Ringling Museum,Florida

  Yep , we’re still in Florida! The picture above is the magnificent house that John and Mable Ringling built in Sarasota , Florida. John was the youngest of the five brothers who created the Ringling Brothers Circus empire. Each had distinct responsibilities – John was the booking agent. He eventually became the sole owner and very wealthy from investments in real estate , oil and railroads.

  When John died he deeded the land and buildings of his compound to the state of Florida. John and Mable also built a spectacular museum  to house their art collection. Both the house and the museum plus two circus museums are opened to the public but that almost didn’t happen. For ten years after John died the estate was tied up because creditors  wanted  money that was owed to them. Everything was allowed to deteriorate and had to be restored. Then again in the 1990s it was in very bad condition because money had not been spent to maintain it.  Fortunately enough money , half from the state , half from donors ($100,000,000!) was raised to restore everything.  More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/RinglingMuseumFlorida?authkey=Gv1sRgCITEmMf7lYer8AE#

Birds

   Hope everyone is keeping warm! We’re staying here in Florida until the rest of the country warms up a bit. Even down here some days are a little cool so when the sun doesn’t shine we head for a museum. This one is a showcase for small aircraft. Most of them were built by hand with plywood bodies  and wood framed wings covered with stretched cloth. 
More pictures here -
https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/Birds?authkey=Gv1sRgCNzl2svVhKQz#

More Florida –House of Refuge

    It’s hard to imagine that just a little more than 100 years ago,the east coast of Florida was a total wilderness. There weren’t any roads,few towns and all traveling was done by ship. Tropical storms ,sand bars and coral reefs caused ship wrecks so houses were built as shelters for the survivors. The keeper and his family lived on the first floor and the second floor was a dormitory. The shipwreck victims would be fed ,clothed and sheltered until another ship could pick them up and they could continue their journey. This is the only house of refuge that is still standing.  More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/HouseOfRefuge#

Southern Florida’s Unique Places

   We’re so glad that we’re in Florida now –sunshine and 75 degree weather! It’s been wonderful.  :D
   We love to stop at quirky little places and this place fits right in.  It was built by Edward Leedskalnin as a tribute to a girl from his hometown in Latvia. She broke off their engagement and he moved to the US. Then from 1923 to 1951, he single-handedly and secretly carved over 1,100 tons of coral rock, and his unknown process has created one of the world's most mysterious accomplishments. Some of the rocks weight 58 tons but he set them in place without any help!
  Another interesting spot was the Fruit and Spice Park. It’s a educational county park and has tasting tours of the exotic fruits and nuts that grow on the park grounds. The guides pick samples right from the trees. Any fallen fruit is also fair game –but we were too chicken to try that stuff!  More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/SouthernFloridaSUniquePlaces?authkey=Gv1sRgCNWNq7ik4O6qfw#

Everglades National Park

   Alligators! They’re most famous resident of the Everglades but it’s also  home for many other animals , birds and of course mosquitoes. We were pretty lucky because it’s been just cool enough to keep the mosquito population down.
   The Everglades has even been a home for humans. There are still traces of Calusa  Indians villages but the inhabitants  disappeared around the 1700s , wiped out by white man’s diseases. Later Indians fared a little better and still live on the edges of the Everglades. They’re descendants of the Seminole and Miccosukee who escaped into the maze of grass, mangrove and small hardwood islands to avoid the mass deportation of the Indians to Oklahoma.
  This is such a unique place. It’s the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and has been designated a World Heritage Site. So many people want to live in south Florida which has caused a lot of damage to the Everglades – draining the swamps , diverting water with canals and polluting what is left with heavy metals and agricultural runoff. It’s a constant balancing act to provide for the people while trying to control further destruction and preserve what is left. More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/EvergladesNationalParkFlorida?authkey=Gv1sRgCOnEj_f4tsKfNw#

Fort Meyers , Florida

  This is Thomas Edison’s winter home where he brought his family to enjoy the warm weather for over 45 years. He purchased the property because he thought that the abundant bamboo  might make a good filament material for electric lights. Other trees and plants were imported as part of his ongoing research and experimentation making it a interesting botanical garden.

  In 1885 when he purchased the property , Fort Meyers was a cattle town with little contact with the rest of the country. Everything was shipped along the Caloosahatchee River , out to the Gulf of Mexico. Edison and his architect designed the houses , lab and other buildings which were pre-cut in Maine ,transported by ship around the tip of Florida and assembled on the property by local laborers. The railroad finally came to Fort Meyers in 1904. More pictures here - http://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/FortMeyersFlorida?authkey=Gv1sRgCJDlvPyf-dbv5QE#

Disney World

   It’s been a long time since we visited Florida so off to Disney World for a few days! We were surprised at how much of the park is wheelchair accessible. I could go on 3/4 of the rides and attractions without getting out of the chair. Disney World opened the Magic Kingdom in 1971 and added three other parks , the last one Animal Kingdom in 1998, so it takes awhile to see everything. We had five full days and managed to see most of it but if this had been our first visit it would not have been enough time!
  More pictures here - http://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/DisneyWorld?authkey=Gv1sRgCM68ieLChcPbpwE#