Fun With Friends in Dunedin

We left Naples last Monday with some difficulty. Our site was a pull-through, but they had put a large concrete post at the right front of the site making it impossible for us to pull through without hitting the post. So, Kevin had to back out on an S curve. He did an awesome job with me directing him on one side and a neighbor helping out on the other. We were glad to get out of there without any damage.

We took the I-275 bypass to avoid going through Tampa on I-75. The bridge is a toll bridge, but well worth it to avoid all the traffic and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

 Along the way we saw this giant rubber duckie outside of a spa store.

 We came to Dunedin RV Resort to visit long time friends Sue and Alex. We've known each other since 1988 when they joined a camping club we belonged to. We camped together for many years and took some fun trips to national parks with another family and all of our kids. We've had fun recalling some of those memories.

They have been coming to Dunedin for five years, so are very familiar with the area. They took us on two wonderful bike rides. The whole area around here is excellent for bikers with trails that go from town to town. On Friday we biked 20 miles round trip through Dunedin. I liked this painted dolphin.

We continued on to beautiful Clearwater Beach. What an awesome area.  Here we are on the bridge to Clearwater. It was a steep climb, but worth the view. I can understand why Clearwater is such a popular tourist area.

 I looked through our photos from years ago and found this picture of the four of us in 1992 in Door County, Wisconsin.  It was taken at Thumb Fun Amusement Park which was replaced with condos long ago.

 On the way back we stopped at a park for a bathroom break and a rest.

Here's a picture of Kevin and Alex together in Detroit in 1996 at a Packer Game.

It's fun looking back. We've obviously all aged a bit, but are still enjoying ourselves!

On Saturday they took us on a 15 mile round trip bike ride to Tarpon Springs. It's interesting to see the history of the different towns. Dunedin was settled by Scottish immigrants. Tarpon Springs has a Greek heritage.

We had lunch at a dockside cafe. The gyros were delicious. Sponge diving was a major industry in Tarpon Springs. In the 1930s a disease wiped out a lot of the sponges, but they have made a comeback and are still being harvested. It is quite a touristy area, and there are plenty of sponges for sale.

This statue is a tribute to the divers who lost their lives.

Sue has pictures of all of her family members in the big diving helmet, so we had to have our picture taken together.

Kevin was thrilled to have his picture taken next to the big shark.

Today Alex's sister Cookie and her husband Tom are coming over for a cookout. They also winter in Florida and belonged to the same camping club in Wisconsin. I'm sure there will be plenty more stories and laughs as we reminisce about the good old days.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Moving on From Naples

Today is our last day in Naples, Florida. We've spent two months in Florida with one month left to explore this beautiful state this winter.

The weather in Florida has been very nice with temperatures often above average. In fact, today Naples is expected to tie a record at 88 degrees. We're enjoying our time in Florida, but are finding it somewhat more humid than we like. It seems snowbirds are often very pro Florida or Arizona in their tastes, and I think we definitely fall into the Arizona camp. That being said, we just may return to Florida at some point. Never say never! We picked a good year to try Florida as Arizona has had a cooler and wetter winter than normal.

We've really enjoyed our time in Naples. It seems to be a pretty affluent area with beautiful landscaping, beaches, and homes. The city does a great job keeping everything clean and maintained. It is probably one of the most bike friendly communities we've ever visited. There are trails, sidewalks and bike lanes pretty much anywhere you want to go. We've done a great deal of biking including riding to the beach several times. Parking at the beach is hard to find and is not free. It's forty minutes each way to bike from our campground through a great greenway.

Once at the beach, Kevin finds shade and reads a book. I love walking on the beach and usually spend about an hour exploring. Works great for both of us as he doesn't like walking in the sand or being in the sun for too long. When it's humid, there is sometimes sea fog out over the Gulf. You can see the bank of fog out in the distance in the picture below.

 One day I saw this crab. I think it was dead, but it was kind of cool to see.

I saw something new to me at the beach. At many of the public beaches there are racks with child sized life jackets. They are put there by the Coast Guard Auxiliary for families to use free of charge to keep their children safe. Just return when you are done with it. What a great idea. I wonder if other communities have similar programs.

One of the things people warned us about in spending the winter in Florida was bugs. We have been pleasantly surprised to find that there are few bugs where we have been. In Fort Pierce, we did experience mosquitoes in the evening at times. In Naples we have not had any issues with bugs of any type. Maybe its because they have a mosquito control district. I'm not sure what they do, but I'm guessing they spray. I'm sure Zika virus has something to do with it.

We saw this turtle partially buried in the ground near a pond on the grounds of the mosquito control district. I'd guess it was probably a foot long.

So, we've really enjoyed our time in Naples exploring new areas, spending time at the beach, hanging out with several good friends and soaking up the great weather.  We did find Naples to be somewhat more expensive than other areas we've been to. I guess all of this beauty and affluence comes with a price.

Tomorrow we head north to Dunedin for five nights to do some further exploring and visit more friends. Then it's weekly stays in a few more parts of Florida before heading north at the end of the month.

Internet access is something every full time RVer struggles with. Many RV parks advertise free wi-fi, but it is often too bogged down to use. When Verizon announced an unlimited plan a few weeks ago, there was much excitement in the RVing community. We bit the bullet yesterday and signed up.

We lost a 15 percent discount we were getting as Dodge County employees as the new plan doesn't offer the discount, so it will cost us $15 a month more. Also, we have four devices on our family plan using data. The "unlimited" plan allows 22GB per month at 4G speed and then they have the option of slowing you down. Our former plan was 24GB, and we often used the full amount. We'll see how this throttling back on speed goes. If it becomes a problem and makes it too frustrating to use, we may end up switching back to a regular plan. Time will tell.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Everglades National Park

In 1995 we visited Everglades National Park with our kids. At that time, we went to the main visitor center in Homestead, Florida. Last Monday was President's Day, and admission to all National Parks was free. Since the cost of admission to the Everglades is $25, we decided to take advantage of the free day and visit one of the other visitor centers.

We headed east on US Hwy. 41 and soon came to Big Springs National Preserve. Congress created the preserve in 1974 to protect the fresh water's natural flow from the Big Cypress Swamp into the Everglades and Ten Thousand Islands. We stopped at the visitor center and watched an informative movie about the preserve. Southwest Florida was in danger of disrupting the natural flow of water if development was allowed to continue unchecked; so conservationists, hunters, land owners and Native Americans helped create the preserve.

As we continued along the highway, we stopped at two boardwalks in the preserve to view alligators and wildlife. The boardwalks are great because you can see the alligators from above and safely get a great view. We saw many alligators. Here are just a few of them.

Our next stop was the Everglades Shark Valley Visitor Center. Many other people had the same idea we did of visiting on the free day. The parking lot was full, and we had to park almost a mile down the road. As we walked along the entrance road, this large alligator was sunning himself on a culvert pipe just a few feet away.

One of the top things to do at this visitor center is the two hour ranger guided tram tour. Luckily, I had called the day before and booked us on the 2 pm tour. The cost was $25, and it was a very informative tour. Lots of people were disappointed that the tours were sold out or that they would have to wait for hours for the next available tour.

While we waited, we watched the movie which was shown outside. It was not the best place to show a movie as many people were hanging around the seating area, but ignoring the movie and talking through the whole thing. Those who wanted to actually watch it, had a lot of noise to contend with. The movie explained a lot about the Everglades wildlife and about the fragile ecosystem. If the Everglades is not carefully protected, Florida could suffer a severe fresh water shortage.

There was a viewing platform along a canal near the visitor center. We saw lots of birds and fish and a few alligators in the canal. There were tons of Florida Gar fish in all the canals we stopped at. They are very large fish. The water is amazingly clear throughout the Everglades. Not at all what you expect in a swamp.

This Black Crowned Night Heron stood totally still for a very long time watching the water.

The Green Heron was hiding in the brush. He sure is beautiful.

We boarded the sold out 2 pm tram and were surrounded by a large group with lots of crying and talking toddlers. Luckily, the speaker system was nice and loud so we could hear the very interesting information the ranger was telling us. I had no idea that the Everglades originally started near Orlando and was 5 million acres. It is now about 1.5 million acres.

We saw plenty of alligators and birds along the way. About 8 miles in, we stopped at the 45 foot observation tower. Kevin commented that the tower looked very similar to the one in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It turns out, they are the same design. It was built around the spiral staircase in the center which was originally a fire tower. You can only go as high as where you see the people. The spiral staircase is closed off.

Here we are with a view of the Everglades behind us. This is the dry season. During the wet season in summer, this area is waist deep with water. All the water in the Everglades comes from rain.

Back on the tram we saw a few rare sights. The first was a wood stork. They had become endangered, but are making a comeback. Kind of an ugly bird.

We also saw a Great White Heron. I didn't know this bird even existed. He had something in his beak.

This Great Blue Heron had caught a Big Mouth Bass. He used his beak as a spear. The tram stopped, we watched him for several minutes to see how he would eat the fish. Apparently, he didn't like being the center of attention as he flew off with his fish.

We also saw this large alligator walking in the grass. How cool is that. I wonder where he was going. The canal was behind him on the other side of the road.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day in the Florida Everglades. The weather has been quite warm lately. Florida is experiencing warmer than average temperatures this winter. They are also in a drought. Today it is raining, which is a good thing for Florida.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Edison and Ford Winter Estates

On Friday we drove to Fort Myers to visit the Edison and Ford Winter Estates which include the winter homes of these famous men, as well as gardens, a laboratory and a museum. There are a couple of different options for tickets. We chose the $25 audio tour which included visiting all of the property and an audio device to listen to narration at twenty stops.

Edison purchased this property on the Caloosahaatchee River in 1885. At that time this area was pretty much a wilderness. It is believed he chose this piece of land because of the bamboo growing there which was used in making filaments for light bulbs. All building materials had to be brought by boat as there were no roads. He built a 3,000 square foot house and named it Seminole Lodge.

His first wife died at the age of 29. Edison brought his second wife Mina to this winter home in 1886 on their honeymoon. She was 20 and he was 39. Edison died in 1931 at the age of 85, so they spent many wonderful winters in Florida with their three children.

There are many beautiful light fixtures in the house. He called them electriliers. There was a cord hanging down from the center with a switch to turn them on and off.

In 1910 Edison had one of the first residential pools in Southwest Florida built on his estate. It was built using Edison Portland Cement, one of  his inventions, and included a bath house, tea house, and diving platforms.

Henry Ford was the chief engineer at the Edison power company in Detroit. The two men became friends and eventually business partners. In 1916, Ford bought the adjoining property in Fort Myers and built his own winter home. He named it The Mangoes because of the many mango trees growing there.

Edison, Ford and their friend Harvey Firestone spent years as business partners trying to find the best plants as a natural source to produce rubber in the United States. Edison had a large botanical garden on his winter estate where they grew many plants that might produce quality rubber. Over 17,000 plant samples were tested. In the end, they found that the weed goldenrod was the best source of latex sap for rubber. Here are the three amigos, with Ford on the left, Edison in the middle, and Firestone on the right.

This banyan tree was planted as a sapling in 1927. It's canopy now covers over an acre and is considered one of the largest in the continental United States.

There is also a huge rubber tree on the property near the river. Weddings are held at this beautiful location. You can see it was set up for a wedding for the weekend.

Edison had a large lab on the property. He worked tirelessly creating new inventions throughout his entire life. He holds the record for being the only person to have at least one patent granted for 65 years in a row. In total, he had 1,093 patents. He said his favorite invention was the phonograph.

This was his study.

The museum portion of the property was very interesting. In 1929 General Electric produced a 50,000 watt light bulb for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Edison incandescent lamp. In 1954 GE produced a 75,000 watt bulb to celebrate the 75th anniversary. Kevin was kind enough to stand between the two for size perspective. The 50,000 watt is on the left, 75,000 watt on the right. Those were some big light bulbs.

We spent about three hours at the estates and then headed to Manatee Park in Fort Myers. In 1957 a power plant was built with a canal for run off water from the plant. The water is quite warm and began attracting manatees to the canal in the winter when the Gulf temps were too cool for them. As a result, Manatee park was built across the road from the power plant for visitors to come and see the manatees. Free programs are held twice a day with information about them.

We were able to listen to part of the program and found out some interesting facts about these huge mammals. However, the Gulf is pretty warm this winter, so we didn't get to see any manatees. The only wildlife we saw was this lone egret.

The only manatee we saw was this pirate version.

On the way home, traffic came to a stop on I-75, and we could see black smoke ahead. This taxi was what was causing the backup. Wow, we've never seen a car on fire like that. Sure hope everyone was safe!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Sanibel Island

I like to collect seashells, so I was very excited when I read online that Sanibel Island is one of the best shelling locations in Florida. Low tide is supposed to be the best time, so last Wednesday we drove a little over an hour so I could try my luck at low tide. I had also read that Bowman's Beach was one of the best spots. We paid the $6 toll to cross the bridge onto the island and then paid $8 to park at the beach for two hours.

Traffic was already pretty busy at 9:30 am and there were bicycle riders and pedestrians everywhere. As we walked from the parking lot at Bowman's Beach to the shore, we crossed a bridge over a river or canal. This bird was sleeping in the bushes. I think it's a night heron. That's pretty cool!

I had read online that the beach will be covered in shells, and to be sure and wear shoes to walk on them so you don't cut your feet. Here's one of the pictures I saw online of what the beach should look like.

Here's what it actually looked like. I had no problem whatsoever walking without shoes, as it was mostly sand. You can imagine my disappointment.

I spoke to some ladies who come to the island every year, and they said this year was not a good shelling year for some reason. Just my luck. Also, "professional" shellers come out a dawn every day to get the best shells to sell in the tourist shops. I did find some okay shells, but nothing like I was hoping for. Some of the ones in the picture below are pieces of larger shells. Many of the shells on the beach were broken. Oh well.

These sandpipers were a hoot to watch. They must eat something that is washed up by the waves. They just keep running back and forth with the waves, pecking at the sand for a few seconds until the next wave arrives. They are definitely getting their exercise.

I also saw this huge jellyfish washed up on shore. It was the size of a large dinner plate.

After the disappointing outing at the beach, we drove all the way to the end of Sanibel Island and then crossed over to Captiva Island. There were some gorgeous homes overlooking the water along the way.

So, our venture to Sanibel Island was enjoyable and picturesque, but overall a disappointment because of the lack of shells and the cost of the bridge and parking. It's one of those tourist places you hear so much about. Now we can say "been there, done that, don't need to go back".

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!