Celebrating Christmas in the Sunshine State

Merry Christmas

Beach at Cayo Coasta State Park

Trail in Cayo Cosata State Park

Upon leaving Bradenton, Florida we figured we had four days to travel 120 miles to reach Fort Myers in time to celebrate Christmas. At five miles an hour it would take us – well you can do the math. Plus, Peggy had her heart set on stopping at Cayo Coasta Island Sate Park, anchoring in Pelican Bay. With nine miles of beautiful beaches and acres of pine forests, oak-palm hammocks and mangrove swamps, this barrier island park is often referred to as Florida Gulf Coast paradise. Cayo Costa Island is accessible only by boat or ferry. It is possible to see manatees and pods of dolphins in the waters around the 2,426 acre park, as well as a spectacular assortment of birds and animal life. On the island, you can swim in the surf, enjoy the sandy beaches, hunt for sea shells and picnic in the shade of palm trees. The miles of nature trails that crisscross the island provide us plenty of opportunities for hiking and exploring. With so much to see and do, how could I resist stopping for a day!

Peggy Making Christmas Decorations

"Little Lara" Christmas Wreath

This is the first time in 35 years that we did not have children around to enjoy their excitement of opening presents, plus the warm, humid 80 degree weather made Christmas seem surreal. As the mercury rose to 87 degrees on Christmas Day this was the hottest Christmas ever in Fort Myers, according to the National Weather Service. The long days of motoring gave us plenty of time to get into the Christmas spirit. As we traveled down the Intracoastal Waterway we played Christmas music. In the evenings we watched Christmas movies. And, Peggy made Christmas decorations from a Christmas tree branch she found on the dock. We arrived in Fort Myers on Christmas Eve. After getting “Little Lara” settled into a slip we called family to let them know we were safe and to catch up on the holiday happenings in their homes.

We celebrated Christmas with just the two of us...quiet but very nice.  And later attended a dinner theater production of "It's a Wonderful Life".  The play was wonderful and the food was excellent!  

Downtown Fort Myers, Florida
Note the Palm Trees

Fort Myers is a gateway to the Southwest Florida region and a major tourist destination within Florida. The city is named after Colonel Abraham Myers. Fort Myers was one of the first forts built along the Caloosahatchee River as a base of operations against the Seminole Indians during the American Indian Wars. During the Seminole Wars, Fort Myers was a strategic location for its visibility and access to Atlantic waterways. After the Wars, Confederate blockade runners and cattle ranchers called Fort Myers home. These settlers prospered through trading with Seminole Indians and Union Soldiers. On February 21, 1866, Manuel A. Gonzalez and his five-year-old son, Manuel S. Gonzalez, became the first permanent settlers of Fort Myers. Gonzales had shipped supplies and carried mail during the war and settled his family near the abandoned Fort Myers to begin the town's first trading post. Gonzalez traded tobacco, beads, and gunpowder, and sold otter, bobcat, and gator hide, to the neighboring Seminole Indians. On August 12, 1885, the small town of Fort Myers—all 349 residents—was incorporated. By that time, it was the second largest town on Florida’s Gulf Coast south of Cedar Key.

Edison's Labratory

Ford's Model T Car

In 1885, inventor Thomas Alva Edison was cruising Florida’s
west coast and stopped to visit Fort Myers. He soon bought 13 acres along the Caloosahatchee River in town, and built a home and laboratory, "Seminole Lodge", as a winter retreat. After the Lodge was completed in 1886, Edison and his wife, Mina, spent many winters at their home in Fort Myers. It was in Fort Myers, Florida that Edison would do the majority of his research and planting of his exotic plants and trees. After testing 17,000 plant samples, Edison eventually discovered a rubber source in the plant Goldenrod (Solidago leavenworthii). Through Edison's efforts, the royal palms lining Riverside Avenue were imported and planted, and would become the reason for Fort Myers's "City of Palms" nickname. In 1916, automobile magnate Henry Ford purchased the home next door to Edison's which he called "the Mangoes". Ford, along with Harvey Firestone and Thomas Edison, were generally considered the three leaders in American industry at the time, and often worked and vacationed together.

We enjoyed our visit to the Edison/Ford winter estate with its museum and laboratory.  It was interesting learning about all the wonderful inventions that we take for granted every day. 

"Little Lara" Decorated in Christmas Lights

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, wish you a Happy New Year and pray your coming weeks and months will be filled with joy and happiness. Until next time, fair winds.

It's All Greek to Me

After being blessed with a calm crossing of the Gulf of Mexico to the west coast of Florida, we decided to leave "Little Lara" in Tarpon Springs while we flew to Utah to visit our children and grandchildren for Thanksgiving.  It was quite a shock going from 85 degree sunny weather to snow and temperatures in the teens!  We had to borrow coats, gloves and an electric blanket from our kids! Nevertheless, we had a wonderful visit with our family and were grateful to be able to be there when our grandson was baptized. While there, we celebrated Thanksgiving, six family birthdays and enjoyed an early Christmas!  It was hard to say goodbye to our loved ones, but we reminded ourselves that we would see them again in three months.

After returning to Florida, and warmer weather, we spent time exploring Tarpon Springs. This area has a very strong Greek influence due to a great many sponge divers who immigrated to the area in the late 1800's.  This area now has the largest fleet of sponge diving boats in the world, and as you can imagine, boasts a thriving tourist industry.  We loved walking around town and seeing all the Greek stores, restaurants, bakeries and the sponge factories.  While shopping or eating great Greek food we would be surprised to hear Greek spoken here, even by the children.  And while here we discovered our new favorite dessert -- baklava topped chocolate cheesecake!

Greek Sponge Store 

Special thanks goes to Herb and Rita who gave us rides to the airport, church, the Ward Christmas party and a Stake Christmas concert.  They certainly made us feel at home. We also appreciate the guys at Anclote Harbor Marina who gave us rides to West Marine, the grocery store and even loaned us a truck!

Our other mode of transportation while in Tarpon Springs was the "Jolly Trolley", which we rode to explore the cities of Dunedin and Clearwater.  We happened to be in Dunedin for an arts and craft fair and also a jazz concert.  A great deal of fun and many interesting people.

After leaving Tarpon Springs we headed south, down the Intracoastal Waterway and anchored near Clearwater beach for a quiet night, with the aquarium on one side and the board walk a short distance away, on the other side of the island.  Over the next few days we were lucky in our experiences with the bridge tenders -- we didn't have to wait for the bridges to open, even though they are on a tight, restricted opening schedule.  We just happened to be at each bridge at the right time.

Tampa Bay and the "Sunshine Skyway Bridge"

Desoto Park Ranger

Desoto Park Ranger

After crossing Tampa Bay, we headed up the Manatee River to anchor near DeSoto National Memorial Park.  This was a great place because it was a calm, beautiful anchorage, with a small beach where we could leave the dinghy and explore the park.  As we walked through the nature trails we were surprised to come upon Conquistadors and Indians lurking in the dense woods!  The park's visitor center showed an interesting film about the discovery of this area by Hernando De Soto, and had a great display of artifacts from that time period, as well as a replica fort staffed with park rangers in period clothing. They did an archery and black powder musket demonstration as well as showed us other weaponry and armor.

Indians Running for their Lives

Due to a cold front weather forecast with predicted 20 – 25 mph winds, we moved  "Little Lara" to a different anchorage further up the river off McKay Point. There we had better protection from the wind and waves. 

                   

                                   Those Pesky Pelicans!

What we didn't anticipate was to be dive bombed by a pesky pelican searching for food!  He kept diving for fish so close to "Little Lara" that he splashed the boat, creating waves that rocked us more than the wind!


Twin Dolphin Marina in Bradenton was our next stop on the Manatee River, which turned out to be one of the nicest marinas we have stayed at yet -- also one of the most expensive.  It has nice facilities: floating docks, clean showers, swimming pool, nearby restaurants and even bikes we were able to check out to make a quick run to the grocery store.  While in Bradenton we were able to visit Birdie's (a close, special friend from Redding) sister, Aletha.  It was great spending time with Aletha. We appreciated getting to know her and were grateful for the ride to church and a fantastic meal afterwards.  We meet the best people!  Until next time...fair winds and gentle seas. 

Peggy, Aletha and "Little Lara"