A Day in the Everglades

Day 6: Saturday, February 27

Today was a day of high adventure.  After a great breakfast of pancakes and bacon, we gathered the family and headed out for Everglade City where we joined Captain Tony for a rousting air boat ride through the mangrove swamp.  We spent an hour flying through narrow passageways on this extremely noisy air boat.  The skill of these operators is truly amazing.  With no keel of any kind on these flat bottom boats, the drivers steer the skidding boats by directing the wind off the propeller.  Surprising to me, we saw almost no wild life during our adventure.  We stopped by a resting alligator that appeared to be

prepositioned for the tourists and then at another site, we parked next to a family of raccoons who were obviously waiting to be fed.  They came to within inches of the boat looking longingly for food.  The skipper told us that the birds were back in the mangrove feasting on small black crabs.  We did get a fleeting glimpse of what he called a white ibis.

Back on shore, we headed into the town of Everglade City.  It is an interesting town with a somewhat crazy history.  In the middle 1980’s, many of the 600 residents were actively involved in the illegal marijuana trade when 200 federal agents and

local law raided.  The first night, they arrested 12 folks and by the end of the round up, over 200 people were charged.  One historic feature is the Rod and Gun Club which was established in 1864.  The old facility appears to have been frozen in time in the 1920’s.  Janine and I tied up at their seawall and dined there the last time we came through that area. I was really intrigued by the building but felt that the two meals were near the top of the list of the two worst of my

existence.  However, I felt that my family should experience the interesting facility.  And much to my surprise, they decided that it would be worth a try to eat there.  It turned out that although it was expensive, the blue crab salad sandwich was really good.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the patio at Claire’s parents’ home.  It is nice to sit in the warm sun

with interesting people.

For our evening dinner, we traveled to Marco Island to Joey’s Pizza and Pasta House where we had huge meals of fine authentic Italian food.  We all took home boxes of left overs.

Hanging Out with Family

Day 5: Friday, February 26

Today we were joined by our son, Scott, and his Wife, Claire, along with their two sons, Wyatt and Joseph.  They will be spending a week in a time share condo on Marco Island.  They have invited us to spend the week with them and we gratefully accepted.  Claire’s parents, Alan and JoEllen Yeasted are also down here for the week so we look forward to an enjoyable week prior to our heading out on the boat. 

We have yet to put the boat in the water.  Interestingly, there is no place on Marco Island to park the boat so she will remain in the storage area until we are ready for the launch.  Also, parking on the island is at a premium.  We tried several angles in parking but finally took the truck to the storage lot as well and will accept rides in Scott and Claire’s rental car.

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico from Eagle Nest

The time share is in a huge high-rise complex called The Eagles Nest.  It is situated on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico beach.  We spent a bit of time this afternoon walking on the pristine white sand.  The facility has all the amenities that one could ask for including a heated pool and two hot tubs. 

A Day of Touring Fort Myers and Marco Island

 Day 4: Wednesday February 25

We started our day with a fine breakfast in the free line in the Comfort Inn.  I was able to get a good healthy shot of sausage gravy on toast to prime me for a day of adventures on a bright sunny day.  It was a bit chilly but I did not complain.  I received a call for our friend Lena Bowman telling us of the snow that had fallen in Perry County overnight.

Our first stop was back at the boat storage lot were we opened up the hatches and laid the cushions out in the cockpit to dry.  We left the forward hatch open for the rest of the day so that the interior could dry out as well.

We headed north out of Naples for Fort Myers.  Our goal was the Edison/Ford Estate.  I had heard that it was most interesting.  We decided to travel along highway 41 instead of the Interstate and although an interesting drive it was a long slow one.

Long line waiting to get tickets for the tours of the Thomas Edison Estate

Upon arrival at the estate, we were greeted with tremendously long lines waiting to get a ticket.  We were not interested in standing in line and entering a crowed venue. We turned and headed out of the grounds when I heard a woman exclaim through the slats in a potting shed that she needed help getting out.  It seems that someone latched the lock not realizing that she was there.  I unlatched the door and the grateful employee was most appreciative.  When she realized that we were leaving without visiting the estate, she encouraged us to stay.  She said that they have over 2,000 visitors a day but can handle them easily.  Back in the line, we waited probably no more than 15 minutes to get our audio tour tickets.

Edison's Seminole Lodge

“The present site dates from 1885, when Edison first visited Florida and purchased the property to build a vacation home. His home, completed in 1886 and later dubbed "Seminole Lodge", served as a winter retreat and place of relaxation until Edison's death in 1931. Edison’s good friend Henry Ford purchased the adjoining property, "The Mangoes" from Robert Smith of New York in 1916.”  Here Edison planted and cultivated many

Henry Ford's winter cottage

different plants.

Interesting root structure of a Fig Tree planted by Edison 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“During the period of 1914-1918 (World War I), Edison became concerned with America's reliance on foreign supplies of rubber. He partnered with Harvey Firestone and his good friend Henry Ford to try to find a rubber tree or plant that could grow quickly in the United States and, above all, contain enough latex to support his research endeavor. In 1927, the three men contributed $25,000 each and created the Edison Botanic Research Corporation in an attempt to find a solution to this problem. In 1928, the Edison Botanic Research Corporation laboratory was constructed. It was in Fort Myers, Florida that Mr. Edison would do the majority of his research and planting of his exotic plants and trees, sending any results or sample rubber residues up to West Orange, New Jersey, to his large Thomas A. Edison "Invention Factory".

Hybrid goldenrod specimen

“After testing 17,000 plant samples, Edison eventually discovered a source in the plant Goldenrod (Solidago leavenworthii). Thomas Edison died in 1931 and the rubber project was transferred to the United States Department of Agriculture five years later.”

I was particularly fascinated by Edison’s lab and machine shop.  He had milling machines, lathes and all other types of fabricating machinery all powered by belts driven from a main drive shaft that ran the full length of the building.  The shaft was powered by an A/C electric motor.

From Fort Myers, we headed back to Naples/Marco Island where we closed up the boat.  We checked into a marina and secured a reservation for our boat for next Monday.  We will launch it and park it securely while we visit with our kids and other 

relatives. 

The machine shop and Lab note main drive line in ceiling

We headed on a driving tour of Marco Island that lead us to the very south end of the island where there is an old small town called Goodland.  It stands in stark contrast with the high rent conglomerate of the north end of Marco.  It was dinner time so we decided to stop at a little dive type place called Stan’s.  It was an open air bar/restaurant that has a whole world of personality.  There was a one man entertainment system who impersonated

Stan's!

Jimmy Buffett and Willie Nelson including a bandanna with long gray braids hanging out if it.  The only problem was the fact that we arrived just before his 1 ½ hour break so we only got a sample of his talents.  Janine and I both had a plastic cup of Stan’s Red Beer in a Stan’s cup.  It was great local color.

Back to the Comfort Inn and relaxation.  No fears of dragging anchors tonight.