Henry got sick Tuesday night, May 2, 2017, so Jonny and Jenny cut short their beach vacation and drove back to Miami on Wednesday to nurse him back to health. Henry had "hand, foot, and mouth disease", which sounded as bad as it probably felt. Dave and I stayed at the beach condo in Ft. Myers for two more days, before meeting Jonny and Jenny at their home in Miami. We lounged around the condo, listening to the waves, on Wednesday morning, and spent Wednesday afternoon at the Edison-Ford Museum in Ft. Myers. Above, Dave and I posed with a statue of Henry Ford.
Edison and Ford were good friends, and lived for many years in neighboring beach homes in Ft. Myers. We loved the stories the guide told about Edison entertaining celebrities like Teddy Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge. Edison built a laboratory, where he worked on such inventions as the phonograph.
Ford gave Edison a gift of a Model T car.
The flowers in Florida are gorgeous. This hibiscus reminds me of my childhood in Burma.
Dave with Thomas Edison.
After visiting the museum, we stopped for ice cream at the "Love Boat" ice cream shop. I asked the waitress how many different flavors I could get in a medium cup, and she said "six"! I picked six, including my favorite, rum raisin.
On Thursday, Dave and I toured Palm Cottage, the oldest home in Naples, dating back to 1885.
Palm Cottage is owned by the Naples Historical Society. This docent gave a delightful tour, with tales of the people who founded Naples and lived in Palm Cottage--rich Kentucky investors, a dissolute heir from Philadelphia who was paid by his family to stay away from Pennsylvania, and sun-loving Midwesterners who traipsed south every season. I asked the docent which city in eastern Florida Naples is most like. Palm Beach, where Trump lives? "None of them," she said. "We're quiet people who want the rest of Florida to forget about us."
We ate Thursday supper at the Salty Crab Bar and Grill. Of course, we ate fish, and finished with key lime pie.
The restaurant fronted on the beach.
A country singer entertained the crowd.
We watched the sunset.
Ft. Myers Beach is a fun beach town, day and night.
On Friday, we took the long route to Jonny's house. We traveled northeast around Lake Okeechobee, the huge, flat lake in the middle of Florida. After Disneyland and Ft. Myers Beach, it was refreshingly empty and austere.
Seniors go to Florida to retire, but not all can afford golf courses and the beach. A trailer park on Lake Okeechobee is an option. There are even some "waterfront lots."
We wondered where all those Trump voters came from.
$45 per night! What a deal!
Next stop was the famous (infamous?) Trump Winter White House--Mar-a-Lago. It is in Palm Beach, along Florida's eastern shore, 100 miles north of Miami.
Our final stop, before driving on to meet Jonny and Jenny, was the Norton Art Museum in West Palm Beach. Wherever there's lots of money, there's usually art, as well. I took a tour of the permanent collection, and I wished that SLC had an art museum equally as distinguished.
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