(4) Who needs the History Channel?

The last 2 days have been quite fulfilling as Grandpa Jack and I have been taking museum tours. Who needs the damn History Channel to get a good dose of nostalgia when there are so many pieces of history closer than you might imagine! Documentaries don't hold a candle to getting out and experiencing the real thing...

It started yesterday with a trip to the Collier County Museum next to the old WalMart here in Naples. This museum covered the history of the land now known as Collier County from the time of the Seminole Indians to the saga of Mr. Barron Gift Collier who purchased the land and planted the seed which has grown and blossomed to what is here today. Going back to the earliest period exhibited, the museum offers a host of knowledge and artifacts about extinct native animals that once roamed the thick forest of the land. There are bones and full skeletons of extinct birds, reptiles, and mammals that are quite intriguing to see. The next era covers the history of the old pirates that once sailed the ocean and backwaters, and then on the the Seminole Indians who were forced south out of Georgia by the white man. Well, I guess there was no stopping the white man, because eventually the pioneer settlers worked there way down into Florida. Much of the war between the Union and the Seminoles is covered here as well, with plenty of tangible relics to boot. On comes the purchase of the land by Mr. Collier, who completed the task of cutting through the thick cypress forestry and paving the way from Ft. Meyers to Naples, now known as US 41, which runs all the way north to Terre Haute Indiana (where I went to college) and beyond. A railroad was also built into Naples, which is well documented and displayed in the museum as well. (See my earlier blog about the old Naples railroad station museum) Just when you think things are getting good, you walk outside and see an all-inclusive trail with many of the large historical pieces from the stories you read inside. The Orange Blossom Special locomotive is parked outside on display, along with many of the areas native trees, plants, and flowers. A mock Union fort and Seminole reservation are set up to give you a feel of the olden days and battlements. A veterans memorial with an old fighting tank is also on display.

All-in-all it was a very pleasurable way to spend a couple hours in the sunny weather. Best of all, it doesn't cost you a dime to enjoy this experience, although there is a donation box if you feel compelled. If you are in the Naples area, be sure to stop by!

Today, we milled around the motorhome in the morning until about 1030. At that time we met up with Bob, and a new fella named 'Chick', for this weeks Marine Corp League luncheon at the Bay Front restaurant. Chick had never been before, but he was in the marines in 1947, wounded in the Korean War, and spent some time in Japan. This is after he served with the Army Paratroopers in 1946. It was certainly my pleasure, and an honor, to get to meet him. We had a good lunch, shared some good stories and discussions until around 1pm. We dropped off Chick and Bob at their motorhomes in Silver Lake, and then prepared for our 40 minute haul to Ft Myers.

Onstar led us in to Ft Myers to the winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. The two were great friends and inspirations to eachother, so they purchased lots side-by-side right by the ocean for their winter homes. Thomas Edison had a very elaborate estate with a beautiful home, guest house, caretakers house, separate office building, 1500 foot pier, and beautiful landscaping. He even had a lab and botanical garden across the street. Henry Ford also had a beautiful estate, although a bit more modest. He had a nice home with a guesthouse and butler quarters. The Ford home was under renovation, so we weren't able to get a close view of the interior, but you aren't allowed in the homes anyhow. The Edison home is opened up at all the entrances, with plexiglass half-barriers to allow you to look in. It was very stunning.

Across the street in the museum housed a monstrous multi-room display of Edison's inventions and consumer products ranging from the first breat toaster to the fluoroscope (x-ray machine). It is mind blowing to think that one man had this many useful, and later successful, ideas in his head. Pure genious. There was also a tour of Edison's lab, left just the way he had it when he died. Ford also had many exhibitions of his modernization of the mass produced motor vehicle. Model T's were on display, along with an engine outside of the car. There was even a 1940's Ford Business Coupe on display, along with a 55 minute videography of Ford's life. Admission was $20 for adults, but active military gets in free, and their guests get in for half price. So we got a real steal getting in for $10 total, plus they gave Grandpa a ticket for a free admission in the future! There is so much to take in, and we probably could have made an entire day out it, but we were wanting to sneak in a visit to Paige Field Airfield for a display of World War II aircraft. We left the museum around 4pm and headed for the airfield, OnStar guided of course.

Once we arrived at the airfield, we stopped by a maintenance hangar and asked a technician where the 'warbirds' were, as Grandpa phrased it. The fella informed us that they had just left earlier in the day for Sarasota, so we just missed out. We were a little disappointed, but we still had a great time at the museum. We stopped by the Bass Tracker boat store that was also a Bass Pro Shop and Camping World, and then milled around Ron Jon's Surf Shop, before heading back for Silver Lakes.

I've got one more full day of paradise, and then I'm 'back in the freezer' as Grandpa likes to say. Its getting late so I'm calling this blog to a close.
Until next time...

(3) A Marine's touching story, buzzard loping, and sand dollar hunting...

Oh my what an eventful day today turned out to be. It all started with church service at Marco Island Methodist Church, with a guest presentation by Private Randy Kington, a Marine Corp veteran who was wounded and paralyzed during the Vietnam War. He had a very inspiring message, and was truly a beacon of hope and motivation for everyone. If you ever get the opportunity to hear him speak, or read his book titled 'What A Life', I suggest you jump at the occasion. He exhibits such a can-do attitude, despite such obstacle and handicap he was faced with at the young age of 19.

Following church service, we stopped by Porky's for a terrific breakfast. I had a triple stack of strawberry pancakes with a side of sausage patties. They cooked the strawberries right inside the pancake mix, which was quite festive and delicious.

With full bellies we ventured on to Walmart to pick up our photo prints for the photo contest. After reviewing the prints, I decided to submit my photo of the lone pelican on the water. Here is a better view of the photo in all its glory:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY!!!

Grandpa Jack will be sending me the results after they judge the entries next wednesday. I'm feeling pretty good about this picture, but what the hell do I know about photography really? haha

After we dropped off the photos, we headed next door to the 'Pelican Lake' RV Park for a high-scale motorhome exhibit. They had motorcoaches ranging from $500,000 to $2.2 million dollars. They were stunning to say the least, albeit more than a typical fella would ever practically need. It was nice just to trounce around these chrome-clad land barges like price was no object to us. We didn't even take our shoes off like most decent folks, but they had plastic protective covers over all the floors. Not to mention, it takes a real mega-millionaire attitude to barge right into a 2 million dollar motorhome without kicking off the Nike's. I'm sure we had the salespeople fooled into thinking we were high rollers. haha

Last night George and Gladys insisted that Grandpa take me down to Stan's for some fresh mullet (type of fish), so we decided today would be a good day to check it out. To our surprise, today was the annual 'Mullet Festival', and the place was swarming with upbeat retirees and motorcyclists who were funneling in for some mullet and beer. We parked about a mile from Stan's and walked down to the crowded bar. It was quite a sight, and grandpa explained to me the tradition of the 'Buzzard Lope' dance. Every year they have a 'buzzard lope' contest for the ladies, who dress in elaborate buzzard apparel, and try to mimic the awkward jig a buzzard displays when celebrating a nice road kill find. It was way too crowded for my comfort, and after about 30 minutes of wading through the drunks, shaking hands dozens of times with the inhebriated, and getting hugged and kissed on the forehead by a fellow Army veteran (who had just learned I was back from Iraq), I decided it was time to go. Grandpa wanted me to try a mullet sandwich, but at 10 bucks a pop we settled for a $4 bratwurst. (with plenty of sourkraut for me, yummy)

After the 1-mile hike back to the truck we headed over to Tiger Tail beach to comb the surf for sand dollars. We walked a good 3 miles of beach I'd guess and I found about 10 decent sand dollars. Grandpa's knee was getting sore trying to keep up with an Army guy who just spent 10 months in Iraq with the infantry, so we watched the sunset over the ocean and headed back to the RV park.

Whew, what an intersting day! Tomorrow will be more relaxing, with some bridge fishing before my permit expires.

Until then...

(2) My inaugural ocean fishing trip, and my last ditch attempt to capture a contest worthy photo...

Today could not have been any more relaxing. The festivities kicked off at 0830 hours with a french-toast breakfast coupled with sausage and bacon at the clubhouse. Anytime you can get a hearty breakfast for $3.50 is sure to be the start of a great day. After breakfast we linked up with George and Gladys Thompson, whom we had made earlier reservations for a fishing trip and visit to their home on Marco Island. Grandpa and I set sail in the Chevy pickup for Marco Island, stopping for some bait shrimp and a 3 day fishing license for me, on our way to George and Gladys' residence. We loaded up the boat, lowered it into the water, and were on our way to some recommended fishing locales. Our first stop fared us pretty well, as we caught 5 sheephead fish that met the minimum 'keeper' regulations. Things were starting to slow down, so we decided to move to George's 'top secret' fishing spot. We worked up and down, and all around, George's favorite spot, but it just wasn't producing fish today. Gladys, being the most acclaimed angler of the group was able to pull in a few undersized spotted trout, but nobody else was catching anything. We worked up and down a few of the '10,000 islands' to no avail. Around 3:00pm we headed to the marina for a potty break, and then on to our final fishing spot. I suppose it could be named 'pelican municipal airport', as there were dozens of pelicans hanging out there, as well as taking off and swoop-landing to and from fishing expeditions. We soaked up some more sun, expended the remainder of our shrimp bait, and then headed back home. Despite mediocre fishing activity, we all had a very enjoyable time riding the peaceful waves and basking in the sun. Back at the Thompson residence, George cleaned up the boat while Grandpa Jack trimmed the fish into nice size filets. Gladys fried the day's catch, warmed up some ham and bean soup, and made a fresh batch of cornbread. We were elbow deep in the feast in no time, and drinking wine. Gladys made a toast to my homecoming from Iraq, which was very sweet of her. They are such good people, and sure do know how to host a fun-filled day for some Indiana boys!

Side story: Last wednesday, Grandpa Jack and I attended a camera club meeting where we learned some valuable tips on photography and how to get the most out of your camera. We were made aware of a photo contest this month with the topic being 'Animals'. We've been on the lookout all week for our opportunities to snap a prize-winning photo. Well, tomorrow is the deadline and I had not taken a shot that I was proud enough with to enter into the contest. Today I tried my damndest to capture a nice shot of some wildlife while out on the water. I figured there isn't much more beautiful location to get a worthy shot. Anywho, out of the 30 or so pictures I took with the photo contest in mind, I have narrowed it down to the 2 pictures shown to the right. I ordered prints online through Walmart's website, and will pick the best of the two for my submission to the contest. I am leaning towards the lone pelican on the water. We'll see how it turns out!

Tomorrow will be another fun filled day, as we head to church to hear Randy Kington speak, and then check out Stan's at Goodland. Looks like there might be another good blog for tomorrow as well! Until then...

(1) The sprouting of a new museum

Today, Grandpa Jack Lahrman and I decided to visit the a new museum in Naples, FL. It is located at 'ground-zero' of a former train station in downtown Naples, once a booming depot for Florida travelers. We were at first a little disappointed at the lack of substance and historical relics this museum had to offer, as there were only about 6 glass display cases inside the old station with parafernalia ranging from table settings used on the trains to an antique lantern hung on the back of cabooses. There is, however, plenty of unused square-footage inside the old station for future growth. Hopefully with the acquisition of more artifacts, the old station will be teeming with memorabilia from wall-to-wall. Then it will surely be a site worth seeing. We were in the truck ready to leave when we drove around the other side of the building and noticed 3 old train cars on display. The inattentive worker inside the museum did not even mention these, which is a shame because they were an awesome sight. We excitedly re-parked the flex-fuel Chevy, and dismounted to peruse the old traincars. One traincar (as pictured) had the appearance of a 60's cocktail lounge, something you'd expect to see in a classic Austin Powers flick. Very vivid colors, and the aroma of past memories. The second train car was locked up, and probably under renovation for public display. The last train car was a caboose, and presented a very authenticate rendition of a modest crew quarters. There was some seating and built in recessed sleeping quarters (pictured). It was very interesting to see. After our 30 minute exploration of the museum-to-be, we ventured on to the beach for a quick combing of the beach for shells, and then on to Red Lobster for a semi-formal meet and greet with a financial advisor, and marine buddy of Grandpa, to inquire about refinancing possibilities of my home mortgage. I had noticed that interest rates were down at least 1% from the time I purchased my home, and thought this might be a good opportunity to save some money in the future. I'll have some homework and research to do when I get home at the end of the month.

Until next time...