Pine Island

Mango Run – A Summer Tradition

July 17, 2010

We made another run to Pine Island today for mangoes. It’s a tradition I started nearly 20 years ago. A new fruit stand has opened for business in a grove I’ve been driving past for years. Instead of wholesaling their mangoes this year they decided to open a retail stand on their property. Today they [...]

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Jug Creek Cottages–Pine Island, Florida

August 29, 2009

Jug Creek Cottages on Pine Island from David McRee on Vimeo. Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com. A few months ago I was on Pine Island for a couple of days to shoot a video for VISIT FLORIDA about the trip out to Cayo Costa Island State Park and Cabbage Key aboard the Tropic Star. [...]

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Star Rush (Dichromena colorata) Blooms on Pine Island

July 6, 2009

I often see the beautiful little star rush plants growing near roadside drainage ditches in places where it is difficult to stop and have a closer look at them. I came upon this impressive showing on Pine Island, a couple of blocks from the Pineland Marina and was able to stop the car and have [...]

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Ospreys Rule the Coast

July 5, 2009

Osprey photo by David McRee of BlogTheBeach.com

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Pine Island Fruit Market for Home Grown Tropical Fruit

June 19, 2009

By David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com We drove down to Pine Island today in search of my favorite fruit: ripe mangoes. We hit the jackpot! We also bought 4 pounds of lychees and a couple of medium-sized sapodillas. If you don’t know what those are, I’ll cover them in another blog post in the next week [...]

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Great Service at Sandy Hook Fish and Rib House

May 26, 2009

By David McRee of BlogTheBeach.com It’s amazing what giving really great service can do for a business. Customer loyalty is the number one benefit. After a long hot day on Cabbage Key and Cayo Costa Island State Park, I was starving. First I stopped at the Lazy Flamingo (one of my favorite restaurants in Bokeelia), [...]

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Grandma Thwarts Road Rage on Pine Island

May 7, 2009

By David McRee of BlogTheBeach.com. Did you catch the big news from Matlacha and Pine Island? Here’s the video: http://www.fox4now.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=3733915&h1=Granny%20gets%20her%20Glock&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=124333&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&rnd=98512296 Here’s the story: http://www.fox4now.com/Global/story.asp?S=10317894 It goes like this. Grandma and Grandpa pull out of the Sandy Hook Fish House in Matlacha onto Pine Island Road. A carload of young whipper-snappers pulls up behind them and [...]

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A Quiet Walk Among Gumbo Limbos

December 19, 2008

A Quiet Walk Among Calusa Indian Middens and Gumbo Limbo Trees from David McRee on Vimeo. For a long time I’ve been driving past Randell Research Center on Pine Island, FL on my way to other places. When the weather and the moon conspired to ruin my plans for a trip to Cayo Costa, I [...]

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Tracking the Elusive Shells of Charlotte Harbor

December 16, 2008

If you’ve been following this blog for the last few days, you’ll know that an unusually low tide hampered my ability to get to Cayo Costa Island State Park from Pine Island on Saturday December 13. However, I did manage to spend a few minutes hunting for shells in the exposed mud next to the [...]

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Ospreys and Hawks Everywhere on Pine Island

December 14, 2008

Everywhere you look on Pine Island you’ll see an osprey. Often they are carrying a fish. Sometimes they lose their grip on the fish. It is not unusual for fish to fall out of the sky when ospreys are around. I think ospreys have a preference for certain types of fish, and are inclined to [...]

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