Limin’ on Bridge Street, Part I

Around Town with Susan Goldfarb

SUSAN GOLDFARB
Contributing Columnist
goldfarb@lbknews.com

If you are a local here in paradise, then you know that when the summer comes the urge to “go, go, go” is gone. I can hardly work up the energy to travel. I just want to do some limin’ right here in my own neck of the woods—no reservations, no baggage, no airplanes, busy airports or long road trips.

So what’s this limin’ word, you may ask? Limin’ is an expression that is popular in the Caribbean and comes from the act of sitting under a lime tree and doing nothing. I learned the art of limin’ (liming) when I took an extended vacation to Anguilla, a lesser-known island in the West Indies. I guess I needed to leave my own island life to discover what living on “island time” really meant. The Anguillans are famous for being able to seriously relax and experience a superior level of leisure. There’s always tomorrow to finish a project or solve a problem. They will say to each other, “Where you limin’ later?” and “You be limin’ today?”

Although many of us originally came to the Longboat Key area to escape “life in the fast lane,” I find that for most of us the winter life is extremely hectic. Even the retirees (some of whom seek an hour of calm in my yoga classes) seem stressed out with social obligations, golf games, houseguests, and a calendar full of “must do,” “must go” and “must see.” How many Longboaters can say they are truly living life on island time?

The conditions are perfect right now for limin’ and to return to a healthy island lifestyle of ease and wellbeing. The sultry weather demands a slower pace, and the warm, azure gulf, which by the grace of God is still clean, escaping any oil on our pristine shoreline, beckons like an endless bathtub. Limin’ doesn’t require sitting under a lime tree doing nothing. It is quite simply enjoying downtime, which can be done anywhere—during a BBQ at a friend’s house, swinging on a hammock, reading a book at the beach, watching the sunset with a friend or having a rum and coke in a local bar—simply hanging out and freeing up your spirit by not doing much of anything at all and having no particular agenda. We become, in sailor lingo, “becalmed.” It’s learning how to invoke the inimitable island sense of tranquility, simplicity and joie de vivre.

There are plenty of places to lime on Longboat Key and nearby. But I had the inspiration one morning last week to spend a day limin’ on Historic Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach on Anna Maria Island. In season I rush around the roundabout in the hub of Bradenton Beach going to work or coming home from work on Longboat Key. I envy the tourists who are going to enjoy the sugar sand beaches, explore the nearby parks, have a leisurely meal or shop in the fun beach stores, while I hurry on to The Longboat Key Education Center (definitely a different kind of experience). As I parked my car on Bridge Street for a day of limin’ and who knows what, I felt my spirits lift. It had been years since I walked around or sought out things to do and see on Bridge Street. I knew that in the last six or so years, new life has been breathed into it with a major rejuvenation project.

Bridge Street
The street is beautifully tree-lined, and the refurbished or newly created buildings strive to retain old Florida charm offset with Caribbean funkiness. The surrounding neighborhood conveys a sense of community and has a palpable vibrancy. I had a great day. If mainlanders or Longboaters haven’t seen the area lately, now is the time to lime on Bridge Street. Here are the highlights of some of my discoveries.

Bridge Street is the center of the Historic Old Town District. The original wooden bridge from the mainland connected to Bridge Street. This made the street a bustling little center of activity for the young town back in 1922. The bridge spanned the bay to now Bridge Street to the fishing village of Cortez. In 1967 the new drawbridge was opened to 5th Street North. The island side of the old wooden bridge was saved and turned into a fishing pier.

It was fun to watch people fish on the pier while the birds hovered. It was a real limin’ moment. Bradenton Beach City Pier re-opened in 2007 after a $2.2 million renovation, which fixed the structural damage incurred during the Hurricane season of 2004. The pier was closed for three years. The completely rebuilt restaurant on the pier is operated by Rotten Ralphs of Anna Maria. Outdoor seating is strategically placed for some great views of the bay and pier. They also have a large indoor dining area. Rotten Ralph’s restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. The menu includes omelets, French toast, sandwiches, shrimp and crab salads, seafood gumbo, crab cakes, scampi, a Fisherman’s Platter and a variety of pastas. Prices range from $4-$8 for breakfast and $10-$25 for dinner.

Across from the pier with a dockside bar, entertainment, lunch and dinner is Bridge Tender Inn, originally built in the 1930s or earlier. The dining room has some old photos that give you its historical character. The first bridge to connect Anna Maria Island with the mainland was the Bradenton Beach pier. The men who operated the bridge were called bridge tenders, hence the naming of the restaurant, which is right at the end of the pier across the street at 135 Bridge Street.

Read Part II in next week’s Longboat Key News.

Susan Goldfarb is a freelance writer who has been writing feature articles and columns for more than 25 years. She is the executive director of The Longboat Key Education Center. You can e-mail her with ideas and comments at susan@lbkeducationcenter.org.