Scenes and insights from the Miss TeRae 1st mate & captain

It's been another great week in Florida!  There's always something happening and something new and interesting which we had not anticipated.  I guess that's life too, isn't it!  Beautiful and intersting wildlife, scenery and birds await us at every turn.  Blessings abound!

Manatees feeding on Romaine Lettuce in the South Florida Aquarium (we have not seen them in the open water yet, but have had to watch our boat speed often for them), because they are an endangered species.

Long stretches of the ICW are "no wake zones" because of Manatees and our boat doesn't like to go slow.  However that does give us more opportunity to enjoy the scenery. 

                      Birds like to nest  or perch on the signs along the waterway.  Why not!

Don with his cousin, Richard B.  He sure does favor Grandpa Herm, don't you think??

We had a delightful lunch with them again last Monday.

A resident we shared space with at the Marina - saw him every day!

We name him "Pete".   I really don't know why.  He just look like his name should be Pete. 

 Another picture perfect home along the Waterway - we've seen so many!

We arrived in Ft. Myers on Wednesday and plan to stay a week.  Thursday evening we enjoyed a potluck here at the marina with other boaters.  Friday afternoon was spent with a DM friend, John Memmelaar and friends touring Sanibel Island and beach, followed by a tour of Ft. Myers Beach.  Thanks, John! 

Theresa does most of the research on which marinas to stay at.  She did another good job with Legacy Habour Marina.  We're close to a grocery store, restaurants, shops and the marina has a heated pool and nice boaters lounge, all at a reasonable price.  Had a few "hairy moments"  north of Ft Meyers when we missed a buoy and ended up in "skinny" water.  Touched bottom but didn't do any damage.    

And we certainly enjoyed John's hospitality.

  This is the Edison Winter Estate - Toured this historic treasure yesterday.  What an amazing man - Thomas Edison had over 1,000 patents registered in his lifetime!  He also did a lot of research on trying to grow trees to produce rubber, therefore there are lots of interesting trees and plants on the spacious grounds.

This huge Banyan tree does produce a type of latex and it is an acre in diameter, the largest in the US.  It was given to Edison by Firestone in 1925. 

This needs explaining.  The tree grows branchs down from it's primary branches. 

When they reach the ground they root and grow to the size of trunks but are really attached to and support the primary branches.  Over the years this keeps happening and you get a forest of what first appears to be several trees but are really just one tree with several trunks.  I  probably didn't explain that very well so if you don't get it don't worry about it.

We finished out the week with a car show in downtown Ft. Myers, much to Don's enjoyment. 

 There was also a Celtic Music Festival in the park earlier in the day and a fantastic Farmer's Market earlier in the week.  Yum, those stawberries melt in your mouth!  And the oranges and grapefruit are huge!
Today is Sunday and I miss Crossroads Fellowship.  We can't be too choosy about the churches we attend as we are limited by how far we can walk or bike.  We've had the opportunity to attend services at several different denominations.  Some services and worship syles we appreciate more than others.  Some were so dead I wondered if a hearse would be waiting in the parking lot after the service.  But we are united in that we all serve the same God and are saved by the same Lord Jesus Christ.

But I still miss Crossroads.