Edison & Ford Winter Estates
Edison & Ford Winter Estates
For our first full weekend in Florida, we wanted to check out some islands! But before we headed to the beach, we got some history in. We checked out the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers. We arrived late morning, parked our car, and wandered through a sprawling Banyan tree to get to the museum. There are a few options for how to explore the grounds; we decided to go with the $30 guided tour that runs hourly. The tour was a little over an hour and covered about 75% of the grounds. After our entertaining tour guide completed her portion, we finished exploring the remainder of the grounds independently. We then ended our time at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates by perusing the museum of well-known inventions developed by these brilliant minds. We recommend getting to the grounds before 11:00 a.m. to beat the larger crowds, and there should always be ample parking spots.
Edison & Ford Winter Estates
When you park, you’ll be greeted by a banyan tree that spans for almost an acre!
Just hangin’ with Thomas Edison!
The bamboo trees that lured Edison to buy this property.
Light bulbs: one of the many things Edison helped add to our world!
A peek inside of the Edison winter estate.
We also found Ford and his winter estate right next to Edison’s!
They had a pretty great view!
The property has all sorts of plants, including Megan’s favorite flower!
We found a picture of one of the first “cars.”
Arguably Ford’s greatest accomplishment: the Model T.
Also found one of the first Cadillacs!
The lab where Edison and his assistants discovered how to make rubber domestically.
Did you know that Thomas Edison created the first movie?
Edison & Ford Winter Estates
When you park, you’ll be greeted by a banyan tree that spans for almost an acre!
Just hangin’ with Thomas Edison!
The bamboo trees that lured Edison to buy this property.
Light bulbs: one of the many things Edison helped add to our world!
A peek inside of the Edison winter estate.
We also found Ford and his winter estate right next to Edison’s!
They had a pretty great view!
The property has all sorts of plants, including Megan’s favorite flower!
We found a picture of one of the first “cars.”
Arguably Ford’s greatest accomplishment: the Model T.
Also found one of the first Cadillacs!
The lab where Edison and his assistants discovered how to make rubber domestically.
Did you know that Thomas Edison created the first movie?
Sanibel Island
Off we went to the islands by 1:00 p.m. Unfortunately, you must pay a $6 toll to drive on the bridge “causeway” to Sanibel Island, but it’s totally worth it! There are a couple Causeway Beaches along the way that we didn’t end up stopping at, but they looked cool because you can drive your car right onto the beach and set up shop! We’ve heard that Sanibel Island is usually very busy during “in-season” (January-April), but we got lucky and the traffic wasn’t too bad since the locals thought the 70-degree temperatures were chilly.
Unfortunately, there’s a $6 toll to get onto Sanibel Island, but it’s totally worth it!
Unfortunately, there’s a $6 toll to get onto Sanibel Island, but it’s totally worth it!
Sanibel Lighthouse
Our first stop on Sanibel Island was at the Lighthouse Cafe for a late lunch. They have a bold statement on the front of their shop that says, “The World’s Best Breakfast” and it just might be true. Our taste buds were delighted with fresh-squeezed mimosas, banana nut French toast, and a seafood omelet. It was fun to check out the walls of this quaint cafe filled with pictures of lighthouses from around the world. From the Lighthouse Cafe, we walked a little over half a mile to the Sanibel Lighthouse, which was a bit underwhelming, but it was nice to see Lighthouse Beach. Our favorite thing here was people-watching all the serious shellers! Upon our return from Lighthouse Beach, we stopped in at Pinocchio’s for some unique ice cream. Adam got Gator Stew and Megan got Dirty Sand Dollar – both were quite tasty!
This just might be a true statement!
Banana nut French toast, a seafood omelet, and a fresh-squeezed mimosa!
The walls were covered with pictures from lighthouses around the world!
Sanibel Lighthouse
Shelling on Lighthouse Beach
Pinocchio’s Ice Cream
Gator Stew and The Dirty Sand Dollar
This just might be a true statement!
Banana nut French toast, a seafood omelet, and a fresh-squeezed mimosa!
The walls were covered with pictures from lighthouses around the world!
Sanibel Lighthouse
Shelling on Lighthouse Beach
Pinocchio’s Ice Cream
Gator Stew and The Dirty Sand Dollar
J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge
J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge
On the northeast side of Sanibel Island, you will find J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. We rented a tandem kayak from Tarpon Bay Explorers for two hours for about $40. It was fun to explore the mangroves via boat. If you go left from the kayak rental launch, you will find a large blue sign labeling the Commodore Creek Kayak Trail. This is a fun trail to meander through the mangroves that is marked by numbers up to 17 and it took us about 45 minutes. After kayaking, we took the scenic route to get to the far end of Sanibel Island. J.N. “Ding” Darling has a 4-mile drivable nature trail you can take to get closer to some of the wildlife that is just off the main single lane road on the island. It’s $5 to enter and you can pullover on the right side of the road at any point on the 4-mile stint to get out and explore further. The highlights for us were seeing pelicans and flamingos!
J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge
We rented a tandem kayak from Tarpon Bay Explorers.
Found an awesome kayak trail off Tarpon Bay!
Took the 4-mile scenic route further down Sanibel Island!
Found some American White Pelicans
You can pull over at any time on the scenic route to hop out and explore a bit further!
They even have binocular opportunities!
Where we found some flamingos!
J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge
We rented a tandem kayak from Tarpon Bay Explorers.
Found an awesome kayak trail off Tarpon Bay!
Took the 4-mile scenic route further down Sanibel Island!
Found some American White Pelicans
You can pull over at any time on the scenic route to hop out and explore a bit further!
They even have binocular opportunities!
Where we found some flamingos!
Sanibel Beaches
After getting our wildlife fix in, it was time to hit up some more beaches! We checked out Bowman’s Beach, which required a half mile walk or so to get to from the parking lot. This is a large beach and one of the most popular on Sanibel Island. We also made a pit stop at Blind Pass Beach, a much smaller but more accessible beach, which is on the tip of Sanibel Island where you can see Captiva just across the way. Both beaches live up to their stereotypes of having all sorts of shells!
Bowman’s Beach
Blind Pass Beach: at the tip of Sanibel Island where you can see Captiva Island across the water.
Lots of shells here!
Bowman’s Beach
Blind Pass Beach: at the tip of Sanibel Island where you can see Captiva Island across the water.
Lots of shells here!
Captiva Beach
As the sun was reaching the horizon, we made our way over the bridge to the island of Captiva. As we drove toward the beach ogling at the impressive mansions, we witnessed a mad dash of people with drinks in hand trying to make it to the beach before the sun disappeared for the evening. We first tried parking at The Mucky Duck, a beachfront bar with an open patio, but we were too late for a parking spot. Adam was kind enough to drop Megan off to make sure she saw the sunset and he rushed off to the Captiva Beach parking lot that was just north up the main road to snag a spot. Luckily, we were both able to witness the beautiful sunset from Captiva, even though we weren’t able to watch it together. When the sun officially set, everyone cheered, and we soon found each other. The large group of sunset-watchers vanished quickly, leaving plenty of space for us to enjoy a drink on The Mucky Duck patio listening to live music.
The sunset from Captiva Beach.
So many beautiful birds!
You never realize how huge the sky is until you watch a sunset and the sun disappears within a minute!
The Mucky Duck
Live music, games, and drinks at The Mucky Duck on the beach.
Great view from The Mucky Duck!
The sunset from Captiva Beach.
So many beautiful birds!
You never realize how huge the sky is until you watch a sunset and the sun disappears within a minute!
The Mucky Duck
Live music, games, and drinks at The Mucky Duck on the beach.
Great view from The Mucky Duck!
The Bubble Room
Adam’s parents recommended we try the Bubble Room for dinner, so we drove the quarter mile stint to the east side of this island to check out this unique place. We felt like we were entering a Dr. Seuss house when we arrived. The whole building is painted bright pink on the inside and out. The hostess walked us through a Christmas and 1930s/40s/50s toy decorated environment with bubble lights lining each of the walls. Our waitress then came up to our table and introduced herself as our “Bubble Scout” for the evening. We each splurged on some fun drinks, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish and The Pink Flamingo. Then we proceeded to eat way too much dinner. Once we were full, our Bubble Scout brought out a tray of about 10 different kinds of the largest slices of cake we’ve ever seen, and they are actual size. The Bubble Room is known for their cakes, so there was no way we were leaving without a piece no matter how full we were. Megan went with the Buttercrunch Ice Cream Cake, which was delicious, but not able to be taken home. Adam went with the White Christmas Cake, which was also tasty, but we were able to take some of this one home to finish up the next day. The Bubble Room was truly a unique and fun experience, with a history of feeding some famous people, so we would definitely recommend a visit!
The Bubble Room
Named after these bubble lights.
Known for vintage items and Christmas decorations year round!
As well as huge slices of delicious cake!!
The Bubble Room
Named after these bubble lights.
Known for vintage items and Christmas decorations year round!
As well as huge slices of delicious cake!!
All in all, a very fun and different weekend than what we were getting used to out on the west coast. There was no elevation gain and only water for as far as we could see! With all the beach visits, just remember you must pay $5 at a kiosk for each one, so plan accordingly!