Bars 2-4: Oh Shucks, Mai Tiki, and Boardwalk on Cocoa Beach Pier

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!



Ryan and his Captain Mango



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!

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.


The Mai Tiki Tai



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!

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!

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! 

Bar 1: Hula Bay Club and Duke's Retired Surfer's Island Bar, Tampa

"Well, if we're going to do this, then let's... do it!" - Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage

On our way to cross the first beach bar off our list of 213!

"Duke" Kahanamoku (1890 - 1968) mastered his surfing and swimming skills on the waves of Waikiki beach as a young beach boy and later went on to win the U.S. several Olympic gold medals in swimming.  He traveled internationally to give swimming exhibitions and would incorporate surfing (previously known only in Hawaii) as part of these exhibitions.  His efforts of publicizing the sport of surfing reached Southern California 1912 and he is known today as the father of modern surfing.

In Tampa, the Hula Bay Club and Duke's Retired Surfer's Island Bar (hulabayclub.com) pays tribute to this "surfer of the century" and is where our adventure begins.

Apparently, the "Hula Bay Club" is the overall establishment (owned by the Green Iguana) and "Duke's Retired Surfer's Island Bar" is the bar section of the Hula Bay Club.  We smelled food toward the left entrance so the "Hula Bay Club Bar and Grill" was our first official stop to get through 213 beach bars.  

To gain credit on the Florida Beach Bar competition, we had to take our picture at the bar and enjoy at least one cocktail.

Check!

We asked the bartender to give us their "signature drink."  After some thought, she brought me a "Sweet Tart" drink and a "something she made up" drink for Sarah.  Good, but not the most memorable drinks... those will happen later.

It was fish and chips for Sarah and the Hula Burger (pineapple and bacon) for me.  I highly recommend.

We ended the night at "Duke's Retired Surfer's Island Bar" where we met up with our friend and Sarah's co-worker, Tara!

Luckily, Duke came to the rescue and we were able to have a memorable drink from our first beach bar as we listened to a great live band near the water.

The Hawaiian Freeze

Blue Bird Margarita + Kahanamoku Kick

Now this is a signature drink!  Thanks Duke!

As we were leaving, we told Harold (Hula Bay employee) about our quest.

He ran away from us.

He then excitedly returned with a pen that had the words "Florida Beach Bar" on it and said he knows the pink flamingo guy!  

So, Florida Beach Bar- well done!

Harold told us to come back in the summer because the bar has a pool they open in tribute to the surfing and swimming great, Duke Kahanamoku.  

But when we do, it will be very busy and cars will be parked along the street for hundreds of feet.  So he left us and other future patrons with a word of caution... 

Don't block the train.

Visit floridabeachbar.com to find a great Florida beach bar and to check out the contest!

The Florida Beach Bar Challenge

There's something that makes you feel alive sitting at a weathered beach bar close to the water with great food, smooth cocktails, live music, and tropical decor filling the room.  There's a great website we stumbled across www.floridabeachbar.com as we were looking for a nice weekend getaway spot.  It inspired us to visit the Florida beach bars listed on the website. More bars are added every so often, but to we're trying to visit the 213 listed as of Feb 16, 2011. Some of our friends also wanted in so we thought it would be fun to make a competition out of it and see who can visit all of the beach bars.  The only rules are that you need to take a picture at it and order at least one cocktail. Check out our blog every once in a while for our latest beach bar trip and critique! Maybe you'll see a place that you'll want to visit for yourself. Let the relaxing begin!