February 16 – March 1, 2014
Based on this picture you would think it was spring break
here but it’s not. It is a good thing we didn’t plan to lay out and work on our
tans.
Not Spring Break Yet
SIT landed in Fort Myers for a couple of weeks to check out
what goes on here. The RV park we chose is not too far from the beach, Sanibel
Island, and Fort Myers Beach Island but the traffic is a tad bit heavy. Good
thing we don’t have to be in a hurry to get anywhere!
The RV park has a few nice sized lakes so Izzy will feel
right at home. We checked with the park office and they said dogs could swim
but not people, well at least not in the lakes!
So Izzy got to go a few times during our stay and fetch her floppy. A
boy named Matthew came the first time we were at the water. We were actually
fishing and letting Izzy swim. So the
next few times Izzy went to swim he came over and helped keep her busy.
Near Our Spot
Trying to catch something on a fly
Checking out the fishing action
Matthew getting ready
A Happy Dog
The Rinse after the Swim
Steve scoured all the materials to see if he could figure
out the best place to go fishing, so we started our hunt for the perfect place.
Well maybe not the perfect place but at least some place you could get a line
wet.
We went to Sanibel island first and checked out the visitor’s
center. After we loaded up on pamphlets and a map we headed to the fishing
pier. We found a place to park and walked to the pier. Steve found a few guys
fishing but soon discovered the fishing was pretty slow. I found this guy
hoping for a fish to get cleaned.
Are you looking at me?
The folks at the visitor center told us one of the places to
go is the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. We were able to tour
the refuge and stopped in a few spots where folks were fishing. Based on Steve’s
conversation with them their luck wasn’t much better than at the pier. We
toured on.
Izzy wondering why she can't go fishing
Sanibel is one place where riding your bike is the better
way to get around but we didn’t have them with us. So we found a spot, got Izzy
out and headed to the beach. The shells you could pick up were great, a lot of
folks out on the beach since it was a federal holiday, and guess what? Yap,
plenty of people fishing. Izzy and I walked along the water looking at shells,
and Steve struck out to find out what folks were catching. They actually were
catching some fish and it seems the people fishing from the bridge were having
the best luck at catching the kind of fish you actually want to keep.
One of the beaches on Sanibel Island
We found a nice place to eat lunch on Captiva Island and then
headed back. The traffic hadn’t gotten any better. Next time we won’t go on a
holiday!
The next adventure we struck out to have was to explore Fort
Myers Beach which is an island. This time we were smart and brought our
bicycles. Izzy stayed behind to watch the Animal Planet and take naps.
We found a place to park and took off on our bikes. The
first stop was the beach. We walked out onto the fishing pier to check things
out. This Pelican was posing for me. Not sure if he thought I would give
something for letting me take his picture.
I'm so pretty
The crowds were amazing on the beach as you can see from the
first picture as well as this one. I am glad we won’t be in this area during
spring break. It could get messy!
We rode to the Mangroves Boardwalk and park they have on the
island. We walked the trail that took us to the water’s edge. It was a pretty
spot and the Mangroves were pretty amazing. They have red, black, and white
Mangroves in this area.
Mangrove Roots
When we finished with our bike riding we landed back at the
truck and decided to sit down and have a cold drink. The restaurant overlooked
the bay so it was a nice place to relax. Your view included this pirate ship
which is a replica of a ship from 1756. Apparently they have two and the other
one does dinner cruises.
Steve still had a hankering for getting out on the water to
fish so we booked a charter party fishing boat for Monday. We arrived with gear
in-hand and lunch and took off for the open water that morning. There were 16
people on the boat to fish. Since we had our own gear it made it easier for us
since we could be independent and didn’t have to rely on the deck hand.
We stopped at the first place to fish after a 90 minute ride
but we were entertained along the way with some dolphins swimming alongside the
boat. I shot some video but haven’t honed my computer software skills well
enough to get you a picture. I’ll keep working on that though.
We were catching a lot of fish which was fun. Whenever the
Captain moved the boat we would get our bait in the water and bam, fish on! The
fish weren’t very big but they were big enough to keep and eat. We were
catching snapper mostly and I think in the end we probably had 3 dozen on our
stringers. Guess what we had for dinner?
The last thing we wanted to make sure we did before left
Fort Myers was to see the Edison and Ford Winter Estates and Museum. We headed
there Tuesday but when we got there it was a very busy place. So we walked
around the grounds where you can go without buying a ticket and took some
pictures. This half of the estate is amazing and houses the museum, Thomas
Edison’s laboratory, Estates Botanical Garden and greenhouse.
The Banyan Tree was prominent on the estate grounds and it
all started with Harvey Firestone giving a four foot banyan tree to Thomas
Edison in 1925. Edison, Firestone and Henry Ford were working on research in
the pursuit of a domestic source of natural rubber. Oh by the way, this type of
tree, Fiscus benghalenis, produces a
white milky sap (latex) that can be used to create rubber. This four foot tree when given is now about an
acre in diameter and is understood to be the largest in the continental United
States.
How it starts to expand
The Beginning - it was 4' once
More of the tree
and more
and even more
We think they got married
There are 13 types of fiscus throughout the Estates. We were
truly amazed at this tree but many others that you could wander around on this
part of the estate grounds. We decided we would come back another day but first
thing in the morning to see the other half of the estate grounds and the homes.
Enjoying the Shade
We hadn’t played golf since we played with Uncle Al so we
made a tee time for Wednesday afternoon. The Fort Myers Golf and Country Club
is a municipal course and quite nice. We were teamed up with a father and son
who were out after school. The son, Charlie, was just learning golf, but it
didn’t bother him. If he keeps it up he will be on the golf team in high
school!
On the ninth hole we came across a bird that seemed to just
be hanging around. There is some water on the course which apparently does have
fish so I am pretty sure he was fishing. You see the bird was a bald eagle. He
didn’t seem to be shy around people so I was able to get this picture taken
before he decided to hop a little farther away. Our golf game was not too bad
but we may want to go to the driving range before we go out again!
The Ninth Hole
Now back to Thomas Edison and Henry Ford’s winter estates.
The Edison-Ford Winter Estates Organization has done a great job in setting up
a self-directed audio tour of the grounds and houses. You are able to listen to
interesting information about certain stops you make while walking around the
grounds and they have the houses open for viewing in such a way it makes you
feel like the families are still there.
You also learn a great deal about both famous men and one
statistic that you might be surprised to learn is that Thomas Edison filed a
patent every year for 65 years in a row. He actually had over 1,000 patents in
his lifetime. The other interesting thing you learn if you are paying attention
is that Henry Ford worked for Edison in New Jersey. This of course is before Henry Ford built his
first car.
The Laboratory
Thomas Edison’s wife Mina decided to name their place the
Seminole Lodge. They purchased this property in 1885 and Henry Ford bought the
neighboring property in 1916. His property was called The Mangoes. Edison and
Ford became friends prior to this and Ford started coming to Fort Myers in 1914.
Statue of Thomas Edison
Statue of Mina Edison
"Seminole Lodge"
Edison's Home
Edison's Bedroom
The Library
Edison Dining
Edison's Little Office
Edison's original wicker furniture
The view from the back porches is of the water and a
wonderfully landscaped property. I don’t think if you lived here you would ever
get tired of just staying home.
The Back Porch View
Edison's Pier Was Here
Mysore Fig also known as Brown Wooly Fig
Check out it's roots
Palm Row
The Sausage Tree
The Ford's property isn't to shabby either plus there are a few of his cars too!
The Mangoes
Henry Ford's House
Glad I didn't have to type on this
Ford's Living Room
Model A
1917 Model TT Truck
Model T
The museum has a great deal of information about Edison and
his inventions and thirst for discovering new things and solving problems. One
of his favorite things was music which went well with having Henry Ford as a
friend since his favorite thing was dancing.
One section of the museum contains the invention part of his
life. Steve could relate to all of the electricity stuff. I was impressed with
the evolution of the light bulb!
I could fill a few pages with information about Edison and
Ford but hopefully what little you have read will entice you to learn a bit
more and if you are ever in the Fort Myers area come check it out as it is
worth coming to see.
We got back to our little home and got it ready to head out
in the morning for Naples. The spot we were parked in was a tight fit to maneuver
the truck and trailer but that was okay as they have a method to help.
Getting Ready to Go
How to get in and out of a tight spot
We’ll be in Naples for a week, so don’t forget to come back
to the blog and see what happens.
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