Matlache

Bert's Bar and Grill

Cute shop in Matlache

After taking care of laundry and some things this morning, Eldy turns to me this afternoon and say,"Wanna go somewhere?" And I say, "Sure! Where?" And he says, "Matlache"....(Mat-la-shay) and I say, "OH, YEAH!" Matlache is one of my favorite memories of Florida with my mom and sister (my mom passed away in 2008)...she lived down here in the winter with my sister and her husband at Pine Island. I would come down for a visit, and we would visit Bert's Bar and Grill and sometimes Moretti's in Matlache. These are two of our favorite restaurants on the water where we would hang out and watch the dolphins, or listen to live music. There are some other great places to hang out in Matlache and the St. James City area.....So off we went...It's just as I remembered...cute little stores with funky Florida colors...the bridge where the dolphins hang out is under major construction, so no dolphins sighted today. But we did have a great cheeseburger in paradise at Bert's and because we weren't coming back to the area, we had dessert at Moretti's (which is now the Toucan)....yum!

One of my favorite desserts

My guy, Eldy

There's some great kayaking in this area...I remember one year kayaking by myself on the last day I was visiting my sister about two years ago and I hadn't seen manatees or dolphins out in the waters despite going out two times during my stay...as I was coming back into the bay area near the bridge, I said a little prayer..."Please God, let me see just a little bit of nature today..." and I look down into the water momentarily, sighing because I hadn't seen anything, and a huge manatee is swimming along side my kayak....Holey Moley!  Then I paddle a little further, getting close to the bridge in Matlache, and darned if TWO  dolphins didn't surface and jump into the air and dive back down....THAT was really something! I'll never forget that!  No kayaking today, just some great memories revisited of my mom and Florida....Thank you, Eldy, for taking me to Matlache and making new memories with me......

Another Matlache shop