SURPRISING LITTLE DELIGHTS

Whether it’s an off-the-beaten-path attraction or a breakfast spot frequented only by locals, Florida is dotted with surprising little delights that yield big memories. Here are some of the state’s notto-miss experiences.

    

SOUTHEAST 

It’s called the No Name Pub, and this quirky eatery might also be the hardest to find— it lies off US Highway 1 at mile marker 30.5 bayside, down the winding road in a settlement known as No Name Key. However, its out-of-the-way location doesn’t keep people from discovering the local landmark’s world-class pizza and ramshackle decor. 

 At mile marker 50.5 bayside, Crane Point Museum and Nature Center features the Museum of Natural History of the Florida Keys, the Marathon Wild Bird Center and the historic Adderley House. Take time to wander along interpretive nature trails and seek out endangered native foliage, unusual geologic features, exotic vegetation and ancient ocean fossils. Unexpected discoveries await you in Key West, too. 

Among them is the historic, neverused Civil War-era fort called West Martello Tower, overlooking the Atlantic. It’s now headquarters for the Key West Garden Club, where beautiful indigenous plants and rare palm trees bloom against the weathered brick fort. From café Cubano to Peruvian ceviche and authentic Italian gelato, Miami Culinary Tours are about tasting delicious and authentic cuisine around this city’s historic neighborhoods. 

Tasting tours include the South Beach Food Tour, Little Havana Food Tour and Wynwood Food Tour. Water taxi tickets let you hop on and off all day along Fort Lauderdale’s world-famous waterways,for which the city is nicknamed “The Venice of America.”

SOUTHWEST

Sanibel Island is known worldwide for its shelling with more than 400 varieties found on the beaches, particularly after an especially high or low tide. The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum showcases rare shell specimens from around the world. Sanibel also offers great biking excursions along a 25-mile path, most separated from roadway by vegetation, making it a safe trail for families.

The main attraction on Captiva Island: none. That is the attraction! The natural beauty of the island attracted Anne Morrow Lindbergh who wrote her best-selling book Gift from the Sea here. Capture photo-worthy sunsets at the Mucky Duck on the north end, a popular hangout that is never short on cold beer and fresh seafood. 

Gasparilla Island is home to the sophisticated little beach town of Boca Grande where you can browse and dine in historic venues, such as a railroad depot and movie theater. Then spend the night in the grande dame

Gasparilla Inn & Club, circa 1913, a member of the Historic Hotels of America. Just north of Fort Myers, Cabbage Key is a 100-acre island, reminiscent of days gone by. 

Accessible only by boat, the Cabbage Key Inn and Restaurant, built by playwright and author Mary Roberts Rinehart in 1938, sits on an Indian shell mound 38 feet above sea level. The restaurant features cheeseburgers and the dollar bill bar where walls, beams and ceilings are plastered with dollar bills. The tradition began in 1941, when a fisherman signed and taped his last dollar to the wall so he would have money to buy a beer when he returned. 

Have you ever wanted to experience the thrill of the flying trapeze? Tito Gaona’s Flying Trapeze Academy & Flying Fantasy Circus in Venice offers classes for adults and children. Similarly, Circus Sarasota delivers incredible family entertainment with year-round performances while its Sailor Circus Academy, ubbed The Greatest “Little” Show on Earth, features scheduled events in which fourth to 12th-grade students exhibit their talents to soldout audiences. 

Sarasota’s Myakka River State Park offers unmatched opportunities to watch and photograph wildlife habitats ranging from prairie and pinelands to wetlands. Visitors enjoy hiking, fishing, camping and kayaking through dense mangroves.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens presents a stunning tropical conservatory where unusual flora can be viewed year-round. The gardens are dedicated to research and collections of epiphytes, especially orchids and bromeliads.

Few realize the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the state art museum, located in Sarasota. The institution offers 31 galleries featuring the works of old masters and modern visionaries. The Ringling property (including