. It was the silkiest, tastiest bisque and the seafood was so fresh it was sweet. I lingered over the soup and salad for about an hour. It was a very leisurely lunch as I sat there eating my food and reading my book.

I then decided it was time to go exploring and went to the botanical gardens. The gardens are very lovely and quite serene. There is a butterfly pavilion and an area for kids to play and explore. The rest of the gardens offer a variety of designs and the sculptures are very cute.


For dinner I decided to drive to Fort Myers Beach since it has more dining options that the area around my hotel. The restaurant for this evening was Yucatan Beach Stand Bar Grill. It has a vibrant island atmosphere (though I'm not sure which island it's supposed to be), and the food was pretty good. I came back to this restaurant another day for the same dish and was not disappointed. I've gotten into the habit of asking the locals, wait staff specifically, what they'd recommend and why. If it sounds good, then I'll order it; if not, I'll keep looking. More often that not, this strategy pays off really well. This case was no exception.
The waitress recommended the Pompano and it was grilled to perfection. I wonder how to recreate it at home. My fish always sticks to the grill, of any variety, but this was perfection on a plate; with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. So good! And I didn't feel too guilty since it was fish and veggies. Oh, and the restaurant had live music every time I was there. Not great music (there are only so many times I can listen to a Jimmy Buffet song), but it was live entertainment.