Fun Things to do

Last Updated by Mike Henkenis

Ice Cream.  Chunky.  Smooth.  With or without toppings.  Everyone has their opinion of what’s best, and it’s not likely to change.  On the area’s Restaurant Review Page on Facebook SW Florida Restaurant Review Page (membership required, but everyone is allowed), you’ll find lots of opinions stated, and people get passionate!

In the summer of 2015, we set out on a quest to try some of the more popular ice cream shops and see which one we liked best. There were three of us who did all of the places, and up to 8 people were along for some of them.  The only criteria was  that it was scoop ice cream.

All of them had excellent ice cream, and most of it was locally made, often in the shop itself, so you could seldom find the same two flavors in the other shops.  The reality is you can’t go wrong with any of them.  But, we did find a favorite.

We started our quest in Punta Gorda at Harbor Walk Scoops and Bites (by Laishley Park).  We were eight people finishing a day of shopping at Fisherman’s Village.  It was a hot afternoon, and some of their home made ice cream was welcomed.  At the time they were new to the practice of making their own ice cream – it didn’t show.  All eight of us found flavors we liked and all of us were satisfied.  We had everything from milkshakes to sundaes and cones.  They’re developing their flavors all the time and I expect it will only get better.  The one thing this shop had that beat all others was the view of Charlotte Harbor.  Hands down the best view of all the ice cream shops we tried.  (We’ve revisited them many times since then, and it has never failed to disappoint us.)

Another day, a more local Englewood Lickity Split Cafe (across from Wal-Mart). Here you’re met with the best inside environment of all of the places we tried.  Here there’s a true old-style diner setup, and the menu extends beyond ice cream.  We’ve been here a few times and have never been disappointed.  It’s a good place to come for a reward after a shopping trip across the street at Wal-Mart – you definitely deserve it after a couple hours there!  This is a local favorite with a lot of the local area residents.  Again there were eight satisfied guests who left the shop after eating the ice cream they made themselves.

New day, new shop.  This time just three of us in Port Charlotte at Sweet Scoops Ice Cream (between Port Charlotte and North Port on the west side of Tamiami Trail).  This is a small place that we had driven by several times.  Every evening drive-by we saw a line of cars waiting to get to the drive-through windows.  This place is busy and very popular!  We came in the afternoon, just three of us, and while the few tables they had were taken, we were able to get our order in quickly and get our ice cream.  Again, excellent ice cream.  We had to stand and eat it, so keep in mind the setup is best for eating outside or in the car.  One thing to keep in mind is the pace – because they’re so busy, they work on a fast pace, so some people see the staff as impatient.  With a long line of people waiting, they’re wanting to get everyone help quickly – if it’s busy keep everyone else in mind and decide before you start placing your order.

Last stop in the quest was back in Englewood, A Better Scoop (on Indiana Ave., just south of Old Englewood). At the time they used A Working Cow Ice Cream (another local company), but in 2019 started making they’re own.  (We’ve not been there since they started, but I have high espectations.)  Inside is a simple but nice setup of tables with plenty of room to sit.  With lots of flavors and setups to choose from, they were patient and let us try several flavors before we all ended up with sundaes, which were excellent.  We left satisfied.  But.  There was a large group of pre-teens in from a softball game, so it was quite noisy – we agreed we had to try it one more time to see if it was always that busy (well, maybe it was an excuse to go back…).  On our return we again tried multiple flavors before we tried new types of sundaes.  We had decided – this was our favorite – excellent ice cream, good seating, and excellent, friendly service.  We’ll definitely be back.

All of these places made our “Must revisit” list – again, you won’t go wrong with any of them.

Last Updated by May-Brit Askestrand

Nothing box 1:  Jetlag

I used to hate it.  Struggling to get to sleep because I’m “supposed to.”  But on vacation at Rotonda Palm Villa, I love it and try to keep it going as long as possible.

04:30, waking up feeling refreshed.  The family is still sleeping.  I make a pot of coffee and face a chair and footstool on the Lanai to the east.  Check social media while the coffee is brewing.  Then I sit there and relax with a cup of coffee and reading the news or enjoying some magazines.  No stress, quiet except for the crickets and frogs.  It’s a couple of very relaxing hours enjoying a slow sunrise above the pool.  This is the life……

Nothing box 2:  An afternoon drink on the Lanai

Easy instructions:  Take a thick frozen mug from the freezer, fill it up with your favorite drink from one of the refrigerators, find a chair, sunbed, or floating device and do nothing except appreciate how the frost disappears from the mug and the mug contents disappear far too quickly.  Repeat.