The Harbor - Joe's Crabshack - Edison Estate in Fort Myers, Florida - Photos

The weather gods were quite temperamental, but we were

flexible and managed to sight-see our way around the

rainstorms.

Nothing went exactly according to plan

during our little mini vacation to Fort Myers, Florida to

see the Edison and Ford Winter Estates and Gardens.

Outside our hotel.

The gardens at the Edison Estate were a visual delight. 

My favorite was the

Moonlight Garden - click here -

The most unusual was the

Sausage Tree - click here

Tropical Lily

Banyan Tree

I'm not certain, but it looks similar to our orange ixoras,

but this one is definitely

a salmon-flamingo color.

This tropical beauty I did not recognize,

sorry, no sign either.

Even the dwarf poinciana was a different color then I'd

ever seen before.

Poinciana - vanilla cream and cerise (cherry)

The estate is right on the water (well it's set back a good

200-300 feet) and borders on the local harbor. It's really a

river which flows into the ocean inlet a few miles away.

You can see the downtown harbour on the right.

Scenic view from the estate.

At this point, we've seen most of the gardens and we can

tell the weather is changing.

Clouding up as we approach the estate homes ...

Reading up at one of the information markers.

Too late ........

A storm is imminent and a security guard asked us to

leave the premises ....

So I take a quick shot of the Edison Home (called the

Seminole Lodge) and their Guesthouse next door,

just in case we never return.

We decided this may be a good time to hunker down and

 find a nice place to eat.

A tour guide recommended Joe's Crabshack located right

on the water near the old downtown river district in Fort

Myers.

Actually it turned out to be just a few blocks away.

Joe's Crabshack was a splendid place to dine by the water.

We love seafood - so this was an excellent choice ......

T-shirt for sale at the Joe's Crabshack ...

We are glad to be out of the weather - storm clouds rolling in ..

Taken through the window of the restaurant.

Their whimsical decor is just what we wanted to see ...

It's a shark suspended from the ceiling

holding a case of beer!

While we enjoyed our dinner it cleared up outside and we

head back to finish our tour of the Edison and Ford Estates.

Ummmm .....

No, I did not have one too many Mojitos - it's just that

they built the railing around the palm trees.

How's that for tree conservation?

The railing appeared to have wavy contortions

since it threaded around the palm tree trunks and they

completely embraced the one palm tree at the end in the

center:)

Nice place this Joe's Crabshack, 

if you like seafood and a casual atmosphere this place is

your ticket.

Friendly service, clean bathrooms and

wonderful food - plenty of it, too.

 Thanks for looking!

Stay tuned for more about the museums, exhibits and the

Ford Model T's.

For an in-depth tour of the Moonlight Garden click here. !

... or a look at the sausage tree - click here !

All images © 2009 Rose H.

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Ford Model-T

1919

3-dr Touring Car