Anna Maria Island, Brought to You by Fig Newtons

Anna Maria Island, Florida is built on a foundation of old-style Florida charm.

It’s easy to ensure you slow down and enjoy this beautiful beach town just off the Skyway Bridge – there’s a 35 mph island-wide speed limit. But “slow rolling’ is only part of the reason  for this historic community’s relaxed pace.

The first thing visitors  notice is the water. It’s Caribbean-like, a brilliant turquoise blue. Flanked by the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Tampa Bay to the north and Anna Maria Sound to the east, it’s relationship with the sea makes it feel very much like a place apart. I often visited Anna Maria Island when I lived in St. Petersburg. Although the hustle and bustle of Tampa was less than an hour away, Anna Maria Island offered a reprieve. There, on a Saturday morning, I could visit a farmers’ market under the trees or the beachfront where the Gulf breezes are always present.

I never failed to  make a stop at the Anna Maria Island Beach Café for breakfast - known for its all-you-can-eat pancakes. There’s always a line waiting to order, but the big payoff is the pancakes and a sea view table in the sand. Breakfast on the water with your toes in the sand is so Florida.

According to the Anna Maria Island Historical Society humans started inhabiting Florida, (and I am assuming) Anna Maria Island, about 12,000 years ago, but it wasn’t until 1911 that anyone saw the real value in its beachfront vibes. That’s when George Bean, along with his son, formed the Anna Maria Beach Development Company with the goal of creating a resort.

Charles Roser invested in his company shortly selling a cookie recipe. The recipe was for the Fig Newton and the buyer was Nabisco. He sold the recipe for $1 million.

The seven-mile long and eight-block wide Anna Maria Island features three beaches Anna Maria, Holmes, and Bradenton Beach. Each is the perfect place to eat a pancake stack and salute Charles Roser with a few Fig Newtons.

Without him, there may not be Anna Maria.