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Step Back In Time At Pineland Hideaway

April 07, 2007

Tarpon Lodge Step back in time at Pineland hideaway Main building dates to 1926 By Lynda Long

Many of us will travel far and wide to find a secret hideaway to escape the frenzy of our everyday lives.

But there is a well-kept secret right here in Lee County.

The Tarpon Lodge in Pineland is an historic, unpretentious compound of wooden buildings that sits on the edge of Pine Island Sound. The main lodge, which houses the restaurant and a few rooms in the inn, was built solid in 1926, then forced into enhanced building codes after Hurricane Charley.

Don't come to The Tarpon Lodge expecting flashy Florida. This is a place to share with civilized friends, who enjoy finding genuine old Florida and an atmosphere that inspires conversations and revelations
about life.

A good time to do a test run of the lodge is mid-week. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, live music saturates the background during dinner from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Be sure to make reservations. At full capacity, the lodge will seat about 70. That's weather permitting, since part of the space is a pleasant, screened outdoor deck with a full view of the sound.

This time of year, the dining staff often opens the French doors that lead from the dining room onto the deck. And if the weather is nice enough, they also open the windows along the breezeway that lines the entrance to the deck.

In the coming weeks, the mid-week music lineup is as assorted as the clientele. You may not recognize the names, but that makes the trip even more fun. These talented singers and musicians are professionals who know they have customers who want to talk to one another during dinner. But even so, diners will often stop mid-topic to enjoy a song or to instigate a healthy applause for the entertainer.

Nancy Glickman, office manager with The Tarpon Lodge, started offering mid-week music when she joined the lodge four years ago.

"Basically our goal is to present something that's not offered at other island venues," Glickman said. "We like to provide diversity. Plus we look for quality and professionalism that can provide entertainment in a comfortable, charming setting."

To check out the musical venue and the acts scheduled for April at the Tarpon Lodge, click the Web site at www.tarponlodge.com. You can also research the highly rated dinner menu and recent critiques of the lodge.

Pine Islanders know to stop a few moments at the end of each day to look at the sky. The brilliant colors change throughout the year during sunset. So, whatever you do, make certain you plan at least one visit to The Tarpon Lodge when the blazing sun sets in the west. These are sunsets that make you stare into distant shades of crayola colors far longer than you expect.

Once you've discovered The Tarpon Lodge, keep it a secret from the boisterous, uncouth folks on your contact list. Save this place for those settled, established friends. This is a place for people who might read time-honored books, and who don't want The Tarpon Lodge to change. Not one bit.

After you've tested The Tarpon Lodge mid-week, you can come back again — maybe this time for a long weekend. It's close by, so you can take an extended break and revisit the better basics of living. It's allowed. But take your time. There's no rush. It's close to home but a good distance from the maddening crowd.