I have a dear friend who I’ve been friends with since we met in Atlanta, Georgia in the sixth grade and we graduated high school in 1985, so we’ve been friends a while. Anyway, as life goes, I moved to Florida and she moved elsewhere but we remained in touch then, about 3 years ago, I was thrilled when she told me she was moving to the west coast of Florida. She ended up moving to Fort Myers and loves it there.
She was always the tomboyish, outdoorsy type and one of the things she was pleased to find out one of the things to do in Fort Myers is great flats fishing. She went out and bought herself a little 16 foot or so boat to tool around the flats in, and every now and then I’m amused to get pictures of her latest catches of snook, redfish and trout. She does well and is able to eat a lot of what she catches.
We try and get together at least once a year usually during the spring, meet in Orlando to go to a Braves Spring Training Game, but that’s not nearly enough. So I was happy when she ended up buying a house in Fort Myers and was even happier when she invited us over to see it and celebrate with her. I had never been to Fort Myers before and was anxious to see it. I must say I was pleasantly surprised, when you first drive into the city it doesn’t look like much but then you get into the heart of the city and you realize why Thomas Edison and Henry Ford fell in love with Fort Myers, Thomas Edison even said, “There is only one Fort Myers, and 90 million people are going to find it”, sounds like love to me. The neighborhoods here really have that old time Florida feel from the style of the houses to their tree lined streets, like I said it’s really beautiful.
The first night we were there we decided to go out to dinner with my friend and had a little time to kill before she was available so we went over the bridge to the beach. The water is Emerald green and the beach is made of sugar-white sand and at dusk, when we were there, it’s absolutely breathtaking. While we were there the sun was setting now, I’ve never just stood and watched the sun actually set so I was amazed but how quickly it went down, it truly was spectacular. Fort Myers Beach, dubbed has been ‘the world’s safest beach’ because it has small waves and calm seas. It also has gentle slopes and sand bars in the waters near shore which make it a great place to teach a child to snorkel. Ok, in the interest of finishing my story, we did meet up with my friend that night and ended up at a great little neighborhood BBQ place, Famous Dave’s for a great meal and even better company.
The next day we went to visit someone else’s house, two other homes actually, those of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. In 1885 Thomas Edison first visited Florida and as I said he fell in love with the area so much so that in 1886 he built a winter home here called “Seminole Lodge”. The Edison Museum and surrounding 14 acre estate were used in the winter by Edison until his Death in 1931. In 1947 Mrs. Edison donated the estate to the City of Fort Myers and in November of that year, the estate was opened to the public.
In 1915 the Edison’s invited their close friends Mr. & Mrs. Henry Ford, yes the car maker, for a visit and THEY loved it too. They bought the house right next door to the Edison’s and called it “Mangoes”. For the next 15 years the Fords and Edisons spent their winters together welcoming family and friends to thier lovely Fort Myers estates. In 1988 the Ford Home was brought by the City of Fort Myers and it too was opened to the public, in 1990.
The grounds really are beautiful, the landscaping and the houses are quite a sight, and they have a rather famous Banyan tree there. The laboratories are fascinating and everything has been left as if Edison or Ford just walked out of the room, at least they tried to keep it as true as possible. It’s wonerful that these joint estates have been opened up to the public they really are something to see.
We also visited Sanibel Island, renown for it’s spectacular shelling beaches where you can learn to do the “Sanibel Stoop”. What makes this such a great shelling place is the islands unique positioning, it runs east to west, which is different from most islands which run north to south, this allows it to catch the many different kinds of sea shells. As you search the sand looking for that perfect shell be sure to put lots of sunscreen on your neck and wear a hat so your head doesn’t burn. You will also need a bucket, net bag and scoop or shovel. Shelling at low tide after a storm is best and remember is illegal to take “live shells” from the sea. While on Sanibel Island be sure to visit the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge and enjoy one of the many bike paths, go bird watching, snorkel or walk along the beach.
We had only gone to visit my friend for the weekend so all too quickly it was time to go but I did enjoy my time in Fort Myers, what a nice little place. I was also glad my friend had found a place she felt good living in and am looking forward to an invitation back.
Posted by travelflorida 
