Bonita Springs, FL
There we are in the middle of the picture.
Nice view out of our front door for six weeks.
Now isn't that ridiculous?  What in the world would be in the lake that I could feed?
Oh... Ok
"Honey, the neighbors are starting to talk.  What are you trying to do, get reception from Mars?"
Celebrating our anniversary at Roys of Bonita Springs.  Still sweethearts and best friends after 26 years.
On our ride to Barefoot Beach took us through an upscale neighborhood.
I mean... really upscale!
Uhhhh... ok.  How do you get them to move?  Scat you tortoise you.
Path to Barefoot Beach.
It is a popular place on a sunny day.  Ah, winter in Florida!
Nice featherdos.
Unfortunately, this is becoming an all too common sight in Florida.
Nice stretch of beach with some planted sea oats.
The osprey in this nest was keeping a close eye on passers by.  Notice the moon in this pic.
This fisherman thought Susan was cute and kept tossing the net so she could get a good picture.
Susan doing the stingray shuffle.
Heron hunter looking for lunch.
We took a short 3 mile hike around Lover's Key State Park.
One of our excursions took us to an Art Fair.  Bill is seen here trying to avoid the crowds.
This guy was amazing.  Painting with a brush in your mouth.  Awesome.
Fort Myers had an RV show that we decided to attend.  Susan is off quickly to look at the park models.
How lucky is this.  The world famous redwood log house was on display... We'd never heard of it either.
Towards the end of our stay we took a drive north to visit our friends Jim & Chris Guld.
This is the view from our 14th floor hotel room. The night before we took a long walk along the beach.
This is truly internet anywhere... even in a hotel parking lot.  Geez do you have to get online now Bill?
The Daytona International Speedway.
Temps in the 90's, humidity, loud race cars one foot away, smell of burning rubber... are we having fun yet?
Umm, I am not knowledgeable about racing, but I thought they had engines to make the cars go.
Seems everyone is getting in on the pushing fun.  Wow, I can see what makes this exciting.
There were cool looking cars everywhere.
Gentlemen, start... err, fix your engines.
A nice statute of Thomas Edison near the largest Banyan tree in the U.S.
Here is the Edison Winter Estate.
And his good buddy Henry Ford spent many of his winters right next door.
Big verandas and screened rooms took advantage of the breezes to help cool the residents.
Edison's dining room.
His wife's boudoir.
The Ford family room where they would roll back the carpet & square dance.
Bill is pleased with how the help is keeping up his estate.  Give everyone a raise!
Edison's wife had this garden designed to her specifications.
Obviously, bougainvillea grows nicely down here.
The estates face the gulf coast.  Very nice.
Of course with Henry Ford next door, Edison had a few Fords at his disposal.

We toured the Edison museum displaying the many, many inventions he created.
Edison's "moving picture" machine.
Of course, the phonograph was one of his most important inventions.
This is a multiphone, which is the equivalent of the modern jukebox.
"Excuse me sir, but could you point the way to where they feed the alligators?"
The Shark Valley trail is pretty straight in places.
As you ride by these guys, you really hope they don't decide you look like a good meal.
Ahhhh, aren't these little guys cute!  Hmmm... has anybody seen mom?  I think its time to boogie!
They just look so prehistoric.
This wood stork looks like he/she is keeping an eye on that 'gator swimming by.
The green heron is a thing of beauty.
Blue herons are everywhere.
Hmmm... now that I have speared this thing how do I swallow it?
More wood storks doing stork stuff.
At the trail mid-point is a good place to view the surrounding area.
Gators, gators and more gators doing what they do best.
From the top of the observation tower looking back towards the trail.
On the way back from Shark Valley we stopped by interpretive trail.
There were many cypress trees in this area.
Hey Toni, remember that air plant you gave me that I killed?  They grow wild here!
The Sanibel Visitor Information Center was a cute colorful bldg.  The volunteers were very helpful too.
This sign made us pause for a moment.
People enjoying the beach at Sanibel.
The lighthouse was different than most we have seen.
Just a nice pic of the beach and water.
During our bike ride we came across a little zoo of sorts.  The parrots were entertaining.
Hello!
I think that parrot on the right is laughing about something.
This is a brown Lemur.
At Ding Darling Wildlife Preserve we enjoyed seeing many birds including these white pelicans.
A rather distinctive looking crested night heron.
The real treat for the day were the roseate spoonbills.
Sanibel has a good collection of shells, but few were left after Susan got done.
Bill has started styling his hair differently and it really shows up in this light.
The light does wonders for Susan too!
And now... the light.
Until now I didn't realize that Susan was such a tree-hugger.
Attractive flowers along a fence in Boca Grande.
At one of the few public access points you can see a nice view of the gulf.
During our walk on Gasparilla we passed some picturesque sites.
The lighthouse on Gasparilla still decked out for Christmas.
Susan has enlisted Bill for shelling.
Susan the water is the other way.  What the heck are you taking a picture of?
Oh, I see.  You found the famous Gasparilla dragon.  Hissssss.
The Blair Audubon Center is the first place you see at the Corkscrew Sanctuary.
We head off to see the birds, swamp and gators.
The hard to spot American Bittern waves its body to simulate the grasses blowing in the wind.
These Ibis were obviously in the midst of lunch when we stopped by.
The reflections of this Cypress trunk in the water were interesting.
This swamp lily was an interesting contrast to most of the swamp foliage.
Redshouldered Hawks surveying their next meal.
Susan found the elusive Swamp Boy hanging out along the walkway.
Daytona Beach, FL
Thomas Edison/Henry Ford Winter Estates
Everglades/Shark Valley
Sanibel Island
Gasparilla Island
Corkscrew Sanctuary