Naples Blog (Part I)

“Weather” Naples or Miami.... no matter! It's perfect.

The ride from Austin to Houston was easy.  There was no outward bound traffic and the little rain hitting our windshield was only hope for those new spring flowers in a countryside still struggling from the effects of a drought. 
But landing in Miami was like stepping into summer... with its enduring sun, warm temps and light breezes.

In fact, only later did we learn we had indeed dodged a bullet. Austin had been hit with an icy weather bomb.
Not only Austin!  One half of the U.S. was under snow and the other under a bad weather alert.   Seemingly everyone was seemingly struggling with the effects of a “Polar Vortex”. Escape was not an option.  Everywhere, it was kind of a “pick your poison” situation.  Everywhere, that is, except in South Florida, where it was all sun...and if this is poison, give me a double dose.
                                        J       F      M    A      D

Average high °F (°C)	75.7 (24.3)	77.7 (25.4)	80.4 (26.9)	83.9 (28.8)	85.3 (29.6)
Average low °F (°C)	53.1 (11.7)	55.3 (12.9)	58.3 (14.6)	62.2 (16.8)	64.7 (18.2)

Really? Soaring fish in the Glades?!

Our drive from Miami on the Atlantic to Naples on the Gulf took us over Alligator Alley, a highway that carves right through the Everglades.  All along the way, we had glimpses of Florida's fish, fowl, and fauna, if alligators can be classed as fauna. 

See the flying fish?

The fish, however, were mostly of the “soaring” variety....flying past, clenched in the talons of an osprey. 
d For an amazing video on the osprey, just click this link.. Expect to be astonished and surprised:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA3LtXnNIto

Naples' Pier

Too much of a good thing:
k
Naples' most important industry is tourism. However, not all the natives are happy. More than once, were we privy to some quiet complaining..and not about the weather. 

No, it's more Naples' “uber-success” in tourism.  Traffic on the roads, line-ups in the stores, and life in general have become altogether too hectic. It's those pesky tourists who are making life so difficult.

In fact, one librarian at the Von Liebig Art Center pleaded that I please keep the Naples' secret for those already in the know!!!

Interesting Demographics:

Time to move to Naples?

Naples, with its population of 22,000 people, is the principal city and beautiful metropolitan centre of an area of 316,000 people.
d One of the wealthiest cities in the United States, Naples boasts the 6th highest income and the second highest proportion of millionaires per capita in the U.S.   Were the number of European luxury cars an indicator, then I'd concur.

No place for grumpy old men!

Males Wanted:

Demographically, Naples' median age is 61 years, the biggest group being in the 65 and older category, while the median income is set at $71,553. 

Maybe the numbers are on

the men's side but somehow

I doubt this will work.

Any males feeling lucky or having some extra time on their hands might note that for every 100 women over 24 here, there are only 84 males.
Police have assessed the murder rate here as being very low, so that can't be the reason.

Our North End Abode:

Dave and Louise, our travel buddies on this leg of our trip, share a house with us here in North Naples. It really is a great location. Not far from anything, we especially enjoy Wiggens State Park, said to have one of the most pristine stretches of beach in the world.

Life's a beach!

What I do love about the beach is how it reflects the mood of the Gulf itself. 

The animals that inhabit it seem to sense what's to come and act accordingly...not always the case with those two-legged mammals also known to spend time there too.
(More beach pictures at the end of this blog.  Enjoy!)

LA Fitness:

I'd concur with Tony the Tiger. Life here is “GREAT!!!” Already we have our morning routines.

Linda and Louise do "LA Walk" along the beaches and through the neighborhoods.


Dave and I, less venturous, go to "LA Fitness", a great facility close-by...





...where some workouts include a female spinning instructor who is a BEAST, I tell you, a BEAST. 

(P.S. I don't tell her that to her face!)

 But more importantly, everyone's happy....and healthy too.

Silverspot: The best deal in town:
m

The “$36 Dinner and a Movie Special” at Silverspot in Marcato Place has to be the best deal in town....the movie even includes popcorn and the dinner, wine.
k
Whether it's “a one-of-a-kind movie experience”, I can't say, but it was certainly luxurious. Heck, even the glass and marble designed bathrooms were a piece of art.
Better still the urinals didn't shoot back!

With its valets, huge hand-stitched, custom-made leather seats and well-appointed restaurant, there is a "Wow!" factor. At dinner, our table had a view over the park and our meals were prepared by a three-star chef from some luxury escape for the rich and powerful in Palm Beach. Ah, no matter. Wherever he came from, my sirloin and Merlot were MMMM! 
Oh, and the movie wasn't bad either. 

Lunch with Mike and Louise and Tin City:

On Sunday morning, we all met up with our friends Mi-Lou who recently arrived for a stay in Fort Myers. On their suggestion, we tried the Riverwalk, a great place right in Tin City, part of the old port.

Throughout the meal, pelicans were giving a workshop the birds gave on take-offs and landings, providing great entertainment as a marvelous side-dish to a great meal.

Exercise that day included some shopping (Oh yeah, the men drank beer) on 5^th Avenue and a spry beach/pier walk to push down the calorie count.


Lunch with Pat and Sascha:

Thankfully, we were spinning at LA Fitness Monday morning because the rest of the day was devoted to culinary living which included a great lunch with Pat and Sascha Helcl, two retired snowbird friends, who like the rest of us had escaped. The setting was the Vergina Restaurant, again on 5^th Avenue, where we just ate, gabbed, and got caught up.


A Woody Herman Retrospective


Behind the Von Liebig Art Center, outdoor concerts take place regularly under the big band shell. One beautiful Monday evening, Linda and I decided to attend e a wonderful retrospective of the career of “Woody” (Woodrow Charles) Herman, an American jazz clarinetist, soprano saxophonist, and big band leader, one of the most popular in the 30s, 40s, and beyond. 

Oh yes, we also took in a ball game at intermission.

The Naples Jazz Band's tribute to "Woody" was amazing. As an added surprise at the end of the evening, we were all introduced to several band members who had indeed been veterans of “The Herd”, the name given to all of Herman's bands. What a delight!


Corkscrew Swamp: Soup or Salad?

This protected wetland, supported by the National Audubon Society, gives the visitor limited access via a 3-kilometer long boardwalk to what you might call a “living natural machine”.

See the juvenile night heron?

Over a two hour period, we were treated to short spurts of amazing sights interspersed with longer periods of anticipation. For me, the alligators and the cute but large juvenile night heron stole the limelight.

Murky Soup or Salad? Predator or Prey?
It's all a matter of perspective.

Both live in Lettuce Lake, a sometimes boggy, sometimes murky water environment  often covered in bright green leaves and clearly the heart of the sanctuary. Whether it was soup or salad, was plainly one of perspective, given the potential for flashes of drama.

The Roseate Spoonbill is a gregarious wading bird
of the ibis and spoonbill family

Clearly, the alligators are formidable reptiles. As newly borns, raccoons and storks constitute their major predator since they only measure about 8 inches at birth but as they grow into their 15-foot long carapace of 1,000 pounds, the roles do tend to get reversed. 

In fact, from teeth to tail, the animals are designed to eat, swim and thrive in the swampy marshes and rivers of the Everglades.


Always careful, Louise and Linda step gingerly along the 
two-mile boardwalk that crosses through Corkscrew Swamp 

"Death by fashion"!

Worrisome are the incessant incursions of man into the natural beauty of Florida. The snowy egrit, is but one example. Once counted in the hundreds of thousands here in Collier County, this bird was almost wiped out in the early 1900's because its plumes were suddenly the rage in Europe and on the East Coast.  Unable to support the onslaught,

 “death by fashion” almost led to its total demise.

Worrisome too, is the slow devastation of Florida's wetlands, or Everglades. With an exploding population set to grow by 7 million over the next 15 years, there is nowhere to grow but inland. On a micro-level we saw this on our return trip home from the Sanctuary. 

Only too revealing of Florida's environmental future, were the three new golf-course communities under construction minutes from the preserve. There is no doubt that Florida's eco-dilemna could become an eco-disaster especially in a Republican stronghold like this one.

That said, I embarrassingly say that I love being here and would want to be one of the new 7 million.

Reflectively...until next time.

P.S. Some beach pictures for Glenn.

Life in the slow lane.

I love this " Bed-Head in-your-face coiff".

Am I  jealous?  Maybe.

This one's for you, Glenn.

Look who walked into my picture.

Who's that young chick with the bald guy?

Austin, Texas Time to get weird.

Austin, Texas: state capital and our new destination.

Oh what a relief it is....

Two weeks on the Great Plains, that broad expanse of flat land stretching from the Gulf of Mexico up into Canada, were enough to have us hankering for some relief, geographic “relief” that is. By that, I mean “The Hill Country” of Texas.

A Dodge-y Ride was in store.

No sooner were we on the road and exiting San Antonio when our poor Chrysler van got a little “Dodge-y”, shifting erratically as it tried to deal with the new landscape...one very strangely like home.

A taste of different - so good

Often described as mystical, The Hill Country is home to massive limestone and granite outcroppings, spring-fed streams, spring wildflowers, abundant white-tail deer, Texas-size ranches and small towns founded by European immigrants.  Very beautiful!......


Fredericksburg - And the Full Pinocchio

Ach, du Lieber!

Situated just far enough from Austin and San Antonio, Fredericksburg has become the perfect hide-away for week-end jaunts. To promote itself, the town pushes its German heritage with a few strategically located “Willkommen to Fredericksburg” signs and of course, your obligatory Bratwurst Joint.  For the most part, though, Fredericksburg is just your kitschy run-of-the-mill tourist trap. 

 So why do they come?

It must be a “Field of Dreams” thing?  “ If-you-build-it, they will come.” 

We don't dial 911.

As for the real Fredericksburg, let's say that honesty might not be the best economic policy, so on with the untruths.  After all, they're generally tastier than the truth, especially if a German beer comes with that Bratwurst.



So Pinocchio, worry not!  Your myth will most assuredly continue and prosper for a good number of years to come.

How serendipity......

As fate would have it, we were all hungry and were hoping to enjoy lunch at a local winery just outside of town. Surprisingly, Texas' growing wine industry is already the fifth largest in the U.S.  Unfortunately, no food service was to be found in any of the wineries.  What to do?

Back to the car, Batman!  Next stop, Johnson City, just 15 miles away. Its size, a puny 1.3 sq. miles in area with a population of about 1,700, might make one ask what could possibly be of interest here.

In fact, there were two things, the least of which, that Lyndon Johnson,America's 36th president

was born and raised here.

More importantly though, was our discovery of Ronnie's Ice House Barbeque, simply the best BBQ restaurant in all of Texas. 

 
Some may take this assertion as a Texas-sized exaggeration but between the fantastic service, the wonderful discussions around gun control with Ronnie, and the incredibly tasty meal, this simple restaurant got our “www.tripadvisor. com” vote. Now we were ready for Austin.

Austin, Tx – Keep it Weird

Yes, that is the official motto of Texas' capital city. Almost intentionally, well yes, very intentionally the citizens of this city do what they can to live up to the challenge. 

 And why not? It is a very successful young city.

With a median age of just 31 years old, Austin is not only the 11th-largest city in the U. S. and 4th largest in Texas, it's also the fastest growing one in the country. About the size of Ottawa, the city feels young, much like a gangly teenager, going through a serious growth spurt. Like zits, new construction is everywhere. 



 The growth is due to all the main culprits in any booming town but special note should go out to the high-tech industry (especially Dell) which is tucked away in the hills of the city. In fact, the area has become known as “Silicon Hills”.


But back to weird. For the traveler entering Austin on First Avenue, or so your GPS says, it might get weird because the signs say Cesar Chavez Ave. You thought the Colorado River was in Colorado, but no, Austin has its Colorado River too. The thoroughfares are called “loops” but only go straight, and the official animal of the city is the bat. A bit “loopy”, maybe “batty”? No, it's just Austin keeping it weird.

Weird for Texas? Sure. Austin is like a rebellious preacher’s kid. It’s cool, popular, breaks all the rules, and doesn’t go to church very much. Family members from elsewhere visit from time to time, but everyone wonders if they’re all part of the same family.


It seems that it's been this way forever. When most of the state decided to join the Confederacy, Austin declined. When most of the state decided to join the Republican Party, Austin declined.





But really, Austin is just more counter-Texas than

counter-culture. Austin boasts unique attractions, festivals, and music venues. It’s livable, a hard term to quantify until Austinites (yes, that what they call them) visit other cities and return recounting their flaws.


What we liked was the infectious, welcoming spirit of the city. You can strike up random conversations with random people like one does at the grocery check-out. Here's one example.

A “capitol” experience

I woke up early one morning, snuck out of the condo, and set out in the early morning to pick up some milk. Somewhat ADHD and highly interested in everything new, my wayward travels eventually led me to the capitol. Pushing on one of the doors “just to see”, the four guards inside were as surprised to see me, as was I them.
“You like to arrive early", they said with a smile. "Welcome! to the state capitol, 14 feet taller than the one in Washington. Just put your change in the tray, pass through the machine, and Karen over there will be happy to give you a tour.”
Poor Karen, who was enjoying her first morning coffee was out under the dome, saw me from afar, waved and smiled.
“I'm just out getting some milk”, I said.
“How much time to you have”, said she.
“Maybe 10 minutes.”
“Well, let's get started. You'll love this place.”
In a flash, we were off and like a proud aunt wanting to make sure I missed nothing, Karen deviously kept it all so interesting that I gladly postponed my search for milk, until

“Auntie Karen” was done.
“Y'all come back soon, hear?”, she said with a smile and a wave as I left...her first official tour group of 15 waiting to begin.
It goes without saying that I was so excited about the experience, I returned to the condo to tell everyone...without the milk of course.

Conversation over wine...at the grocery store!!!

Whole Foods is not your ordinary grocery store in Texas but rather a

veritable Disneyland for Foodies. It even has its own wine bar.

Wanting to give it a test run, Linda and I ordered a glass of Pinot Gris and then took the picture. That was the conversation primer for the lady at the next table who, as it turned out, was carrying a Glock. Her point on how “guns in Texas” are the safe

equalizer proved very interesting and our exchange, very civilized.
A wonderful surprise!

If this is Texas, then we must be in Austin. May it continue to be “weird”!

A little levity about guns down here.

By the way, the FBI ranks Austin as the second safest major city in the U.S.

A Small Retrospective on a BIG State:

This will be our last taste of Texas for a while so I guess it's time for some retrospective.
Thing I – What a big, friendly, beautiful place.
Thing II – It's no paradise and it certainly has it's share of foibles and problems. However, Texas pride, heritage, and ingenuity seem to be a good place to start to overcome them.
If Texas were open to suggestions, I would suggest being one Ted Cruz lighter...oh yeah, and maybe Chuck Norris too.

Our best to Texas and thank you!


My favourite phrase: In Texas, it's never just “no”, it's “Hell, no!”

Thank you!

Tomorrow, we leave for Naples, Florida while Ken and Fran will stay on and travel to Phoenix later.

A huge word of thanks to our good friends and frequent travel buddies, Ken and Fran. As ever, you were great travel companions. It's always a joy discovering new parts of the world with you or just revisiting old haunts.

Adiós mis amigos. Safe travels.

Until next time.