Update 57: Naples, FL

Update 57: Naples, FL Jan. 15-18

This day was rainy and overcast, so I took minimal photos.

 Naples resonates a vibrant feeling of new buildings and sophistication. We entered from the southeast corner of the city. The Everglade marshes on Highway 41 gave way to a few miles of farmland. Then the two lanes became four; left turn lanes and traffic lights led the way. The tall sky scraping condos and rambling complexes absent in the Keys, stand tall and in abundance here. Vivid colors of melon, golds, yellows, tans, beige and bright berry reflect a newness of most building walls. Wrought iron railings, rounded tower like construction, pillar and tile roofs offer a hint of Italy.

 

We turned off Hwy. 41 looking for Historic 3rd Street. But after a series of  mandatory turns we found ourselves in a very exclusive neighborhood. Large beautiful home, each unique from its neighbor rose toward the sky. To our right alternating streets and canals created a pattern of stripes perpendicular to the road upon which we traveled.

 

The front of these homes faced each other on the street, while the backyard was on a canal. A 50' yacht docked at the backdoor was not uncommon. One home brashly displayed a basketball hoop in the driveway, while another left a toddler Big Wheel on the lawn. So it isn't just the older retired folks in these gorgeous homes.

The street ended with a gated entry to another home.

After enjoying the beauty of this neighborhood, we also found the way to Historic 3rd Street with several blocks of upscale shops and restaurants. Most buildings featured single level, modern construction housing trendy boutiques and art galleries. The exclusive shops looked like a Mecca for shoppers hoping to indulge themselves.

 

Cozy restaurants with outdoor seating bustled with the lunch time crowd. These customers dressed in country club attire with appropriate jewelry.  Only the obvious tourist wore jeans and sweatshirts on this street.

The Naples beach extends for sixteen miles along the Gulf of Mexico. Public access points include only 4-5 parking places, each with a parking meter. Derrille dropped coins in the meter and we took the short path to the white sand beach.

Even on a cloudy, somewhat wet day, the beach was inviting. So of course, I went down and waded in. One public pier lay to the south and miles of beach extended north.

 We followed the beach as closely as the road would allow. As it wound north we passed more and more marinas, condo towers and private clubs. The landscaped entries declared this set of buildings at Allegro, Madrid, Naples Continental, Venetian Isle, and Villa at Park Shore, to name a few. Several new complexes are under construction.

One shopping center called "The Village" nestled so well between the condos it looked more like a series of small office buildings than a commercial shopping mall.

Back on the highway again regular looking strip malls appear. Low rise structures with mostly red tiled roofs and again in the bright clean colors of baby blue, ivory, pink, peach, coral, rust, yellows and oranges.

At Bonita Springs we turned west again and traveled out to Little Hickory Island, a classy beach community. The road crosses a couple of smaller islands before landing on the island of Fort Meyers Beach. I estimate the island to be 8-10 miles in length. The usual array of beach housing occupied each side of the single main road that runs down the middle of the island. Gift shops and speciality stores cater to the beach visitors. Many small, interesting looking restaurants met a variety of food preferences along the length of the island. What was noticeably absent were fast food restaurants. We found only one small McDonald's sharing a building with a gift shop, at the very far end of the island.

From here a bridge connects the island and mainland. At a highway junction a right turn takes you to the city of Fort Meyers. A left turn leads to the Sanibel Island bridge. To cross the bridge requires a $6 toll. Warnings of the upcoming toll are written on signs in English, Spanish, French and German.  Just after we passed the toll booth, the skies opened up and dumped buckets of water down on us. We could only imagine what a pretty view must exist on a sunny day.

First we checked out the lighthouse.  To our surprise this light looked like a large pipe with a Fresnel lens on top. This light certainly didn't possess the beauty of other lighthouses we have viewed on this trip.

The exclusive shops of Sanibel sit in quaint clusters. A few shops here and there create the feeling of an upscale village. Most of the homes and businesses use colorful tin roofs to protect their structures. Unfortunately, with the drippy weather and overcast skies I didn't take photos.

Through the rain we caught a glimpse of a marina, and chuckled at this warning sign.

The J. N. "Ding" Darling  Refuge covers    acres of the island's northeast side. A four mile drive winds through the refuge. Only sporadic rain showers sprinkled down as we viewed the marvelous sights. The sounds of the day faded away in the quiet atmosphere at the refuge. 

We rounded a corner and a flock of white Pelicans occupied a sand bar in the middle of the pond.

They preened themselves and once in awhile extended their wings in the process.

A few ponds later the bright plumage of the Roseate Spoonbill stood out against the various greens of the vegetation and water. These were the pinkest spoonbills we've seen!

We spotted an osprey in his/her nest..

We saw the Ibis and Tri-colored heron.

High up in a tree, a distance away, we spotted a huge nest. This must be an eagle's aerie.

Standing on the road, this egret exemplifies the rainy day. At least I think it is a Great White Egret. The fluffy feathers might make it some other species. We left the reserve and headed back to the RV resort.

We are now ready to head west....hoping for sun and warm temperatures.


Next:  West to Arizona