Dis*cov*er

find (something or someone) unexpectedly or in the course of a search

* Fort Myers   *

Can you get a weather refund? After our lifetime of northern winters, our first Southwest Florida winter has had tornadoes and now a winter cold blast that they haven’t seen in years. We’ve had several days (we know, how can we handle several days?!!) of lows in the 30’s at night and daytime temperatures frigid with strong winds. It was chilly, but as northerners, we’ll take a couple of days of it because it wasn’t that bad and didn’t last long. Sure beats the weather in Indiana! We continue to love the aft deck of our boat with our enclosure we stay very comfortable even in the Florida cold blast!

Chilly in the cabin one night!

The captain spent one of the chilly days swapping out the batteries for the thrusters. Not only were they 69 lbs. each, two in and two out, they are housed under the front berth and under his tool and part storage area, so everything had to be moved to swap them out. David also sorted through his vast collections of parts and created an inventory sheet. We have hundreds on board! Lots and lots of parts! David met his match in the former owner of Now or Never. David likes to have spare parts on board (and if you’ve been following us – you know we’ve needed them!), but Marvin had backups to backups. The captain loves this, we’ve had the boat over four years and still have hundreds of Marvin parts. It sure beats having to locate and purchase parts now.

Batteries and parts!

With chilly temperatures abound, we explored Pine Island by car with Tiffany and Mark. They picked us up and we headed west, stopping to take our old thruster batteries back for a $50 credit – that helped a little with the new purchase price of them!

Pine Island is the largest island on the gulf coast of peninsular Florida. It was interesting that it is so close to Cape Coral / Fort Myers but still so rural, undeveloped, and true to what this area was. We drove through Matlacha (stopping at a favorite – Bert’s) and then to Bokeelia and St. James City at the ends of the island. More development is starting at the ends of the island, but none of the commercial, chain, and high rise building is going on. But it is coming. We frequented a few places on Matlacha and St. James City and ate dinner on the way back. We were not able to enjoy the water or the outside decks as it was cold and breezy, but it was great to get away for the day and reminisce about Tasha’s father Kurt’s favorite places.

Outside and Inside at Bert’s with Tiffany and Mark

Fort Myers is rich in history. Did you know that Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were good friends and wintered in the City of Palms? And they were such good friends their winter retreats were side by side on the Caloosahatchee River about a mile from our marina. Edison came first and when the Ford family visited them, they knew they wanted to be here also.

Edison Ford Winter Estates – what a view of the Caloosahatchee!

The 20-acre estates include the winter homes of both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, a historical museum, 8.5 acres of botanical gardens, a laboratory, and a garden center open to the public. With the estates being so close, we rode our bikes to the estates for our history lesson. It was extremely fascinating and we would recommend a visit to everyone.

Museum and Laboratory

Edison, one of the most famous and prolific inventors of all time held 1093 different patents and his most famous inventions were the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, the motion picture camera and projector, the ticker tape machine, alkaline battery storage, a ship to shore radio, and the microphone. Among his lesser-known inventions, are wax paper, tin foil, the talking doll, mimeograph, dictation machine, and mucilage, the “sticky stuff” on the back of a postage stamp.

Museum

One thing (of many) we didn’t know- During World War I, Edison became concerned about America’s reliance on foreign supplies of rubber. He partnered with Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford to try to find a rubber tree or plant that could grow quickly in the US. He also sought one that would contain enough latex to support his research endeavor. In 1927, the three men contributed $25,000 each and created the Edison Botanical Research Corporation to find a solution. The laboratory was constructed in 1928 in Fort Myers and most of the research including planting exotic plants and trees. After testing 17,000 plant samples, Edison discovered a source in the goldenrod plant and the rubber project was transferred to the Department of Agriculture five years later.

Quotes and the grounds

It was also during this time that the royal palms lining McGregor Drive were imported and planted due to Edison’s efforts. This inspired the nickname for Fort Myers as the “City of Palms”.

City of Palms

Edison met Henry Ford at a meeting in New York and encouraged him to quit his job and turn his full attention to his dream of building a gasoline driven automobile. By 1903, Ford’s dream had come true and he had become so famous that people were asking to put money into his company. The Ford Motor Company was officially started that year $28,000, but it took the introduction of the Model-T in 1907 to make the company a success. By 1914 the first Ford dealership was opened in Fort Myers.

In 1947, Edison’s widow, Mina, deeded the family winter home, Seminole Lodge to the city of Fort Myers in memory of her husband. In 1988, Fort Myers purchased the Ford estate next door. They Edison and Ford Winter Estates were opened to the public in 1990.

We spent a morning touring the estates and learning so much more than we could have imagined. One could spend days learning more about these incredible inventors and entrepreneurs. The estates and laboratory are just as they were when the families were here. They boast a beautiful view of the river, and it was the most relaxing setting for their winter retreat. We sat on a bench in the front yard forever and watched the river flow. A great history lesson for us.

Art Fest!

Fort Myers downtown was bustling again, this time for ArtFest. There is something going on every weekend! A large, juried show had over 200 artists works to choose from. Tasha negotiated her way through the crowd and came home with one memento, a watercolor print of the flavor of downtown Fort Myers including boats at the marina. We have the perfect place for it in our Columbus home.

The community stage was placed just at the entrance to our marina (50 yards away). We were treated (most of it was good) to all kinds of music, dance, and flavor all weekend. Looks like Dave took in some different entertainment while Tasha was shopping! This is David’s idea of an art festival! We enjoy the marina being in the heart of activity of Fort Myers.

David’s Art Festival Viewing!

Our run with the homeport crew has continued. Tasha’s colleague through Pro Bono Indiana, Ruth and her husband, Kees, were visiting the area from Fort Wayne. They escaped the frozen tundra to head south and we met for dinner. Always good to see those from home.

Ruth and Kees from Fort Wayne!

We were also working on the boat when we saw some familiar faces walking down the peer, the Force’s, and the Voelz’s from Columbus! The Forces have a beautiful boat, Buoyant Force, out of Vero Beach, Florida, were traveling on her, and came in for fuel and to pick the Voelz’s up for a cruise. Again, our small cruising world continues to amaze us!

Buoyant Force – Crew from Columbus!

Tasha made a quick trip home to see her mom, leaving David and Remy to hand out in the sunshine. It almost didn’t come to fruition. A couple weeks prior to travel, Tasha realized she hadn’t seen or used her license for who knows how long. In preparing and looking forward (something we don’t do much of anymore), she realized the new Real ID compliant driver’s license that allows you to fly was sitting in Indiana. We have had no need for ID’s since we left home. Luckily, son Ryan was able to find it and send it to us at the marina! Whew!

Trip Home – Mom, Kids, and snow!

There was a sixty-degree difference on the home travel day. Tasha was not prepared for that big of change and shoveling the driveway. A big thanks to our friend Susan for assisting Tasha with transportation to and from the airport. Although a short trip, it was great to catch up with Momma Sally, kids, and friends. There is no place like home!

Shock to the system!

John and Kris from Madison/Cincinnati joined us for lunch in downtown Fort Myers as they  were vacationing at Fort Myers Beach for the week. They hope to one day soon embark on the great loop trip and we enjoyed sharing our adventure and experiences with them.

Home boating friends – John and Kris

Our looper friends continue to keep us entertained and active. We continue to meet late afternoon to enjoy the sunset sitting on the side deck dock, enjoying tales of the day, and a last-minute run to Skyline to share our home area tradition as well as two retired cops picking up donuts!

Looper Fun!

The pups continue to gather also, and Remy so enjoys the company of her four-legged friends, they have their own little gang, but doesn’t like to share when it comes treat time in the yacht basin office, a daily tradition! She has reclaimed her throne as Queen of the dock and loving it!

Dock Queen Remy and her friends!

Our time is winding down in Fort Myers, we are gearing up for our trek to the keys. So much to pack during these last couple of weeks!

Cheers! D, T & R

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