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From historic St. Augustine to the beaches of Captiva Island, Florida offers plenty of getaways for lovers. Romantic Florida getaways
By KAREN HAYMON LONG of The Tampa Tribune
Florida exudes romance with its famous salmon sunsets, bountiful water, shell-strewn beaches and wide array of places to stay and eat.
Of course, romance can bloom anyplace. But Florida has long been a special lure to couples in love.
To help couples plan for romantic getaways on Valentine's Day, a Saturday this year, or on any other weekend, today we focus on five Florida escapes famous for romance: Sanibel and Captiva islands, St. Pete Beach, Cedar Key, Mount Dora and St. Augustine.
Each is romantic in its own special way.
Sanibel/Captiva
The ride over the long causeway bridge to Lee County's Sanibel and Captiva islands hints of the beauty to come. Water here is green-blue and dotted with fishing boats and sailing sloops.
Canopy trees line the way past a playhouse, small shops and a wildlife refuge. Paved paths along the main roads provide scenic routes for couples on tandem bicycles.
No place is far from the beaches, known far and wide as among the world's best for finding shells.
Marianne Haugen, who moved from North Dakota to Sanibel 10 years ago, thinks her new hometown is one of the most romantic places in the world. She says its tropical lushness, its sea grape bushes, bougainvilleas, red and lavender poinsettia trees, Japanese orchids and the fragrant frangipani all reek romance.
Couples come here from all over the world to walk on the beaches, take sunset cruises and canoe rides, splurge on romantic dinners and play golf together. They stroll through the J.N. ``Ding'' Darling Wildlife Refuge to look for great blue herons, egrets, osprey and roseate spoonbills. They have candlelight dinners at Jean-Paul, a French restaurant on Sanibel, at Bellini's on Captiva or at one of the area's many other restaurants.
Haugen, who works for the Sanibel-Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce, says thousands of couples a year get married and spend their honeymoons here. They exchange vows aboard boats, in the gazebos at city hall or at the Casa Ybel Resort. Some get married in the Chapel by the Sea, a picture-postcard clapboard church in Captiva with a view of the sea.
But, mostly, they get married on the beach, often at sunset.
Joe Flint, clerk of the Circuit Court of Glades County, says he would make the almost two-hour drive from his house just to walk on the beach at sunset and have dinner at one of the romantic restaurants, then drinks after dinner at one of the local pubs.
He says there's romance in the waterfront, the relaxing ambiance, the well-preserved natural beauty.
``It is a very scenic drive across the causeway, down the boulevard, with the canopy trees, the native vegetation,'' he says. ``It sets the mood.''
Renee Lynch, finance director for the city of Sanibel, likes to go boating off Sanibel with her boyfriend and to South Seas Plantation Resort in Captiva to play golf or for dinner at Chadwick's.
South Seas, another favorite for weddings and honeymoons, is a great place to watch sunsets over Red Fish Pass and the Gulf of Mexico. Captiva Cruises offers sunset, dinner and champagne cruises, as well as dolphin-watching trips.
Other romantic places to stay, according to locals: Song of the Sea, West Wind Inn and Sundial Beach and Tennis Resort in Sanibel.
St. Pete Beach
You can see the Don CeSar Beach Resort & Spa from the Sunshine Skyway. You can see it from the sky in a small airplane. You can see it before you get to it from the Pinellas Bayway.Built during the Roaring '20s, the majestic citadel looks out over the Gulf like a giant pink wedding cake.
Couples from all over the world come here to be married in the outdoor courtyard or inside in one of the hotel's elegant rooms. About 250 wedding receptions and 100 weddings are held here every year.
What draws them?
``The sunsets, the sand dunes, the fresh air, all the waves,'' says Susan Phillips, director of hotel sales, her voice trailing off.
``Couples like to have breakfast by the pool in the morning after a walk on the beach, then have dinner outside in Sunsets Lounge at sunset,'' she says.
Another allure is the Don's romantic history. Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald came here to dance. President Clinton, Babe Ruth, Elton John, Lauren Bacall and Rod Stewart are among the rich or famous who have stayed and played at the Don.
Its reputation for good service lures some couples. The resort won Mobil's Four-Star rating, a distinction given to only 20 hotels in Florida. It's also a AAA Four-Diamond Resort.
Besides dining and walking on the beach, couples can have massages together in the resort's spa. They can take sunset or dolphin-watching cruises. They can even take dance lessons together in the resort's dance studio, something many engaged couples do before their weddings at the Don.
The resort offers a special package for couples, featuring a three-night, four-day stay, a bottle of champagne, two souvenir champagne glasses, a sunset or dolphin cruise and breakfast and dinner for two in the resort's Sea Porch Cafe. Cost is $1,139 from Feb. 1 through April; $994 in May; and $834 from June 1 to Sept. 30.
Phillips says the resort is nearly booked for Valentine's Day.
Cedar Key
A long time ago, Cedar Key, a tiny hamlet on the Gulf in Levy County, was known for its pencil factory. It's gone now, victim to a dwindling number of cedar trees. But something so much nicer has taken its place.
Tribune photo/Fred Fox This town of 700 is becoming increasingly known as a quiet place to have a romantic lunch or dinner, to take a boat ride out to the barrier islands, to fish from the city pier, to walk through the sleepy streets.
Judy Johnson, a notary who works for the Cedar Key Area Chamber of Commerce, has performed many wedding ceremonies on the beach and in the City Park gazebo. She says couples get married in boats off the coast and in airplanes overhead.
Lots of couples fly in and land at the town airstrip just to have lunch in one of the hamlet's 13 restaurants. Lester Ridgeway and Ray Howard pick them up in an old Checker taxi, drop them off for lunch, shopping or fishing, then ferry them back to their planes.
It's not unusual for 100 planes to fly in over a weekend, Howard says.
Johnson says Cedar Key has all kinds of good restaurants, from home cooking at Annie's and the Cook's Cafe to five-star gourmet dining at the Island Hotel Restaurant.
Cedar Key also has romantic places to stay, she says, mentioning the Island Hotel, Island Place and the Old Fenimore Mill. The chamber mails out a list of lodging and places to eat.
Johnson focuses on water and sunsets when she recommends romantic things to do here.
``A lot of people like to go out to the barrier islands and to the Lower Suwannee/Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge,'' she says. ``They rent boats or kayaks, or take the Island Hopper, or they go out with a guide.''
The Island Hopper, a tri-hull boat, takes visitors on sunset cruises in the Gulf.
``Sunsets are gorgeous here,'' Johnson says. ``Sometimes, they're orange and pink, just unbelievable. I'm a sunset freak. I've seen sunsets in a lot of different places, and Cedar Key is just wonderful for sunsets.''
Mount Dora
Mount Dora, in Lake County near Leesburg, casts a watery spell on couples, too. At its heart is Lake Dora, dotted with parks, boardwalk paths, a lighthouse and the Lakeside Inn, a historical hotel that's a favorite among sweethearts.Sometimes four weddings a weekend are performed at the inn, in the lakeside gazebo, in tents on the lawn or in the hotel, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Brides often ask for Room 126, because they can walk downstairs straight to the gazebo. The room has a lake view from its bay window, wood floors and a king-size bed. Like all the rooms, it has Victorian furnishings that hint of romance.
Darst Victorian Manor, one of 10 bed-and-breakfast inns in Mount Dora, is another favorite among couples. It's only five years old, but was built to look like a Victorian home.
The town's many historical homes, some looking out over Lake Dora, are all part of its romantic lure. Some were built in the late 1800s, others in the '20s. Visitors can see many on walking tours. The chamber gives out free maps.
Antique shopping is a favorite pastime for visiting couples. Downtown streets are lined with fine antique shops. Just southeast of downtown, Renniger's Antique Center and Farmers and Flea Market offers one of the largest selections of antiques and collectibles in the state.
The town also has some good restaurants for romantic rendezvous. Among them: Beauclaire Restaurant at the Lakeside Inn, Chiraz in Sunset Square, the Park Bench, the Gables and Goblin Market.
Mary McCormick, a volunteer at the Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce, says couples like to ride in a white carriage pulled by Clydesdale horses through downtown. And they enjoy boat rides on Lake Dora.
She says Scott Alderman treats his passengers to sunset cruises on the lake in his boat, the Rusty Anchor. ``He's in place just as the sun drops behind the horizon, so no trees block the view,'' she says. ``It's lovely.''
St. Augustine
Maybe because it is our nation's oldest city. Or maybe because of the sea breezes, or the cobblestone streets, or its many heralded restaurants, St. Augustine is usually always mentioned among Florida's romantic cities.Historic buildings - with a fort dating to the 17th century - are centered in Old Town, home to the nation's oldest schoolhouse, Florida's oldest house, dozens of restaurants and 24 bed-and-breakfast inns, some in century-old homes.
Here, amid lush trees and horse-drawn carriages, couples can browse through shops and art galleries and stroll over the Bridge of Lions that spans the Matanzas River.
``We have so many romantic spots,'' says an exuberant Charlu Reigle, who lives by the fort. ``The whole bayfront historic area is all lit up at night with millions of tiny white lights. It looks like a tinsel town.''
Reigle is tourism publicity manager for the St. Johns County Visitors and Convention Bureau. But she sounds like she would be enthusiastic about St. Augustine even if she wasn't paid to praise it.
`` It is a fabulous walking town,'' says Reigle. ``Aviles is a narrow, brick-lined street built for horse and carriage. It's lined with art galleries and antique shops. It is so romantic, but the whole town is full of romantic streets.''
Her favorite romantic spot is the Nombre de Dios Mission, the site where Don Pedro Menendez landed to settle St. Augustine as the first city in the United States in 1565. A little chapel sits in the woods on the grounds, close to walking trails and squirrels so friendly they eat out of your hand.
It's a popular place for weddings, as are the picnic grounds around the oldest house, a coquina structure built in 1727.
For romantic dinners, Reigle recommends the balcony of O.C. White's; Harry's Seafood Restaurant, where diners can eat under trees in the lushly landscaped courtyard; Scarlet O'Hara's, popular for its dining porch and oyster bar; Villa Santa Monica, an Italian restaurant across from the mission; Le Pavillon, known for excellent European cuisine; and the Raintree, in a Victorian house with a lovely courtyard.
``We have the most incredible restaurants for a town our size,'' Reigle says. ``They're on every block, mainly because we have the Southeast Culinary Institute here. People joke that if the institute had a reunion, most of the restaurants in town would have to close down that day.''
