My final destination would be Cocoa Beach, on the Atlanta Ocean side of Florida. But I decided to go down the Gulf of Mexico side first.
My first stop was in Sarasota. This beautiful little town is home to a large Amish community.
We saw many people on their bicycles like the ones above. But I found it funny because even though they don't drive, they do use electricity apparently. Because here is a restaurant that they own and manage:
My friend and I both had wonderful meals, very tasty. Then we finished them off with pieces of delicious Coconut Cream pie - so good!
After our lunch, we visited their bookstore and especially their market, where they had fresh fruits and vegetables as well as pies and cakes. We couldn't help but buy a few things to take with us!
And there was my friend Ann, standing in front of their deli where they had fresh fruits and vegetables as well as pies and cakes.
After we had finished looking around, we headed on down the road to Ft Myers, where we would stay for the night.
Fortunately, I had some points built up with Best Western, so we stayed at this hotel for free. It was a very nice property, complete with a full breakfast each of our two mornings.
And just down from the hotel was this restaurant:
It was called "Two meatballs in the kitchen" and what a great name! We met Ann's friend Joan there, and had a great time. Both Ann and Joan are big Hockey enthusiasts and they are both season ticket members.
Then we headed down to Estero, Ann's hometown. We went to a hockey game that first night, visited several of her friends and then we went to a wonderful shopping complex, resembling a small town. I really enjoyed it.
While we were in the area, we went over and visited with Ann's brother and sister-in-law at Ava Maria, a beautiful community. This community is centered around the cathedral below with businesses all around it and then the homes behind the businesses. We toured the cathedral and it was very impressive. Here are some pictures.
The community is built around this cathedral. It seems to be the main focus of the small town.
We were told that this cathedral was built to be hurricane proof.
The buildings were built in a circle around the cathedral, which set to the right of the grass, above.
I was really impressed with the majesty of this structure. If you will look closely, you can see someone sitting there all alone, praying. There were one or two others scattered around the cathedral. And to make it even more majestic, there was complete silence in there except for organ music playing from the balcony. I really loved it
Standing from the front, you can see the balcony in which resides a glorious pipe organ from which emanated the most sublime music, creating a somber experience while there.
Such a magnificent cathedral. Well, we ended our two days in the Ft Myers area, checked out of the hotel and headed to our final destination on the Mexican Gulf side of Florida: Naples!!!
What a city!! Right on the gulf. So beautiful.
A stroll downtown . . .
We decided to go shopping at a very nice and upscale (aren't they all, in Naples?) shopping complex.
These stores sat right on the water with outdoor cafes. Such a great ambiance.
Looking in a store window . . .
Look at the price on this painting!
I really liked this picture frame. In fact, I started to buy it until I saw the price. They wanted $800.00 for it! I.don't.think.so!
After leaving the mall, we decided to drive around the neighborhoods and look at the houses. Look at all of the palm trees. I loved them.
After driving around a while, we headed over to the beach - my favorite thing!
I really enjoyed the pier and the water. I've been to both coasts in Florida and I think that the water is much prettier on this side.
After we left the pier, we decided to drive by some more houses:
Before heading back to the hotel for the night, we went over to Tin City, another shopping complex the complete opposite of the one we had been to earlier.
Our trip down the coast was wonderful. We sampled Amish food and culture, visited with friends in Estero, ate with more friends at three different restaurants, shopped at three different shopping districts in as many areas, watched the pelicans fly in to be fed, visited a gorgeous cathedral and so much more. But all good things come to an end and it was time to go to the other coast. So, we went back to the hotel, slept, refreshed and headed out . . .
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