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Anna Maria Island: Low-key pleasures rule on this slice of Old Florida

By Diane Bair and Pamela Wright

 |  Globe correspondents  

  February 05, 2012

Even by Sunshine State standards, Anna Maria is one mellow joint. There is exactly one high-rise building here, otherwise, three stories tall is the limit. Fast-food franchises are few. Mom-and-pop-type motels and cottage colonies rule. Stores sell vacation necessities like inflatable alligators and purple Slurpies. “This island is 40 years behind the times,’’ resident Linda Haack told us. “It’s like the rest of Florida used to be, just beaches, palm trees, and pelicans.’’

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