January 28-29, 2015

 

Wednesday, January 28^th

 

Winter has definitely arrived in Fort Myers. It was a bit too chilly when we woke up this morning, so we turned the heat on in our condo for the first time since our arrival. We ran the furnace just long enough to knock the chill off.

 

We just stayed inside most of the day. After two full years of Cordell’s retirement, we have the art of doing nothing and doing anything we want to down pretty pat.

 

 

When we took a walk through the neighborhood late this afternoon, the temperature was 68° which I felt was a little chilly until I saw that it was 34° in Mount Airy, Maryland. How soon we forget!

 

When I saw this sign along the side of the golf course here at Crown Colony, I figured that there must be some golfers who play a la Cordell.

 

 

 

Thursday, January 29^th

 

Oh my, was this ever a full day! We met our local friend, Brian, at his house at 9:00 a.m. and drove to Punta Gorda where we intended to find some geocaches. There aren’t too many caches left in the surrounding counties that Brian hasn’t already found. But, he delights in accompanying other caches and I wanted to take advantage of his experience.

 

 

 

Punta Gorda, comes from the Spanish, meaning "Fat Point." This historic small town is a hidden treasure of Florida and lies as a “Fat Point,” sticking out into Charlotte Harbor – one of the US's largest natural harbors.

 

 

 

Punta Gorda was the scene of massive destruction after Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 hurricane, came through the city on August 13, 2004.  Charley was the strongest tropical system to hit Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and the first hurricane since Hurricane Donna in 1960 to make a direct hit on Florida's southwest coast.

 

The Spirit of Punta Goda memorial is comprised of a bent tree that symbolizes the wind that stopped the town clock at 4:29 p.m. on the day Hurricane Charley hit the town. Like the upright tree, the citizens stood tall.

 

 

The revitalization of the city that took place in the immediate years following the storm include new buildings, restorations and amenities which  preserve the city's past while showcasing state-of-the art modern facilities.

 

 

 Railroad Station

 

 

We took a walk along part of the 2.4 mile Harborwalk which extends along the southern shore of The Peace River at Charlotte Harbor as it passes through two beautiful parks.

 

 

I especially liked the various animal and bird footprints that are imprinted in the cement.

 

 

Brain showed us the nicker bean plant and cautioned us to be very careful whenever we are around one of these.

 

 

 

Later, he showed us a mahogany tree. They are under legal protection in Florida and on the Endangered and Threatened list. The fruit they produce are large, oval, woody silvery capsules from 2 to 5 inches long.

 

 

There are bicycles scattered all around the city that have been made into pieces of art. I only took photos of a few of them.

 

 

 

There are also murals on many of the buildings. The Hotel Punta Gorda has one that depicts some of the famous people who had been guests. This one included Clarence Darrow, Henry Ford, author Daniel Beard, Harvey Firestone, Andrew Mellon and tennis pro Patty Berg.

 

 

Even the restrooms at the park had murals painted on the doors.

 

 

We didn’t take advantage of this special that was offered by The Celtic Ray Public House. The outside tables are mounted on glider platforms. I can’t imagine trying to dismount after one too many beers!

 

 

 

While touring in the downtown area, we came across another piece of art, Whispering Giant, Calostimucu, which is an effigy to the first people inhabiting this area. A time capsule is contained in the base.

 

 

After lunch, a decision was made that the three of us would walk across the bridge and back because there were geocaches placed on both spans. The bridge is just over a mile in length, but we wound up walking much longer from the parking lot and back again.

 

 

 

 

At the end of that trek, we stopped at Hurricane Charley’s Hunker Down Patio & Bar to refresh ourselves. I think I was the only person who was drinking a soda. Even the old ladies were either drinking beer or cocktails! There was a small amount of seating inside, but not one soul was there—everyone was outside where we had a great view of the Peace River.

 

When the server asked Cordell if he wanted another beer, he declined and told her that he was the designated walker.  

 

 

Brian took us to find some very unique and interesting geocaches. One of them was camouflaged so well that it was even difficult to see Cordell while he was searching the terrain.

 

 

 

Another cache was hidden in the bottom of a metal fence post and difficult, if not almost impossible to retrieve. This is where we got a good lesson from Brian. He had a fishing lure with a treble hook on the end that he tied to some line, dropped it in the post and fished around until it caught the cache.

 

 

 

 

 

It was dark by the time we found our last cache for the day. From there we ate dinner at the Red Lobster and enjoyed a feast.