Lovers Key State Park, near Ft Meyers, Florida. Love at first sight…

Beaches

Lovers Key is a 2.5-mile stretch of beautiful beach. along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico. It was selected as the #4 beach in Florida by the Travel Channel. A courtesy tram is available to the south beach where a gazebo, restroom and picnic area are located. A beautiful walk over two bridges takes you to the mid portion of the beach, which is left natural, with no facilities. The north beach is accessible through the north honor gate at Big Carlos Pass. We suggest you explore all three areas of the beach and discover their unique attributes.

Old friend and former Nortel colleague Dan Gillenwater, who now resides in Ft. Meyers, Florida, recommended this isolated beach to us yesterday.  We were not disappointed!  Turtles are highly protected in this area.   The “Lovers Key” name appears to come from the turtles because of the natural habitat and huge mating season that attracts sea turtles from all over the world…  I made this up…  Turtles are protected in Lovers Key State Park.  But when access was by boat only long ago, this was an ideal place for “lovers” to escape to the romance and privacy of this very isolated and beautiful area.  As legend would have it, the name “Lovers Key” was born… 

We met Dan at the Lazy Flamingo http://www.lazyflamingo.com/ later in the day for a long awaited reunion.  Dan and I have been connecting on Facebook for a couple of years now, which gave us the opportunity to get back in touch after over 20 years.  When we planned our road trip earlier in the year it was a must to get together in person while spending time near Fort Meyers.  It was fun and a tad emotional to revisit our time as team members back in the day fighting the old battles and winning wars at Nortel Networks.  Fresh oysters and local grouper were both delicious selections on the menu along with a few beers to top it off. 

Circling back with old friends and family during our journey has been very special indeed…  I was very happy to sign and share my book with Dan as well…

Steve Sparks
Author
Reconciliation: A Son’s Story