I’ve decided I was a much better blogger when we
brought the boat down the river systems a year and a half ago. Each day was usually a new location, so there
seemed to be more to write about or comment on!
At least it sounds like a good excuse for my lack of new blog journals.
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Good-bye Burnt Store Harbor
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Hello Pink Shell Marina & Resort in Ft Myers Beach
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Kathryn pulled out of Burnt Store Marina on
Thursday, January 23rd. We
had a 35 mile sail down the Inter Coastal Waterway, which was a smoother ride
than going out on the Gulf on a somewhat windy day. (It doesn’t take much wind for ME to feel
like it is too windy!!!) Along the way,
we sailed past Captiva and Sanibel Islands.
There are some lovely homes and landscapes along that stretch of
islands. After going under the Sanibel
Bay Bridge, we were soon at our new marina, Pink Shell Resort and Marina. It’s a lovely place with many pools,
restaurants, water activities and a long, white sandy beach. In fact, just this AM, Steve and I were out
there walking and picking up shells. (I think the “early birds” got the best
ones, but my pockets were full.) There
is, also, a trolley that you can ride to all the places on Ft. Meyers
Beach. I had a chuckle on our first ride
because I had been told that people over 65 could ride for a quarter. Well, I’m always one to get a good “deal”, so
I had my driver’s license all ready for the driver. NO…they only accept Medicare cards….are you
kidding me? I was too lazy to dig
through my purse for that with others waiting behind me, but I’ll be ready the
next time …he, he, he! The streets of
town are packed these days with all of the snow birds down here for warm
weather. Until today, they have been a
bit disappointed! Today the high is to
be almost 80, so no one is complaining.
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Not Quite 80 Degrees Yet
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We are lucky to have several couple friends who
live in or near Ft. Meyers. We have
spent several days so far with our friends RJ and Elaine Smith. Wonderful food
always abounds at their home and we have been treated like royalty! They have a new hobby of wine making and we
now have several of their bottles sitting in our wine rack on the boat. We even got to visit the facility where this
process takes place….I never knew what went into making wine! Very interesting and tasty!
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Is This Heaven, or a Place You Can Make Your Own Wine?
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Lots of Wine
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Our other adventure on Saturday, was a visit to
the Edison and Ford Winter Estates.
Thomas Edison bought his winter home in 1885 and moved his new bride
there in 1886. Henry Ford purchased his
home in 1916, providing him the opportunity to vacation with his good friend
Edison. These homes are overlooking the
river and the friends explored southwest Florida, fished, boated and even
square danced on their trips to Florida.
Both men, of course, were inventers and there is a museum with hundreds
of ideas and products invented by Edison.
Also, some of Ford’s cars are parked in his garage. Edison was, also, a botanist and his botanic
research lab is located on the property.
I loved seeing his banyan tree that was planted in 1925 and is now
HUGE. All in all, it was a great
afternoon and we all learned a few new facts!
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Henry Ford's Winter Home
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Thomas Edison's Home
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Note the Electric Light Fixtures
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RJ & Nancy Under the Fig Tree
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The Banyan Tree
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Nancy, Tom, and Elaine
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Edison Museum
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Old Friends
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As I mentioned above, today is a lovely warm day
in Florida, so Steve and I decided to get our dingy out for a ride. There are hundreds of boats in this stretch
of waterway here on the northern tip of Ft. Meyers Beach. It is fun to “dingy around” and see the boats
up close and ”drive” into the canals where there are little restaurants and
bars tucked into any little spaces available!
People love the water, it seems!
Like we don’t know that J
We plan to be here until Thursday and then head
down to the Keys. Our friends, the
Jordans, are spending tomorrow with us, so we will be up for a new
adventure. We love friends with
“wheels”. I’ll keep you posted on what
else there is to do in Ft. Meyers in my next blog. The weather up north is awful, we hear, so
let’s hope it warms up quickly!
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HCS (Happy Champagne Sunday) at the Smith's
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