Having been in Florida now for 6+
weeks, we have a few observations on the Sunshine State. With few words, here they are:
-
speedy impatient drivers (highway speed limits
of 70 or 75mph)
-
great state and city parks
-
wonderfully mild weather for this time of year
-
lush gardens, OK zooz
-
lots of shells and sand everywhere
-
zillions of ants
-
many friendly folks, but some not so……
-
way too many empty storefronts and super big
homes
-
great beaches, if you can find parking and access
Our latest camping experience is at
Koreshan State Historic Site, in Estero. It’s a little south of Fort Meyers and
a little north of Naples. But more about that later.
As it happens, our friends Kay and
Jim were coming down here to visit friends, Lee and Jennifer. We all met at Lee
and Jennifer‘s new condo. What a place!
With the great views of the river
and harbor areas from the condo, we hated to leave for dinner at a nearby
restaurant.
But our hunger won out, and we
had an excellent dinner at nearby Rumrunners restaurant. The shrimp and lobster pot pie was
scrumptious!
Of course, we wanted to get down by the ocean and maybe even dabble our piggies, but one of the things we learned is that it is sometimes easier said
than done. We decided to drive to
Sanibel Island, where our sister Carol and fam often vacation, to have a look. The views from the toll bridge were great.
Unfortunately, it was Saturday, and
hordes of people were on the island for the Shell Fair. So after an hour or so
of stop and go driving, we made it down to the end of the island and started
back along the coast. But guess what? There wasn’t a view of the ocean to be
had the entire way back, either! We had driven for an hour and a half and seen
nothing of the ocean – only traffic and the back sides of rental homes and
resorts. We did see one public beach, but didn’t feel like stopping. The
afternoon wasn’t a total loss, however, because we found a farmer’s market
under a bridge in Fort Meyers – and we thought that Trolls were the only
inhabitants there!
Next day we did actually did see
the ocean at Lover’s Key State Park. A tram takes you on a short ride from the
parking lot to the beach. A picnic lunch in the breeze at the large gazebo and
a few hours on the beach, where Anne found some shells for the garden, made for
a nice afternoon.
A Sunday drive took us to the
Naples Zoo, about 15 miles south of here. This small zoo is definitely geared
towards children, and it has several “shows” featuring different animals. Like
most older zoos we have been to, many of the animals are separated from the
visitors by fences and cages, rather than moats or sunken enclosures that give
you an unobstructed view. Many animals can only be seen in the shows.
And what would a visit to a Florida zoo be without at least one gator pic?
Do you think this fellow is smiling at us?
We couldn’t tell.
Later…….
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