TRAVEL THE KEY TO CALORIES

Now almost all the island’s thousands of annual visitors leave their mark, if they can find a space.

You can spend hours looking at messages on the dollar bills including ones left by the likes of Julia Roberts, Kevin Costner and former presidents Jimmy Carter and JFK.

Outside the restaurant, you can climb the island’s water tower and enjoy fabulous views of the ocean and surrounding islands. There’s also a nature trail stretching around the island - a nice way to walk off your tasty burger.

The Sunshine State might be synonymous with theme parks but what you might not realise is that it’s fast-becoming a haven for food and drink lovers - from craft breweries and award-winning rum distilleries to internationally-renowned chocolatiers whose creations make Willy Wonka’s look run-of-the-mill.

Fort Myers is about four hours from the tourist capital of Orlando. While having plenty to see and do, the area is a lot quieter with numerous beaches and is a popular spot for fishing, water sports and cycling.

Our base was the Westin Cape Coral resort at Marina Village about 13 miles from Fort Myers.

We stayed in one of the hotel’s spacious two-bedroom suites, so big you’d be forgiven for thinking you had the place to yourself.

With the booming foodie scene surrounding the hotel, you might want to burn-off some calories so the hotel has a small but wellequipped gym with workout gear available to hire. And if you fancy getting some Florida air in your lungs there’s a three-mile running route and bicycles are available to hire.

With the ocean on your doorstep, seafood lovers just can’t go wrong, with something for all tastes and budgets.

Just a few yards from Westin Cape is the family friendly Pinchers Crab Shack specialising in seafood platters, tacos and blackened grilled shrimp.

And The Prawnbroker, as the name suggests, is a haven for seafood lovers.

Neighbouring areas Sanibel and Captiva are also must-visits.

The Old Captiva House, an old school, has incredible views of the Gulf of Mexico sunsets.

With half of the sugarcane produced in the US coming from Florida, it’s no surprise the rum business is booming.

At the Wicked Dolphin Rum distillery in the heart of Cape Coral, visitors can see how rum is handcrafted in small batches.

My personal favourite was the Coconut Reserve, a clean-tasting spirit made with coconut water and not overly-sweet.

They also produce traditional dark rums as well as flavours such as strawberry, blueberry and apple pie.

Just a few miles away is the newlyopened pub and eaterie Big Blue Brewing Company, also owned by the people behind Wicked Dolphin, a former bingo hall with a revolving selection of guest ales and beers made in-house.

I tried the perfect accompaniment to a cold brew - beer cheese and pretzels, a delicious pub fondue with the cheese dip made with hops and malt. Naughty, but nice.

If beer and spirits aren’t your cup of tea a trip to Norman Love Confections won’t disappoint chocolate lovers.

Norman started a chocolate business and settled in Fort Myers with his wife and children after spending 13 years travelling the world as a pastry chef for the RitzCarlton hotel group and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d entered a jewellers when stepping into his chocolate and dessert salon.

The boxes they come in are imported from Venice and if you think the gleaming treats look good, they taste even better in flavours including key lime, strawberry and passion fruit, even replica Louboutin-style chocolate high heels.

There’s also a taste of history on the menu in Fort Myers.

The Edison and Ford Winter Estates are the former homes of the inventor and industrialist and a perfect snapshot of history.

Edison bought his estate in 1885 and, after meeting at a conference 11 years later, became friends with Ford. A few years later Ford bought the neighbouring property.

The estates are a wonderful way to spend a few hours and include Edison’s botanical laboratory where he, Harvey Firestone and Ford searched for plant that could solve a the rubber shortage after the First World War.

There’s also a stunning collection of classic Ford cars, including the early Model T, which included the infamous ‘mother-in-law seat’ at the