Sweet Silver Travels: Gulf Coast of Ft. Meyers

Edison and Ford Winter Estates

This was such an interesting afternoon visiting the homes and getting to know the men themselves. Edison was the older by 16 years but definitely the more excentric from my perspective. Edison, Ford, Firestone and an naturalists named Burroughs would camp in southern Florida in the early 1900's for fun. However, Edison hated exercise, took frequent naps, smoked 8 cigars a day, but enjoyed conversations at the campfire. These men took a Model T into the wilderness, but were followed by an entourage of many Ford autos loaded with tents, gourmet food, wood, and other necessities for their camp. This was a time with few paved roads, bugs a plenty and an abundance of roaming wildlife. Not fun from where I sit.

Edison came to Florida for his health and settled on this particular piece of land because it offered abundant bamboo trees. The bamboo fibers successfully added to the life of his lightbulb. Most of his waking hours were spent in his laboratory and little with his family with a thousand patents to his name. Henry Ford built a modest home next to his mentor and close friend.

The homes and gardens are beautiful, but from the original pictures on display, it looked a bit more rugged when the families lived here. An afternoon well spent.

SANIBEL ISLAND

The best part of Sanibel was not the beaches. We took a boat ride around the island and picked up some friends who enjoy the wake.

To me Sanibel is a little over rated with the HUGE homes, crowds and less than stellar water and beaches.

We camped at Koreshan State Park Historical Site while we stayed near Ft. Myers Beach. The Koreshans were a group of people that came under the influence of an unorthodox leader who persuaded them to move to sunny Florida to start a colony the late 1800's. They successfully grew with a variety of business to sustain them, until their leader, Mr. Teed, died. He, unfortunately, did not return from the dead as promised, even though his body was left outside for 8 days. Consequently the colony went into decline. The buildings they occupied, however are nicely preserved and make for an interesting walk.

NAPLES AND FT. MYERS BEACH

The highlight of our trip was spending time with Denny's sister Pat, and her husband Bob. They took us to some of their favorite places which included Naples. We think the house belongs to Steven Spielberg and Denny was able to snatch a picture from the beach.

This is only a small portion of the estate.

The RITZ

The Gingerbread House (completely made of cookies and candy) located in the lobby of the RITZ CARLTON in Naples.
Pat and I posing in front.

Pat brought us to Sand Sculptures at F. Myers Beach. This is a competition, but the art is bulldozed at the conclusion unfortunately.

What a lovely time we had that week thanks to their hospitality!

NORTH TO SARASOTA AND BEYOND

Oscar-Scherer State Park near Sarasota was the next stop as we head north. We did very little site seeing but did take advantage of the Venice Beach and The Legacy Bike Trail all of the days we camped there. Nothing but sun and fun...no forts, historical homes or museums to tour. The bike trail, 20 miles long through the Florida landscape, was adjacent to the park.