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Pine Island: Like No Other

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By KAREN HAYMON LONG

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 11, 2008

PINE ISLAND - Palm tree farms still flourish here, a miracle of sorts in a state rapidly losing farmland to megamansions, strip centers and sprawling subdivisions.

Locals worry about more development, even though many moved here from someplace else themselves. But for the most part, this island hasn't had the upscale growth spurt seen in Boca Grande and Sanibel and Captiva islands to the west.

That doesn't mean prices haven't skyrocketed amid all this watery beauty.

As a hand-painted sign in an island art gallery laments a la Jimmy Buffett: "Parrotdise ain't Cheap."

One salesclerk, who moved south from a Kentucky farm, says home prices on this Lee County island are so steep, she could sell her entire farm back home and still not be able to buy a house here.

Wouldn't Trade It For The World

Others, such as artist Leoma Lovegrove, who moved here from Naples 10 years ago, can't imagine living or painting anywhere else. She paints from 3 to 9 in the morning in a colorful studio in the community of Matlacha on the island. Her husband writes about Jesus and prophecy in a tiny, pink waterfront studio.

"The birds, the breeze, the smell of the salt, the crushed shelled paths and the way the sun hits the palms at different times of the day make this a very special place," says Lovegrove, vying for the title of Mango Queen at the area's MangoMania festival July 15 and 16. "It's home. There is nowhere else I would rather be."

Her colorful paintings of fish and pelicans sell in the Matlacha Art Gallery next door to her studio, along with coconuts she paints with such sayings as "80 today. Sunny Tomorrow. Pine Island, Florida."

The art gallery sits among several shops, galleries, restaurants and a few inns along Pine Island Road, the main drag in Matlacha (pronounced Mat-la-shay), one of several communities on the island.

Many storefronts are painted turquoise, pink, green or yellow to match the sunny, friendly spirit of the place. Some telephone poles are even adorned with colorful scenes of palm trees, oranges, owls, raccoons and other Florida critters.

Painted poles extend down Stringfellow Road heading north toward Pineland, home to the Tarpon Lodge, and to Bokeelia (Bo-keel-ya), anchored by a long pier and attractive Key West-style town houses, some for sale for more than a million dollars.

A ferry leaves Bokeelia to head to the island of Useppa, an oasis of high-priced homes accessible only by boat, seaplane or helicopter.

There's A Sandpiper Drive, Too

Street names along Stringfellow Road allude to the island's main draw: Trout Road, Mackerel Road, Sea Bass Road, Porpoise Road, Sailfish Road, Birdsong Lane. All lead toward roadside fields of tightly packed palms, potted palmettos and other trees and shrubs, along with nurseries growing mangoes, pineapples, papayas, lychees, loquats and other tropical fruit.

Tarpon rule at the Tarpon Lodge in Pineland, known for its friendly lounge, waterfront rooms and restaurant specializing in crab cakes, grouper, steaks and other tasty meals. A mounted tarpon stretches across one wall of the glass-enclosed dining porch. Another hangs above the fireplace in the lounge. They decorate the lodge's T-shirts and hats, too.

Many diners arrive by boats they can tie up to slips. Others drive to the lodge, a popular place for outdoor weddings with sunset views.

The Waterfront, another popular restaurant accessible by boat, anchors St. James City, a community at the south end of this 17-mile- long island. Like the Tarpon Lodge's restaurant, The Waterfront's chefs will cook the fish brought in by anglers.

Many come to Pine Island to fish for tarpon, reds, snook and trout, plentiful in the waters off the island and in the nearby Gulf. Others come to eat the seafood, to shop in Matlacha, to stroll along the quiet streets of Bokeelia, or to have dinner and drinks at the Tarpon Lodge.

On a recent Saturday evening at the lodge restaurant, a man gazed out toward the sunset and announced to his tablemates: "Life is good on Pine Island."

His friend answered without skipping a beat: "How could it not be?"

PINE ISLAND

HOW TO GET THERE: Pine Island is about 135 miles from Tampa. We took Interstate 75 south to Tucker's Grade Exit, headed west and turned left, or south, on State Road 41. Then we turned right at State Road 78, which leads west onto the island. The trip takes nearly three hours, depending on traffic.

WHERE TO STAY: Tarpon Lodge Sportsman Inn, Restaurant and Bar, 13771 Waterfront Drive, Pineland. From May 1 through Oct. 31, nightly rates range from $85 to $210; Nov. 1 through Jan. 31, they run from $95 to $215; and from Feb. 1 to April 30, they run from $99 to $225.

For information, call (239) 283-3999, or go to www.tarponlodge.com.

INFORMATION: For more on Pine Island, go to www.pineislandfl.com/.

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