Another beautiful sunny morning! Skies are a glorious shade of blue, laced with fluffy white clouds here-and-there. (Strangely, every afternoon thunder clouds appear about 4pm ....some places get drenched, but, we have only skirted occasional storms...and today was no exception.
We headed out of town on I-75 but soon "Naggy/Nellie" had us back on Rt. 41 aka Tamiami Trail. (Tamiami=shorthand for the road from Tampa to Miami!) The road has a million other names as each city gives it his own name. On northward to Fort Myers. We had lunch at "Mel's Diner"....not a Florence Jean Castleberry in sight! Good food. Deluxe diner ambience.
We had a super stop at the side-by-side homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.
It turns out that Thomas Edison was not a good "fit" for public school. At 8th grade level his mother handed him 3 large books and told him to read them and report back to her. He did. It took 1-2 hours! He was then home-schooled by her. He had a photographic mind and a voracious appetite for reading....and, an insatiable curiosity.
His adult home was in New Jersey, but he wintered in Fort Myers. His physician thought it was better for Mr. Edison's health ....and it must be true as he died at the age of 81. He had very little hearing during adulthood. He received many, many patents for his inventions (up to 75 in one year!). We know him for some of the highlights i.e. incandescent light bulb and the grammaphone/phonograph. There were 100's more!
One of his manufacturing facilities (in Michigan) employed a brilliant young man named Henry Ford. They met. Edison recognized Ford's genius and encouraged him to pursue the development of the horseless carriage....ultimately the "Model T". Although 16 years Edison's junior, they became fast friends and ultimately winter neighbors. In partnership with Harvey Firestone, they developed concepts for rubber wholly produced in the USA. The eventual plant-of-choice was hybridized goldenrod!!
Firestone had brought to Ft. Myers a 4 foot piece of banyan (from India). It yields both latex and figs! The banyan was planted in 1925 and has grown so large that it is now second only (in size) to one in India. (It may have been the parent of this one....I don't know).
The homes were prefabricated in New Jersey and transported here (in the 1920's!) Very nice and comfortable...but ions different from the palacious homes of his contemporary millionaires....a very unpretentious lifestyle. The properties included his horticultural laboratory (for developing a source of latex), Edison's home and guest house, Ford's home, a display of an antique car and truck (Ford of course!), and various outbuildings. I noticed the kitchens were considerably smaller than mine! Everything looked out onto the lovely Gulf of Mexico. A long, fascinating story.
We drove on to Sarasota for a couple of nights at Spring Hill Suites. It was a great chance for exploring by car. We drove out on to the "keys"....similar to the N.C. strands known as the Outer Banks. You immediately realize that it is elegantly understated with quietly chic shoppes, secluded estates, yachts and yachts and yachts. Didn't see any other Prius there! Dinner at a British Pub and ice cream at Olaf's............who could ask for more?????
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