6-Mile Cypress Slough

Walking Ft Myers - 27 Dec 14

Diane (Laughlin) and I decided to do an AVA walk over in Ft Myers.  Local walkers Bev and Maxine offered to meet and walk with us.  We met at the Publix on McGregor to register and obtain walking directions.  I love the start of this walk under a flowery, block-long flower arbor.  Naturally the best was yet to come as we ventured along the waterfront in a stately park.  Here we noted a fountain with 3 bronzes; Edison, Firestone, and Ford, all good friends.  There were a few other tributes and a Military Memorial to the 82nd Airborne in this area.

Next.  What could be better than downtown historic Ft Myers with people out enjoying the weather, brunching at the outdoor eateries, shopping, etc.?  O, and of course WALKING!  We were amazed at a huge Banyan Tree, a soaring eagle sculpture carved out of oak, a Cracker house, and a pullman railroad car at the Southwest Florida Museum.  I think Diane stated that the railroad car was a Pullman.  It was an executive car--I know she said that.  She worked for the RR system for 40 years and knows her trains.  We enjoyed the "Tourist" trees along side Jet Blue Park where the Red Sox used to practice/play.  I guess they moved on to better quarters, although I saw nothing wrong with this facility.  There were also many bougainvillea trees growing up around light posts; just gorgeous.  (The "Tourist" tree gets it's name from the red, peeling bark that resembles northerners peeling from too much sun--there is probably a real name for this tree as well.  Maxine told us it was a tourist tree.)  We resumed our walk, crossing busy US41 advancing toward the hospital and a nice fountain in a park.  Here we decided to forgo the 10K distance so we could finish with Bev and Maxine, who prefer the 6K distance.  We spent a bit more time enjoying the gardens and layout of Thomas Edison's grounds, home, and lab.  I really want to return and take the tour--just not today.  I enjoyed the Christmas tree make out of potted bromeliads and Edison's stately silver statue.  Point of Interest is the silver ball bearing in his left hand, that apparently helped him think up inventions, while lightly napping.  He'd hold it and if he dozed and dropped it, it would strike metal and awake him. “To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”  There was so much to see.  Bev told me the tour was very well worth it.  So, we returned from the walk and parted ways, but with a nice treat:  I think they were rum balls, but if they weren't, they were still amazingly good!

Punta Gorda Walk

Diane and I popped up to Punta Gorda early Sunday in heavy fog only to discover that we were 3 hours too early to register for the walk.  That's what we get for not paying attention to the AVA.org site and starting point info.  Since I'd done this walk the year prior, we relied on my memory, which was extremely close.  I think we might have added a few blocks, but I'm sure no one will hold that against us.  What a pretty morning as we set out.  The fog had lifted and we had views of Charlotte Harbor.

Fishing @ Lake Okeechobee

O wow, 0400 came early.  Tom was chomping at the bit to fish Lake O, so off we went, aiming to drown some crickets.  Got there b4 daylight, so stopped off at Roland Martin's store to kill some time.  Over $100 later, we were on our way again.  Got to the ramp and found many had launched in the dark.  Fishing was soooooooooo very slow at first, so much so that Tom's thoughts turned to food.  That seems to be the answer when things aren't going as expected.  Soon we were back at Roland Martin's.  We tied the boat to the docks and slid in for a quick bite.  After lunch Tom let me drop a hook in the harbor and that went so well that soon we were both drowning crickets.  Then it was back out to the canals surrounding the lake for more.  The weather started deteriorating, so Tom suggested we head back to the ramp and just in time too.

Working our way out to the Lake

There were twice as many boat trailers as in the morning and it was starting to sprinkle.  We pulled, headed for the cleaning house and it started pouring.  Boats were backing up at the ramp and it looked like it would be a free-4-all soon.  What timing!  We drove at least half the way back to the campground in pouring rain.  It let up just enuff for us to check out another Corps Campground located out in the middle of the boonies that Diane was venturing to in the near future.