Blogger in Paradise

Gustav Damkohler's house.

We went to visit the Koreshan State Park in Estero this weekend. This was one of several communal societies in the U.S. at the turn of the century. The group came to Estero in 1894 and founded their settlement on land provided by Gustav Damkohler. They flourished for awhile and then began to die out and the last of them donated the 305 acres to the state in 1961. Probably part of the cause was their belief in celibacy. It’s hard to have more Koreshians with celibacy as the rule! Another interesting belief they had was that we lived on the inside of the earth, not on the outside. They “proved” it mathematically and offered $10,000 to anyone that could show that their “proof” was incorrect. The money was never claimed. Either we’re living on the inside or no one could disprove their math??? Very interesting place to visit. You can view the old buildings, camp, fish, canoe down the Estero river, etc. Definitely drop by and spend some time there. Here are some links to additional info. Florida State Parks. FloridaTraveler.com. Definitely click on the thumbnails for much larger pics.

A member's house

The Path in

The Founders House

Estero River from the Bamboo Landing

Machine Shops and Power Plant

The Planetary Court

The boardwalk through the swamp.

My brother and part of his family came out this weekend to visit. Decided we would go the the Corkscrew Sanctuary (click here for its website). I’ve been there a few times and it’s always interesting. I’ve gone in the winter time before. That’s our dry season. I was looking forward to seeing it during the wet season. Quite a difference. Areas that were dry or just damp before were now submerged. When you go there you walk along a raised boardwalk that’s a couple miles long and you see the variety of environments that exist in the swamp as well as unusual animals and plants. This is a trip well worth taking when you come here to visit. Click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of them.

Different environments in different areas.

Don't pet the gators!

Big Bird's relative

Big Bug - Pretty too.

Mom and Her New Friend

Mother’s Day – every Friday for me. She’s 91 and any day she can get out of the house is a holiday for her. We usually grab a bite to eat or do a little shopping. Being wheelchair bound it’s always an experience. This time we went to the Bayfront Bistro in Fort Myers Beach. The restaurants there typically offer great views and mediocre food, but you always have a good time. This was my first time at the Bayfront Bistro and I was pleasantly surprised. The food was the best I have run into in Fort Myers Beach and definitely worth going back to try their dinner offerings. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I can’t show you the food – I’ll bring it next time. You have to try  the Coconut Shrimp appetizer. Large, properly cooked shrimp on a grilled slice of pineapple with Thai dressing. Very tasty and I’m hooked on it.  Click here to visit their website and check out the menu. Will update you when we try the dinners. You can click on the pic for a larger version. Her “friend” is from Everglade City, not Bayfront Bistro.

Tender Scallops with three sauces

Spicy Snapper Filets - yum

A very nice couple from Indiana that I helped find a beautiful condo overlooking the Gulf came to town and invited my wife and I to dinner. Since they were not familiar with the town, they had me suggest a place to go.

We went to David Wong’s Pan Asian & Sushi Restaurant in Bonita Springs. David and his wife are from Thailand. He works the front of the restaurant and she does the cooking. Very nice people. The food there is always great. Fresh ingredients, innovative recipes. We had a great time and enjoyed the food. The link above will take you to their website and you can see what they offer.  We definitely thank our hosts for taking us there. It’s worth the trip and highly recommended.

Click the pics for a larger view.

For Father’s Day it was decided that we would go to a nice restaurant and enjoy ourselves. Since we all like sushi, we decided to go to Origami Sushi (link to website) in Fort Myers. They have great sushi as well as Japanese and Korean specialties. I can’t comment on the Japanese and Korean specialties as I never get past the sushi. Always fresh and worth the visit.

Origami Sushi

There’s another good sushi place I like – Blu Sushi – the difference is that Blu Sushi is louder as they play music at a pretty good volume. It’s more of a bar scene with sushi. I like the place, but, in general, I prefer a little quiet with my meal. The food at Origami was great and combined with a couple of martinis we left feeling full and satisfied. Try the place when you get a chance. Happy Father’s Day to all.

Click thumbnail for bigger pic. ->

Old Collier County Court House - Now City Hall.

Packed up Mom and my wife yesterday and headed south to Everglade City. A famous/infamous little town south of Naples in the Everglades. Famous for being the site of the first Collier County Courthouse after Collier County was created out of Lee County in 1923. Infamous for being a smuggling center in the ’60s – ’80s. The town was actually surrounded by the Feds in July of ’83 to keep suspects from leaving. They arrested 27 people including a former Florida State Supreme Court judge!

The town was almost destroyed by hurricane Wilma in 2004, but is now a very nice little town of about 500 people. It’s a great drive through the Big Cypress National Preserve. Beautiful views and lots of animals. We

Chocoloskee RV park with docks.

went down via the 41 and came back via the 75 (Alligator Alley). There are a lot of things to do with air boat rides, swamp buggy rides, kayaking, fishing, etc. Since it was 95 out and Mom is 91, we did the drive through and went down to Chokoloskee – a small island at the end of the road. It had some nice houses and an RV park where you can dock your boat. If you like to fish this is the place. Of course, with such a small town, there’s not a lot else to do if you live there.

We stopped and had lunch at the Seafood Depot. Met Betty Boop there. She was our waitress and very helpful. Guided us to the right food as well as helping us know which tour service to use when we come back.

Some of the commercial Fishing Boats. More during the season.

The food was pretty decent. Typical waterside dining with fresh fish and a nice view. We wish we had come earlier in the season as there are several restaurants there that have all you can eat stone crab claws – a Florida delicacy that’s out of season at the moment. You gotta try them!

We had a great time and we are definitely coming back in the fall sans Mom and getting the tours of the area. Don’t think I want to live there full time, though. Fishing vacation – great. Full time – at night the mosquitoes are pretty bad which is all right for a visit, but full time I don’t think so. Nice place to visit – don’t want to live there.

Bank of the Everglades founded 1926.

Click on the thumbnails for larger versions of the pictures.

Rod and Gun Club founded mid 1800's

Don’t hesitate to visit and feel free to comment with your questions and experiences.

Took a quick trip north to Punta Gorda on the mouth of the Peace River. I hadn’t been up there since Hurricane Charlie went through – right through. It was nice to that everything was back in shape and looking good. This was a simple trip. We decided to take Mom (91+) with us and go to a waterside restaurant for lunch. Fisherman’s Village was our goal. We drove up Hwy 41 instead of taking the interstate. A bit more relaxing and you see things that you would just zoom by on the interstate.

Fisherman’s Village consists of a nice yacht harbor and a covered pier with shops and restaurants.  The harbor had  a number of nice boats, but I think many had left for the season since June 1 starts out hurricane season. If you’re not here when they come through (and many are snowbirds that leave in the summer), you can’t make sure your boat is secure.

The shopping was surprisingly good. Quality items, unusual items, and since the season was over, good deals. My wife and my Mom satisfied their shopping urge without sending me to the poorhouse.

The restaurant we ate at was Harpoon Harry’s right at the end of the pier. Typical waterside open air location. The food was typical, too. Not gourmet, but the fish was fresh and cooked properly. Of course, the views were great.

As it was 95 out and Mom isn’t real spry, we didn’t check out any of the more active things to do.

You can click on the thumbnails to view a larger version of the picture.

Anyone have any information on the area, or requests for things to be covered in future meanderings, please, comment. We enjoyed the trip and plan to visit again.

Your BloggerInParadise.