March 23, 2013, still in Fort Myers Beach, FL



While walking on the beach we ran into a man searching the sand for treasures. When we asked what was the best thing that he found so far was he replied "Yesterday I found a dime and this morning I found a nickel; not bad for a $1,000.00 investment and the cost of a plane ticket from Minnesota" Sooo funny. We wished him luck and continued on down the beach.

Some early mornings are pretty quiet walking on the beach.  We see a lot of sand castles made.  The one below was made by a son and his father, the boy was very proud.  Pretty cool.

CO's comments:  Not much to say, just enjoying the warm weather, walking the beach, and looking at the girls.  On the boat I am watching the week-end boaters that don't seem to know what "No Wake" means.  I think our neighbor, across from us on the outside dock in a large sail boat, is about ready to buy a 50 and start blowing these idiots out of the water.

 

 

 

Sand castle

 

 

 

 

This is an over head view of our marina; Snook Bight Marina, Fort Myers Beach, FL.  We are on the first set of dock and to your right, at the very end.

 



March 17, 2013, still at Snook Bight, Ft Myers Beach

Sunday: We have had a busy week, at least for us, and today we are just relaxing and enjoying the sunny 80 degree weather. My cousin Pete and his wife Daph just left yesterday to go back to the cold and snowy Kenosha, WI. They did have a pretty nice week with lots of sun and, of course, wind.

This past week we also went to the 2nd Annual Looper Luncheon in North Fort Myers at Cactus Jack's Restaurant. We were surprised at how many people were there, I believe the count was 45. We had a very nice time and met several Gold Loopers and also several new Loopers, some in the process and some in the planning stage. We had a great time. That evening our friends from Minnesota, Linnea and Jim from Otherwise, had us over for dinner. It was a most enjoyable evening of food and conversation.

Pete and Daph at Edison-Ford Museum on 3-13-2013

Daph and me at Edison-Ford Museum

Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis), planted in 1927 as a sapling circa and the Thomas Edison statue.  It is my understanding that this tree is the 2nd largest in the world.

Edison, Ford, and Firestone formed the Edison Botanic Research Corporation in 1927 to find a fast-growing natural source of rubber that could be grown in the US. The banyan tree was one of more than 17,000 plant specimens that were tested during this project.

Ficus trees, such as the banyan, produce a fair amount of latex. However, labor costs and the tree’s slow growth made this option impractical for Edison, who was looking for a plant that could be harvested several times a year.

 

Cousin Pete, here's to you; have one, two or four!

 

 

 

Beautiful flowers at Edison-Ford gardens

 

 

Another walk on the gulf coast, lots of birds and people

 

 

 

Sun rise at Snook Bight on 3-17-2013

 

 

 

Kite on the beach

 

 

One of the eaglets takes flight, awesome!