It was cloudy this morning so we went across to Fort Myers to visited the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. We used the audio players to take the tour at our own pace and had a great time wandering through the gardens, workshops and homes. The homes are on the Caloosahatchee River just north of Fort Myers. Edison bought the land for his property in 1885 and sketched the design of the houses and workshops that an architect followed. Thomas and his second wife Mina moved into the house in 1886. The family and later the widow Mina enjoyed the estate until 1947 when she donated the property to the city for $1. Henry Ford purchased the house next door in 1915. One interesting fact that I didn't know is that Ford worked for Edison and then later they became good friends. We spent all morning there and came back to Cape Coral for lunch. The sun brightened up later this afternoon and it became more pleasant. When we were touring the houses, it was very cloudy and windy and, dare I say it, cold. I know, 63 and breezy would feel delightful for a winter day in Mystic, but it did feel quite cold to us in our tees and shorts! We will go out to dinner tonight - haven't decided on a place yet and the forecast is calling for 60's tomorrow so we may venture down to Ding Darling for some more water bird watching.
So the pics today are of : bougainvillea, an early Ford truck, orchid, pond lilies in the moon garden, a rubber tree (Ford, Edison, and Firestone tried to find a local source of rubber during World War I), a Mercury motor mailbox in the neighborhood, Edison's study, a prize rose from Mrs. Fords garden, a dolphin mailbox in the neighborhood, Russ, Cathie, and Dave next to the Mina Edison statue, a pitcher plant (they are carnivorous), a viceroy butterfly and a hibiscus blossom.
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