The food of summer love

Love is ice cream for two." That's what a sign on the front of Love Boat Ice Cream on San Carlos Boulevard has said for years. But there's no need for two. It's gratifying enough to sit outside on a blue bench and let chilling spoonfuls of homemade coconut ice cream erase all woes.

The Love Boat sign on San Carlos Boulevard For a few sweet, creamy moments, all is right with the world.

Traffic hums to and from Fort Myers Beach while the sun dries your damp, sandy swimsuit.

"When people come in for ice cream, they're generally in a good mood," owner Ray George said. "Or they're in a good mood afterwards. It's a very low stress, easy activity."

He was sweeping up the shop Monday morning while his full-time ice cream maker, Jenny Roberts, was in back pouring milk into a giant, stainless steel ice cream machine. She's worked at Love Boat since she was 15.

All the ice cream is homemade and George said the most popular flavors reflect the neighborhood's demographic.

"That's why butter pecan is the most popular," he said. "Because it's an old-time flavor."

FLORIDA WEEKLY PHOTOS EVAN WILLIAMS Ray George ready to serve your favorite flavor And take this, Baskin Robbins: Love Boat has more than 50 flavors. Chocolate and cookies n' cream are among the traditional, and coconut, black raspberry and banana walnut crunch are a few of the exotics. You can get them in Styrofoam cups or three kinds of waffle cones.

One local customer has a huge coffee ice cream jones; another happens to be crazy about chocolate chip.

"We actually have a guy who comes in every day," George said. "Coffee Guy. He usually gets a quart and has it for lunch - I'm assuming. We used to have a Mint Chocolate Chip Lady. I don't know what happened to her. Other people come in for shakes every day."

There is one flavor you won't find.

"I never nor do I ever want to have bubblegum," George said. "The flavor seems too fake."

George, who likes to travel in his spare time to Tennessee, North Carolina and Las Vegas, has sampled ice cream wherever he goes. He feels Love Boat comes out on top.

"I honestly think, with most flavors, we really have the best," he said.

And like some of the customers who've visited the small, free-standing ice cream store over years, the flavors rarely change. The place opened in 1968, George said, and was called "Love's."

"People that have been here a long time still refer to it as Love's," he said. "Most people know us because the place has been here so long."

Customers come and go seasonally, and the busiest times of day are after lunch, between 2 and 4 p.m., and after dinner, between 7 and 9 p.m. Now is the slowest time of the year, George said, since residents who live in the parks nearby went north for the summer. The shop is also popular with families, and teenagers on summer break coming from the beach.

"People come down for a week on vacation and you'll see 'em every single day," George said. "Then you won't see 'em for six months. Then you'll see 'em every day again."

The Thomas family, for example, are a retired couple who live in town seasonally, next door to Love's at the Fort Myers Beach RV Resort. They were in town for a few days in July to celebrate a family member's 100th Birthday, and didn't forget to get some ice cream.

"I usually go for something that has a coffee flavor of some sort," said Mrs. Thomas. "Anyway, it's excellent ice cream and generous portions.

"We're delighted that it's so close by."

George, who has owned Love Boat since 2001, said he plans to stay in the ice cream business. He moved to Florida in 1991 from Rhode Island, where he went to hospitality school and managed a small, now defunct hotel chain. Before buying Love's, he owned a tent rental store in Fort Myers. His whole family - parents, sister, girlfriend and son - lives in Lee County.