We said our farewells to the numerous friends we had made
throughout our 2 month stay and then headed over the Skyway Bridge (having been
under it during our cruise) and travelled 200 miles south on the I-75 to Fort
Myers. The temperature increased by about 5 degrees – lovely!
12 Feb – Sanibel Island
Our camp site is just a mile from the causeway over to Sanibel
Island. This Barrier Island is approximately
11 x 2 miles, was exceedingly crowded with visitors and holiday makers.
We eventually found refuge from the crowds at
the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and followed the 4 mile Wildlife
Drive along the shore. 
We saw many birds such as White Pelicans, Ibis, Cormorants,
various Herons and Egrets. With the binoculars
we could see a couple of dolphins on the far side of the bay. At one spot we walked along a boardwalk where
a dozen Ibis were settling in for the evening barley 10 feet away from us.
Other visitors stood quietly taking photos
and one bird snatched a quick meal of a black crab climbing up the tree.
The
moment was rather special – with the exception of the woman talking loudly on
her cell phone just 12 feet away!
We left the Preserve just as everyone else was leaving the
Island. There is only one way on and off
the Island which is the causeway bridge.
After spending half an hour barely moving a mile in the traffic we
stopped of a meal in a local restaurant to wait out the traffic queue.
13 Feb – Lovers Key State Park
Although Sanibel Island had other activities of interest we
were not prepared to get caught up in the traffic again, so we headed south
onto Fort Myers Beach barrier island and down to Lover’s Key SP. From here we launched the kayak and spent
several hours fishing and exploring the waterways in peace and quiet.
When we were packing up a white heron and an egret appeared
nearby. As Pauls ‘live bait’ was no
longer of use the birds were treated to some easy pickings – they clearly had
experience of fishermen at the end of the day.
Again our drive home through the town on Fort Myers Beach meant
we got caught in traffic. At least the
queue kept moving but even the pedestrians walked faster than us.
14 Feb – Edison & Ford Winter Estates and Museum
Thomas Edison (of the Light Bulb fame) bought some riverfront
land here at Fort Myers in 1885 and built a house and laboratory where he could
escape the cold winters of the north.
Henry Ford worked for Edison Electric Co for 5 years before
establishing his Ford motor company.
He
became friends with Mr Edison and bought adjoining property in 1916. Here they entertained other notable friends
of their time such as Mr Firestone. One
particular project they worked on together was finding a source of rubber that
could be grown in USA.
We perused the buildings open to the public and wandered the
gardens, laboratory and museum. It was
interesting to note that although he made a fortune from his Electric Company
he continued working on all sorts of ideas and was granted a Patent every year
for 65 years. There were many notable
trees in the grounds as well as Mangos and orchids. Of particular note was a huge Banyan tree and
Mysore Fig. Mr Edison had commissioned the planting of hundreds of Royal Palms
along the side of the roadway outside the property.
This was a Holiday weekend as Monday was Presidents
Day. So we stayed at home on the Sunday
and then on the Monday took the kayak out on the waterways at Bunches Beach
which was only a mile and a half from the camp ground. We followed another couple and weaved our way
through the Mangrove tunnels to a quiet little lake. The other couple tried to find another route
back to the launch site but we sat and fished for a while and enjoyed the peace
and quiet.
We explored through other Mangrove tunnels and spotted
hundreds of the black tree crabs. They
would hide themselves on the opposite side of the branch whenever we got near
making a photograph impossible.
Paul had little luck fishing but we did see a fisherman catch
a good sized Sheep-head fish from the beach and also watched an Osprey eating a
fish lunch on the top of a nearby tree.
On the Tuesday we had a quiet day and walked down to the
beach again where the Osprey was still perched on his tree top. It seemed an anomaly that some people were
sunbathing in swimwear whilst others sat wrapped up in fleeces and blankets.
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