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.