Sanibel and Ft. Myers

 

We discovered the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on our first visit to Sanibel Island, Florida back in 2003.  Ding, a cartoonist by trade, founded the National Wildlife Federation in 1936 and his famous duck drawing is still used today in signage for National Wildlife Refuge areas across the country.  The 6,400 acre refuge is great place to observe migratory birds, alligators, lizards, fish and multiple varieties of plant life in their beautiful, natural setting.  A slow ride through the refuge gave us another opportunity to see, hear, and smell some of the real Florida we had enjoyed a few days earlier back in the Everglades.  Sanibel Island and it's tiny adjoining Captiva Island really have a Caribbean feel to them with their white sand beaches and clear water.  We enjoyed getting our feet into the cool Gulf Coast waters and on the sandy shell-filled beaches.  

Just a few miles away from Sanibel we stayed at a cute cottage in Ft. Myers for a few days.  The cottage was located close to the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford Winter Homes and Gardens.  On our tour through the buildings and gardens we learned many interesting facts about Edison and Ford and their families.  These two men were good friends and shared a love of camping as well as inventing things. In his lifetime Edison held 1,093 patents in his name and Ford had 150 in his name.  The most commonly known are Edison's light bulbs and Ford's Model T cars.  Their homes and gardens were next door to each other and their families apparently enjoyed each others company as well.  

Edison was totally deaf in one ear and only had 20% hearing in the other ear which we found interesting in that he invented so many items related to sound.  One humorous anecdote our tour guide told us was that Ford was very careful not to embarrass his good friend Edison about his lack of being able to clearly hear conversations.  Due to Edison's hearing difficulties it was particularly hard for him to understand conversations and almost impossible to read lips while people ate at dinner parties.  When Ford would tell a joke or say something to the group, he would always write it down on a slip of paper first and then privately hand it to Edison.  Craig could readily identify with Edison's hearing difficulties and understand what a kind gesture Ford had extended to his good friend.

As we departed Ft. Myers we decided to drive northeast up the center of the state and see some more of the many picturesque small towns and lakes that help make Florida the beautiful state it is.  We skirted around Lake Okeechobee, Florida's largest fresh water lake, and made our way past Lake Placid and Lake Jackson along with other smaller lakes.

We had originally decided not to go to Walt Disney World Resort but we found ourselves in Lake Buena Vista and the car just turned right into the Lime Parking Garage at Disney Springs.  While there we enjoyed walking around, had a tasty lunch at the Polite Pig, and picked up amazing desserts at Amorette's Patisserie.  

Everglades City, Florida

On our quest to see areas new to us in Florida we decided to travel to Everglades City. This is an area that is surrounded by millions of acres of mangrove made islands, alligators, snakes, cougars, multiple types of birds, mosquitoes, various flora and fauna varieties and tremendously beautiful natural views. Back on September 10, 2017 hurricane Irma caused massive destruction of this area with over 10’ of storm surge and 155 mph winds. Irma pretty well leveled the area and now almost 4 years later they are still rebuilding their little town. The official population is only about 200 people here with another 340 people in nearby Chokoloskee, a small community a mile or so further into the Everglades that is also still rebuilding from hurricane Irma.

Once we got to Everglades City we saw several signs advertising air boat adventures from different vendors. Since mornings are cooler, with less bugs and better chances of seeing wildlife we opted for a 9:00 morning tour with the Everglades City Airboat Tours. Captain Blake was our boat driver and tour guide. We wore headsets with boom microphones to make it easy to chat with the captain and each other as well as to muffle out some of the airboats engine noise. On our ride we saw manatee, aquatic birds and alligators but the best part of the ride for Becky was when Captain Blake would go full throttle and speed across the swampy water making tight turns as we zipped through the mangrove “forests”. In many places the clear openings in the mangroves were just big enough for the boat to get through and Becky giggled with joy as we flew by the heavy jungle type growth of the beautiful mangrove swamps. Truth be known I was doing a bit of giggling myself as it was great fun.

Since we had enjoyed the airboat tour so much we then drove down to the Everglades National Park Welcome Center and booked a ride on a pontoon boat for a water tour over to some of the parks famous 10,000 islands. Our tour guide, Captain Bobby, did an excellent job of pointing out multiple bird species, manatee and dolphins. It was almost like a naturalist lecture with Bobby explaining the history and habitats of the plants and creatures we observed while boating along the various cays and open water areas we passed through.

While in Everglades City we are staying at the Ivey House Inn. The Ivey House Inn is an older hotel structure with rooms and suites. Our room is just steps away from a lovely lanai covered swimming pool with tropical plants around it. We really enjoyed having the pool area so close to our room and are pleasantly surprised how quiet and peaceful the whole Inn is.

Cedar Key, Florida

We traveled over to the northwest portion of Florida and arrived at the small town of Cedar Key which is located near the upper gulf coast area of the state. Our son and his family had vacationed there a few years ago and Becky had spent a few days at Cedar Key 4 years ago but Craig had never been on the island. It is a quaint place known for its clamming industry. Founded back in 1869 the waters surrounding Cedar Key are known as great fishing areas. The famous naturalist John Muir once walked the 1000 miles from Indianapolis, Indiana to Cedar Key on his “1000 mile walk to the Gulf”. Although Cedar Key had been a highly successful clamming area for years a Florida law passed in 1995 changed their industry significantly. In 1995 the citizens of the State of Florida voted to ban the use of gill nets in state waters.  As a result, many commercial fishermen were out of work.  Some found work away from the fishing industry while others became part of a newly formed clam industry in Cedar Key.  The State of Florida helped train fishermen through several clam training programs.  Due to Cedar Key's rural location and exceptional water quality, the little island quickly became one of the largest producers of farm raised calms in the country!

We ate lunch at a local favorite, Tony's Restaurant, and enjoyed their award winning, world famous clam chowder. It was delicious indeed. After lunch we wandered through a few shops then drove around a bit to see more of the island. We passed the small Cedar Key airport which is actually just a short paved runway only 2355 feet long and 11 feet above sea level with no fuel and no mechanic available. There is however a porta potty provided by the county and according to the signs they do NOT allow camping in an airplane there. Yet another of the many colorful things we have discovered and chuckled about on our travels!

Views of Cedar Key!

A Safe Finish to our Trip Across America

 

After driving Ashlea to the Saint Louis airport for her flight back home we went back to our Boondocker's Welcome camping spot in Edwardsville, Illinois to hook up, tell our hosts goodbye and start home ourselves. 

We traveled as far as Paducah, Kentucky and spent the night at Duck Creek, a commercial campground. The next morning we left Paducah thinking we would stop at one of our favorite BW locations in Cosby, TN for the night. As we drove eastward we began discussing the possibility of not stopping in TN but just continuing on home. After weighing the pros and cons of a longer than planned travel day we decided to drive all the way home. All was well until we got stopped in traffic in Knoxville, TN and a car bumped into the back of our travel trailer. 

On our first cross country tour back in 2008 we traveled 15,460 miles and on this trip across America we traveled over 9,000 miles and had a wonderful time.

 

Mark Twain and the St. Louis Arch (Gateway to the West)

Of the many agricultural entities we observed and interacted with in our travels across America we found that they all had a common thread. They all showed pride in what they were producing and were not afraid of the hard work it took to make it happen. One example of this is a family dairy farm in Donnellson, Iowa named Hinterland Dairy. Hinterland is a multi-generational dairy farm with many family members involved in the care of the cows, growing the feed for the cows, the milking processes, making the cheese and marketing of the dairy products. On the day we visited we were invited to observe them making cheese curds. After they completed a batch we were given a sample and they were delicious! 

 

Leaving Donnellson, Iowa we traveled into Missouri to the Corp of Engineers campground at Mark Twain Lake. It is a beautiful camping area with large camp sites near the lake. We were able to get a full hookup site which was convenient since we were camping there for two nights. After we were set up Ashlea gathered some firewood and made a nice campfire to enjoy. 

 

Mark Twain (a.k.a. Samuel L. Clemens) has always been one of our favorite authors and Becky had previously enjoyed a tour his home in Hartford, Connecticut back in 2016. Hannibal, Missouri is the childhood home of Mark Twain and the town has a wonderful museum as well as house tours of the various buildings where young Sam lived and worked. Ashlea treated us to a riverboat tour on the Mississippi River, which was definitely one of the highlights of the day. It was exciting to ride on the paddle wheel boat down the river and imagine what life was like back in the mid 1800s. 

 

Only Craig had visited the Saint Louis Arch, the Gateway to the West,  after its completion back in 1967 so it was a must do for us all this trip. In addition to seeing the structure Becky and Ashlea took the tram up to the top where the observation deck was. While they were on the tram Craig and Josie stayed below on the lawn overlooking the courthouse where the famous Dred Scott court case was heard back  in 1847.

A Dutch Village and a Blueberry Farm

As a little girl growing up in Sumter, South Carolina, I longed to travel and experience places that I read about or heard about.  Once again as I have so many times on this two month journey, I found myself sipping my morning coffee and reflecting on the incredibly satisfying life that we have.  This particular location was a lovely vineyard in central Iowa. And now a day later, I am enjoying the sounds of songbirds and the beauty of acres of blueberry bushes laden with the fruit that will very soon ripen.  

Ashlea is with us this week and we are both researchers and planners, so our days are filled with wandering from one interesting location to the next.  She flew into Omaha, Nebraska to meet us and will fly out of St. Louis, Missouri to return home.  The total drive distance is only about 450 miles.  We planned the week so that we would have very short drives each day to enable us to experience the roads less traveled.  This often involves pulling Wander on wash board dirt or gravel roads but the rewards are great.  

Our host at the winery, Joanne, suggested we go to Lake Red Rock.  Lake Red Rock is the largest lake in Iowa and a beautiful recreation area managed by the Corps of Engineers.  Ashlea did a 2 mile hike through the woods and over the river.  I chose to do a shorter trail but beautiful!  

The COE volunteer at the lake visitor center recommended we drive into nearby Pella, Iowa.  Pella is a charming little Dutch town with a very interesting history.  It was established in 1847 by immigrants from the Netherlands fleeing religious persecution.  Many descendants of these original founders still live in the town.  The architecture of the early buildings as well as newer construction is lovely and very Dutch.  This may be the cutest little town we have visited.  We visited a Dutch bakery and came away shocked at the prices!  We bought 3 individual pastries and a cherry coffee cake for the unbelievable total of $8.04!  

We had lunch at a lovely little restaurant, Liberty Street Kitchen.  It is located in the Royal Amsterdam Hotel in the center of the business district.  Our food was delicious and the atmosphere equally as good.  We all enjoyed a side of what we agree might be the most delicious brussel sprouts we have ever had.

From Pella we proceeded southeast through Iowa to Blueberry Bottoms Farms an organic farm near Brighton, Iowa.  Kim and Steve are our hosts at this Harvest Hosts site and like all our HH stays across the country, it was a delightful experience.  The farm is over 400 acres and it includes the blueberry fields, an orchard with hazelnuts and chestnuts, some persimmon trees, paw-paw trees, one apple tree and one peach tree.  The remainder of the acreage they rotate with crops like oats, soybean, wheat and other grains.  Kim took us on a tour of the farm in their “Mule” and we were all very excited to learn about this lovely organic farm. It is really impressive that with the exception of some occasional part-time help, the two of them work this large farm by themselves.  Steve also works another “full-time job” and Kim is an adjunct professor at Southern New Hampshire University.  

Ashlea joins us - Omaha and Iowa

 

Ashlea, our youngest daughter, was able to join us for our last full week of our journey across the US.  What a treat for us. We picked her up from Eppley Field in Omaha, Nebraska on Sunday morning and went to Omaha to explore.  Omaha is a beautiful little city!  Our first discovery was the fantastic sculptures depicting the pioneers traveling in covered wagons.  The details were truly amazing.  After oohing and ahhing over these, we discovered that by "following the bison" we would see more beautiful sculptures in about a four block area.  

The Lewis and Clark Landing (managed by the National Park Service) is on the Missouri River in the middle of downtown Omaha and at the foot of the pedestrian bridge that crosses over to Iowa.  We enjoyed our very windy walk and because the state line between Nebraska and Iowa is in the middle of the river, we could actually stand in both states at once.  Very fun!

The Old Market in Omaha covers a large section of downtown and has dozens of restaurants, bars, gift shops, bakeries, and so much more.  We had an excellent lunch at The Collins and had some interesting conversations with some locals.  It was a delightful day!

After returning to Blair and our Boondocker's Welcome site, we enjoyed visiting with our hosts, Steve and Donna on their lovely deck.  

Winterset is a pretty little town in Madison County, Iowa, home of six covered bridges constructed in the late 1800s.  We visited two of the bridges. The Roseman Bridge stands over the Middle River and is very picturesque.  This bridge is featured in the book and movie, "Bridges of Madison County".

Our host for tonight is a Harvest Host Winery, Nearwood Winery and Vineyards in Knoxville, Iowa.  Our host Joanne is very kind.  This is a beautiful site with power and a raised deck plus they have a full bath just for Harvest Host guests.  This is a first for us! We enjoyed a delicious dinner of tuna steaks and asparagus along with a bottle of very good wine from Nearwood.  

Ashlea did the honor of attaching our Iowa sticker to Wander's map!