February 13
The storms ceased by nightfall. A bit of rain fell in the night but not what was predicted. The drought continues here in Florida. Morning found us taking care of banking issues and other business as we had some catching up to do after being out of cell signal for over a week. Storm clouds loomed
to the south but it stayed dry at our site.
We traveled south to Fort Meyer to visit the Edison and Ford winter estates. Edison spent his winters here beginning in 1885 and talked his good friend Henry Ford into purchasing the neighboring estate in 1916. Their good friendship is evident in the grounds as there is no division in the extensive grounds and out buildings. Henry tinkered, Thomas experimented. Thomas still does hold the record of 1093 U.S. patents. I guess he had to work year round to achiev
e that status. Much of his work in the Fort Meyer labs centered on developing soft material (latex) for industry. He worked closely with a friend Harvey Firestone, and as the saying goes, “you know the rest of the story”.
Both homes were filled with original pieces and left in a “as was” condition. In 1947, Mrs. Edison sold the estate to the city of Fort Meyer for $1 and walked away. Of the many homes we have visited, all have been “restored” and/or refurbished, most with items that represent the times, not the originals. The originals are all here. Even the extensive laboratory. The exhib
its were so extensive here (on the Edison side) that I think this may be the first time that Barb was waiting for me at the end. We had stayed too long. Our time here complicated our next site of exploration.
We drove out the causeway to Sanibel Island as the sun was low in the horizon. The sunset was veiled by the cloud cover. The residents (snow birds, rich ones) are known for a common affliction called the “Sanibel Stoop”. Due to the islands unique location and shape, storms wash up tons of seashells onto the beach. The causeway beach is all shells. The retirees hit the beaches at low tide, especially after the storm. Their body profile gives rise to the “stoop” moniker.
The island, what we saw of it, is filled with single story dwellings set amongst trees and canals. Bicycle paths, art museums, gift shops and restaurants mixed comfortably with the beaches. No garish T shirt shops here. A fine place, Sanibel.
The storms ceased by nightfall. A bit of rain fell in the night but not what was predicted. The drought continues here in Florida. Morning found us taking care of banking issues and other business as we had some catching up to do after being out of cell signal for over a week. Storm clouds loomed
to the south but it stayed dry at our site.We traveled south to Fort Meyer to visit the Edison and Ford winter estates. Edison spent his winters here beginning in 1885 and talked his good friend Henry Ford into purchasing the neighboring estate in 1916. Their good friendship is evident in the grounds as there is no division in the extensive grounds and out buildings. Henry tinkered, Thomas experimented. Thomas still does hold the record of 1093 U.S. patents. I guess he had to work year round to achiev
e that status. Much of his work in the Fort Meyer labs centered on developing soft material (latex) for industry. He worked closely with a friend Harvey Firestone, and as the saying goes, “you know the rest of the story”.Both homes were filled with original pieces and left in a “as was” condition. In 1947, Mrs. Edison sold the estate to the city of Fort Meyer for $1 and walked away. Of the many homes we have visited, all have been “restored” and/or refurbished, most with items that represent the times, not the originals. The originals are all here. Even the extensive laboratory. The exhib
its were so extensive here (on the Edison side) that I think this may be the first time that Barb was waiting for me at the end. We had stayed too long. Our time here complicated our next site of exploration.We drove out the causeway to Sanibel Island as the sun was low in the horizon. The sunset was veiled by the cloud cover. The residents (snow birds, rich ones) are known for a common affliction called the “Sanibel Stoop”. Due to the islands unique location and shape, storms wash up tons of seashells onto the beach. The causeway beach is all shells. The retirees hit the beaches at low tide, especially after the storm. Their body profile gives rise to the “stoop” moniker.
The island, what we saw of it, is filled with single story dwellings set amongst trees and canals. Bicycle paths, art museums, gift shops and restaurants mixed comfortably with the beaches. No garish T shirt shops here. A fine place, Sanibel.
Barb doing the "Sanibel stoop".
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