You only live once, make sure it's enough. - Dos Equis sign
It seemed fitting to start our second post with this quote that I found on Cocoa Beach pier as we were making our way to our second, third and fourth official beach bar stops. Really isn't that quote what this entire journey is about in the first place?
Bar 2 of 213 - Oh Shucks
Oh, Shucks is the first bar on the pier. We were able to find a table overlooking the beach. Drinks were ordered first, of course, and Ryan went with the Florida Beach Bar recommended drink, Captain Mango. I had a mango margarita and we both thought these drinks were fantastic!
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| Ryan and his Captain Mango |
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| Sarah's Mango Margarita |
One of the greatest parts of this journey is to be able to share these experiences with our many friends and family who visit us from time to time. This weekend my Dad was in town so we thought it would be great to experience these three bars with him.
Because Oh Shucks also has a raw bar, we had to order some oysters. (Secretly, this is one of the main reasons I agreed to this challenge in the first place. I love oysters and most beach bars have them!).
These were delicious! For our main courses, we all ordered typical bar food. Hot dog, shrimp po'boy and a cheeseburger. The food was rather average with the exception of their fries. They were delicious! So much so that the guy at the table next to us overheard our quest and told us that we had to write about the fries. Well, guy at the table next to us, this is for you!
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| Amazing fries at Oh Shucks |
One thing to note about all of these places is that there is a $10 parking charge to park in the lot. However, as we were leaving around 4 they were no longer charging. So keep that in mind if you're heading out to Cocoa Beach pier for the day.
Bar 3 of 213 - Mai Tiki
Mai Tiki bar is located at the piers end and worth the walk and $1 admission per person(Although after paying the admission price we did find a way around it, stay tuned!). This is a great location for a weathered beach bar and our drinks were enjoyed in the sun with the ocean breeze to cool us. This quickly became our favorite bar of the day.
Ryan ordered a Mai Tiki Tai, a potent mix of Bacardi Superior Rum, Bacardi Select Rum, Pineapple and Orange juices, grenadine and a Bacardi 151 floater on top. I again realized I was driving home so I ordered a Red Stripe (equally refreshing!) and my Dad had a Presidente.
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| The Mai Tiki Tai |
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| Sarah, Bill and Ryan at Mai Tiki |
Overall this was a very enjoyable experience. The drinks were good and the atmosphere is about as close to perfect as you can find.
Bar 4 of 213 - Boardwalk
Boardwalk is located in the middle of the boardwalk between Oh Shucks and Mai Tiki. We intended to hit is second but it was fairly crowded so we ended up going here last. We learned this was a mistake upon ordering our delicious drinks and being informed that our receipt will get us out to the Mai Tiki free of charge. So if you're planning to hit all of these bars, order a drink at Boardwalk first!
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| Finding out the hard way that you need to stop at The Boardwalk first! |
The drink menu at all three of these bars is basically the same with only a few differences on each menu. For our last stop, I ordered the Berried Pleasure, Ryan had a Frozen Mudslide (both recommended by Floridabeachbar.com) and my Dad ordered a Margarita. All three were excellent!
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| Frozen Mudslide, Margarita, Burried Pleasure |
All in all, we enjoyed our trip to Cocoa Beach Pier. The bars in order of our preference were Mai Tiki, Boardwalk and then Oh Shucks.
Ryan loved the creative use of a mouse trap...
...and a dump trunk.
Speaking of creativity, the quote of the day occurred after we saw a guy at the Mai Tiki order a Chardonnay (Chardonnay? At a beach bar? Seriously?)...
Guy next to Chardonnay guy says: "I'll have a Bacardi Margarita."
Creative way to say that you want a daiquiri (rum and lime).
Visit
http://www.floridabeachbar.com/ for great beach bars and to check the progress of the beach bar challenge!
