This is the other Florida, the one not commonly known by those outside the Sunshine State, the one where there are no theme parks and no large shopping malls. My 22-year old daughter Veronica had long been dreaming of a beach vacation where she could soak up the sun, listen to the sound of the surf and wiggle her toes in the sand. So, when the opportunity arose, we were off on our adventure.

We flew into Tampa International Airport and rented a car for the hour-long drive to the northernmost point of the west coast barrier island known as Anna Maria. Actually, this island is made up of three communities: Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach.

We arrived at our cozy cottage on Bradenton Beach, aptly named the Bungalow Beach Resort. Unpretentious, these little vacation domiciles have small kitchens, beds and a pool in the central courtyard. They are all right on the beach to the delight of Veronica who couldn’t get over the pure white sand, sparkling blue water and the beautiful sunsets.

While we did make some of our meals at our cottage, we ventured out to see what dining options were available nearby. We both loved the ambiance, outdoor dining and coconut shrimp at the BeachHouse restaurant and the barbecue ribs at Mr. Bones where we met a 93-year old local who told us he had been eating the same meal there each week for 9 years.

We met up with a friend of ours also doing a story on great island food and we ended up at the upscale and quite famous Beach Bistro at Holmes Beach. We tried a little of everything including the warm Bella Roma tomato salad, grilled shrimp with the restaurant’s signature Kicker sauce, the Bistro Bouillabaisse, and Perfect Blue Crab. Everything was delicious and Veronica commented that this was the most wonderful meal she had ever had and reminded her of the movie Babette’s Feast.

We found other diversions nearby such as quaint boutique shops (Bridgewalk is one of the newer shopping areas on the island) and happened upon an annual sandcastle tournament known as Sandblast next to the BeachHouse restaurant.

Perhaps the best part of any trip is sharing it with those you love and on this one I was happy to spend time with my daughter who loved every minute of our visit. This is, we thought, the best of what Florida offers and decided to explore other areas equally less known. But that is a trip for another day.

For more information visit www.floridasgulfislands.com, www.bungalowbeach.com and www.beachbistro.com.