Matlacha,Florida

Matlacha is one of those funky artist colonies that defies description. It is a short section of a main road to Pine Island, not far from Fort Myers.

We stopped in at the Olde Fish House Marina that was recommended as a good fish food place. I second the motion: it was very good food with a magical ambiance.

Here are Joan and Chris reading the wall, while you can see that we are on a series of man made canals.

A somewhat better view of the restaurant patio and canal view.

I had not expected a Michigan craft beer in southern Florida, but here it was.  Not a bad tipple if you have the chance.

One of the many posters, advertisements, relics, or what have you on the restaurant walls and ceilings.

This is a view from the road. Not a place that inspires confidence...

And further back, the patio along the canal. Actually, it was a great place for lunch as the food was good, the ambiance fantastic, and the canal/marina life interesting. 

Further down the road, I came across these many funky buildings. This is a shoe store.

I can not remember what this store sold, but I liked their storefront.

This place sold dresses and had a very nice swing-set in the shade for patient husbands...

Some people may carry a colour scheme one step too far; I am sure this palm did not appreciate the pink base, but then, maybe I am not so sure...

Deep within an artist community was an art show. This little folly was in the back yard and was the studio of a lady who liked and used very bright colours...

In back of the folly was this whimsical tree house. What more could be said: it is magical.

Some artists paint their cars: what a fitting parking spot.

Further down the short strip, these trailers were available to rent overnight.

Across the water, the wealthier class had their own form of paradise.

On the other side of the road, this someone's paradise suffered from a fire and decades of neglect.

It was a fascinating strip of funkiness, with back yards on both sides that were waterfront. The unfortunate placement of this artist community, is that it is on the only road out of Pine Island, and other waterfront areas. The traffic was constant and bumper to bumper. I might add that parking was almost unavailable but we managed the last spot at the restaurant. 

By the way, this my 555th post and it has been visited 14,998 times. I hope you are enjoying it.