April 28 - May 7 Fort Myers, Placida, Sarasota, St. Petersburg FL

We have enjoyed our time in Fort Myers - the marina is right downtown so we can easily walk to shops, restaurants, farmers market, grocery stores, library. etc.  Every weekend there is either an art walk, music festival, race, or some other activity.  The beaches of the Gulf of Mexico are quite a bit further away so we have to rent a car to get out there, but they are quite beautiful and well worth the effort.

Fort Myers Marina Sunset

Guess who's been working on his tan??

One of our favorite visits in Fort Myers was to the Edison-Ford Winter Homes.  Thomas Edison and Henry Ford both spent several months during the winter in Fort Myers living next door to one another along the Caloosahatchee River.  And Harvey Firestone would visit them as well.  There is a very cool statue in Centennial Park of the three of them sitting outside talking.

 The end of April our friends Roger and Barbara Garcia joined us and we traveled north from Ft Myers to Sarasota via Placida Fl.  Sarasota is another beautiful city and quite famous for its art museums.  Again the Municipal Marina is right downtown so one can easily get around.  It is also the home of the Ringling (of circus fame) Museums.  On a lovely setting along the Sarasota Bay there is a large complex (http://www.ringling.org) that includes the Circus Museum, the Ringling Mansion and a fabulous Art Museum.  Who would have thought that the owner of a circus would be such an avid collector of art?  If you ever get a chance, do pass up the opportunity to see this venue.

In St. Petersburg one can travel throughout the downtown by trolley.  We visited the Dali Museum,

which has the largest collection of his art in the world, as well as the Museum of Art.  The Chihuly Collection is right next to the City Marina as well.  We found a great Italian restaurant, Bella Brava, that we could not stay away from.