We are now on a relaxing mode here in Cypress Trails. From January 10^th – 17^th my sister Jennifer and her husband Doug arrived from Niagara Falls to spend the week with us here in Cypress Trails in Ft. Myers.   We definitely kept them busy all week.

Saturday the 11^th we started off with breakfast at the Club House and an afternoon at the pool.  Later that night we went to “The State Event, ” which Dave & I went to last year. It was even bigger and better this year.   People from various states in the park get together to form a celebration of their state. They provide food & drinks that their state is known for and everyone that attends gets to choose their favorite food. Lots of good eats and drinks!

Sunday off to the Waffle House, Dave’s favorite place for breakfast!

 

And then off to The Shell Factory.  Which as a gift shop,  Nature Park, which has exotic animals from other countries many of which I never heard of.

 

 

A white bird kept following Dave around the pen saying “Hello”

And they had Dinosaurs too …………………

 

 

 

 

The Shell factory was entertaining to say the least.  Followed by a day at the pool and a beautiful night to sit outside.

 

Monday the 13th we took Doug & Jennifer to the beach

  We went to Sanibel Island to Bowman’s Beach it was a great beach day.

 

 

And then to he J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge which is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located in southwestern Florida, on Sanibel Island in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

 

 

And then to Mel’s Diner for dinner.  Mel’s has been in Florida for many years and started out in an old truck stop building and now is the restaurant you see below.  There is a total of 5 Mel’s Diner in this area of Florida.  Mel’s has great food at reasonable prices! (A bit of advertising for them).

Inside Mel’s Diner they had a small Buffalo/North Tonawanda corner which included a Wurlitzer Drive sign and memorabilia like Jim’s Kelly’s picture with his autograph.  A little bit of home inside Mel’s.

 

 

Tuesday the 15th we spent the day with Bob & Stella Spangler.

Bob & Stella owned the cabin in Holland that is before Doug & Jennifer’s cabin going up on the left side of the road before the creek.  They live in Naples for the winter months.  We met them at their condo and the 6 of us headed out!

Our 1st stop:  Naples Pier

 

 

 

 

 

Our 2nd Stop: Clam Pass Beach Park

 

To get to Clam Pass Beach Park  you can walk or take a tram from the parking lot down a three-quarters-mile long boardwalk through a mangrove forest.  After that, a small boardwalk gets you to a beautiful white sandy beach.

 

      

 

 

 

We had an amazing day with Bob & Stella lots of spectacular scenery.  Many Thanks to the Spangler’s.

 

As we keep on Truckin:  On the 15th we headed out to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.

In 1886, inventor Thomas Edison purchased land along the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers and built a winter home called The  Seminole Lodge where he and his wife Mina wintered until the inventor’s death in 1931. Wanting to spend the winters with the Edison’s, their friends Henry Ford and his wife Clara purchased the adjacent property in 1915 and built a bungalow-style house naming it The Mangoes.

 The Winter Estates features over 20 acres of  botanical gardens and  over 1,700 plants and one of the largest Banyan trees in the U.S.

 

 

And next: Muscle Car City Museum

Muscle Car City is a museum with well over 170 vintage ’50s to early ’70s muscle cars. Featuring classic cars and hot rods spanning 35 years of makes and models.  The museum we found out was an abandoned Walmart.  Perfect place to show all his cars.

   

Dave & I were here last year and we wanted Doug & Jennifer to see the museum too.

 

Thursday the 16th

Jennifer & Doug went to visit friends and Dave & I went to see Dave’s brother Jeff & Donna who were also in Ft. Myers.  We met them at Mel’s Diner for lunch

 

It was to see Jeff & Donna!!

The 17th was our last day before Jennifer & Doug left for Niagara Falls.

We relaxed once again at the pool and rested up for a fun night of dancing. Cypress had a 50’s-80’s dance night! and we danced the night away!

Elvis was even here

We were Happier than ol’ Blue layin’ on the porch chewin’ on a big ol’ catfish head. Grinnin’ like a possum eatin’ a sweet tater. (It’s a Southern thing)  In other words we had a wonderful visit with them!