Blog

Hitting the right notes on Florida’s barrier islands

Posted on March 2, 2018
By Sherri Haigh, Special to the Star
Cabbage Key, Reviews, Tarpon Lodge

Waterfront silhouette of musician Clint Daniels playing guitar at sunset.

Musician Clint Daniels performed at many venues during the 2017 Island Hopper Songwriter Fest.

Cruise into quirky traditions, favourite dishes

Money may not grow on trees, but it sure looks like it grows on walls at the Cabbage Key Inn.

It’s estimated that visitors have taped thousands of autographed dollar bills on the walls of the restaurant and bar on the private island of Cabbage Key, located inside the chain of barrier islands that include Sanibel and Captiva. Ask for a marker and tape, and join the list of personalities — including ex-presidents and celebrities including actors Julia Roberts and Kevin Costner — who have posted signed bills.

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Cabbage Key: The Best of the Gulfshore 2018 Award Finalist

Posted on February 28, 2018
By Cabbage Key Inn and Restaurant
Awards

Great news! Cabbage Key has been selected as a finalist in Gulfshore Life’s “Best of the Gulfshore” 2018 Awards for BEST Boat Access Restaurant. Thank you to all who voted!


The Best Places to Visit in March

Posted on February 14, 2018
By Mark Ellwood, Condé Nast Traveler
Cabbage Key, Cayo Costa

Aerial view of Cayo Costa State Park: Getty 87615746

This month is Spring Training season, when MLB teams, quite literally, warm up, with the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues of Arizona and Florida. The best base for the latter contest this year is Fort Myers, where the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins each take up temporary residence for a few weeks. The Twins will play at Hammond Stadium, while the newer JetBlue Park is a home away from home for the Sox—it even has a counterpart in left field to Fenway’s notorious Green Monster. Games run here through March 25: a standout, of course, will be the face-off between the Yankees and the Sox on March 3. If you don’t want to spend every day at the ball game, the barrier sand spits here are ideal for island hopping, whether you head for the car-free Cabbage Key or the Cayo Costa state park, with its nine miles of untouched beaches.

Getty

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Keys to the backwaters: a coastal Florida road trip

Posted on January 27, 2018
By Tim Dorsey, The Guardian
Cabbage Key, Pine Island, Tarpon Lodge

Away from the overcooked theme parks, there’s a calmer side to the Sunshine State, in tune with the ocean and vast wetlands.

Florida author Tim Dorsey takes us on a tour of remote outposts where small town life still flourishes.

To say that Florida has a mixed reputation is like saying my president occasionally utters unusual sentences. We have packs of tourists wandering the mega-theme parks of greater Orlando like flocks of flightless birds; locust swarms of spring breakers funnelling beers in Panama City before leaving motel rooms looking as if The Who had stayed; and supermodels weighted down with bling filming commercials on Miami Beach.

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Experience a Legendary Island Getaway on Cabbage Key in Florida

Posted on November 28, 2017
By Charity De Souza, Trips to Discover
Cabbage Key Inn Reviews, Cayo Costa

Nature lovers looking to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life can pack their sunnies and flip flops and explore one of Florida’s best-kept secrets: Cabbage Key. Only accessible by boat, this island’s Old Florida ambiance combines the allure of boat excursions and secluded natural beaches with a famous dollar-bill bar.

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Finding Florida’s best places to eat and drink

Posted on July 10, 2017
By Michael Fitzpatrick, Manchester Evening News
Cabbage Key, Captiva, Fort Myers, Reviews, Sanibel

The burger at Cabbage Key restaurant

The burger at Cabbage Key restaurant

A tour of the American state with your appetite in mind

On a food and drink tour of Florida you might think enjoying a burger isn’t very adventurous. There are countless joints here in Manchester to get your beef-fix – but this was no ordinary burger.

Before sinking my teeth into this American classic I’d enjoyed a boat trip across the south west Florida ocean, accompanied by family of dolphins for part of the hour-long cruise, before docking at an island that despite its unassuming name, can only be described as paradise.

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Manhattan to Margaritaville

Posted on March 22, 2017
By Guest Blogger, Emily Ershowsky, NYC
Recreation, Restaurant Reviews

As I sit inside on another cold winter day, with two-foot snow mounds lining all New York City streets, I find myself sharing my photos from last weekend with yet another coworker.

Every time I visit my parents in Southwest Florida, where I still consider “home” after all these years, I look for ways to be a tourist in my own city. A discoverer. An explorer. After hearing recommendation after rave recommendation about Cabbage Key, I knew I had to find a way to get there.

One sunny Florida day after another. Friday morning arrives, we hop in the car and head to Tarpon Lodge in Pineland. A historic, old Florida home greets us with the most gorgeous view of the Gulf. Our guide for the day is co-owner of Tarpon Lodge, Rob Wells, a friendly face and an interesting background growing up on Cabbage Key taking a boat to school every day.

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Jan & Kevin Wolf: Taking time to enjoy friends, family…and frogs

Posted on October 17, 2016
By The Cabbage Key Family, Cabbage Key, Cabbage Key Island, Florida
Cabbage Key, Guest Stories, Recreation, Reviews

One of the greatest rewards of being part of a family-owned resort community is getting to know our guests, especially those who come back time and again.

Jan and Kevin Wolf are the perfect example: kind, generous, fun people who have themselves become members of our wonderful extended Cabbage Key family. They are a fabulous couple, high school sweethearts, who have been married for more than 30 years and have four grown children. They bought a new boat a few years ago, and now that the “soccer” years are over, they have a bit more time to spend with us. We had a chance to hear from Jan recently about why she and Kevin enjoy their overnight stays at Cabbage Key, and of course, we had to share:

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Star-filled nights, sun-lit days at Cabbage Key

Posted on September 21, 2016
Cabbage Key, Cabbage Key Inn Reviews, Fishing & Boating, Fort Myers, Interviews

A conversation with Fort Myers attorney and author John D. Mills

One of our favorite things about working at a family-owned island resort is getting to know our guests, even becoming lifelong friends with many of them. Take, for example, John D. Mills, a Fort Myers attorney and author of six legal thriller novels. A fifth generation local, John has been coming to our neck of the waters since he was a toddler. The Mills family fishing shack, burnt down in 1995, is a source of John’s fondest memories and how he got to know all of us at Cabbage Key. Our island cottages remind him of those childhood days and keep him coming back to us at least four weekends per year. Plus, he participates in two of our annual fishing tournaments – so we get to see him quite often.

We sat down with John to learn more about him and what he likes best about Cabbage Key. He was generous with his time, and with his interesting stories. In his own words:

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