The minute I get a writing assignment finished, my thoughts turn to my book and blog. At this time of year, it also turns to feeling grateful, for my family, first and foremost, but also for the gift of writing. Sitting down to craft a post, an article or a book is a privilege.
It’s been a busy fall and early winter. We moved houses in early October and, whether you’re moving five miles or five hundred miles, the dreaded packing must commence. Someone recently commented to me that the proverbial ‘they’ haven’t figured out a way – yet – of improving the moving experience. I fail to see how it will improve as long as we own furniture, clothes and keepsakes, which I’m not ready to part with. But let’s put all the hassle-factor of moving to the side and focus on the many positive aspects of re-shuffling our lives.
Our Week in Naples Between Houses
In our particular situation, we had a week in between domiciles with our former home closing a week before we could purchase and move into our new house. What to do? We decided to take a trip to southwest Florida so that I could soak in all things Naples, or at least as much as a 5-day visit could provide, in support of my freelance gig writing for Naples Illustrated Magazine.
Luckily, I had scheduled an interview with one of the Paradise Coast’s leading biologists for a new assignment and was looking forward to that. I’d also arranged to meet a few people related to some of the articles I’d already written so the next thing I knew, we were happily ensconced at a Naples hotel.
Our Naples sojourn kicked off with a drive down to the Everglades, where we visited the 10,000 Islands National Wildlife Refuge, “a mosaic of estuarine habitat where freshwater meets salt water,” as the visitor board describes. We walked to the bird blind and looked out over an immense area filled with marshes, wildlife, water, birds and lush vegetation. Once you are in these refuges, the sense of stillness takes over.
We then drove down Pine Crest Loop, visiting Smallwood’s Store, which unfortunately had just closed for the day. Author Randy Wayne White suggested this as a fun destination in the Insider Profile I wrote for Naples Illustrated Magazine in the November issue.
Corkscrew Sanctuary, Rookery Bay, Naples Botanical Gardens and Ding Darling
The next morning, we headed out to Audubon’s Corkscrew Sanctuary, where we walked along the boardwalk and witnessed another feat of Paradise Coast conservation with old growth cypress trees, the ghost orchid, rare plantings and exquisite flowers cascading left and right. Scenery-rich moments like these help you forget all the complications of life.
We took a late afternoon sunset cruise in the Rookery Bay Natural Estuarine Research Reserve. Our captain, Nick, showed us around the estuary and we watched as a thousand birds descended onto tree branches with the utmost delicacy, rooting out interlopers and late-arrivers. Warm breezes whisked off our shoulders as we cruised the bay, going right near Keewaydin Island, home to many Loggerhead Sea Turtle nests. It was everything I thought a sunset cruise would be: warm, fun and interesting as beautiful scenery slipped by.
Early the next morning, we visited Naples Botanical Gardens, where we linked up with a local birder, Ed Kemnitzer, his wife Liana, and some of their wonderful friends who all enjoy birding and nature. I connected with Ed via my editor at Naples Illustrated Magazine, so that I could get a few quotes for my birding article entitled Take Flight: Birding in Naples (pages 78-83), likewise published in the November 2020 issue.
Scopes, binoculars and cameras surfaced, and we set out on a trek around this amazing 170-acre, award-winning facility which was founded in 1993. Liana is a docent at the Gardens, so we had a special tour, peppered with her insights and formidable knowledge. As we walked along, Liana was detailing many of the plants and garden features and Ed and his expert birder friends were calling out all the different avian species.
Bill and I were in our glory taking in all this information, enjoying the exotic plants from all over the world and appreciating the many conservation offerings Naples offered. For my husband the naturalist, it was sheer delight as he grew up with nature / garden-loving parents. For me, the writer and unabashed nature-lover, it was the exact combination of fun and learning that makes life so interesting.
We took a drive through Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, another nature gem. Lots of turtle crossings. We then stopped at J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island and cruised along the four-mile Wildlife Drive, stopping frequently to hop out and observe the birds. Great fun, including a beautiful Reddish Egret!
Fort De Soto State Park
On our way back home, we also visited Fort De Soto State Park. It had to be one of the coolest bird / beach / scenery combinations we’d ever seen, and that’s saying a lot because every other locale we had visited on this trip was spectacular, not to mention various other trips we’ve taken! We saw some new “life list” birds, including a flock of over 200 Red Knots, which migrate 11,000 miles twice a year from Canada to southern South America. We loved walking on the beach, taking in an enormous expanse of shoreline, people having a good time and of course, the superstar birds we encountered along the way.
Pound for pound, this was by far the most nature-packed, spectacular trip we had ever taken. A sheer delight. After moving into our new house and spending a few nights there, we headed north to pick up our youngest daughter in college and celebrate Thanksgiving with our older girls. We were so glad that we could all come together then, as we followed the advice of many not to fly them south for the Christmas holidays. While we missed them terribly, better safe and healthy in the current era.
Sounds like an amazing time, Thank you