Windy Beaches Coral Castles

It was supposed to be sunny on Thursday March 4 so we decided to head to Juanita's favorite beaches.  She has a pass that allows her to visit the public beaches in Lee County.  Nice beaches but boy was it cold out there. 

Have I mentioned that Florida is so much nicer when the sun is shining?

It was really choppy and windy.  Juanita said the only people on the beach were snowbirds or vacationers from the north.  They were all sitting with their backs to the north to avoid the wind. 

Many rented umbrellas to block the wind.

It was going to be my last chance to get my feet wet.  So, I braved the cold and plunged in.... Well, I walked gingerly to the wet sand and waited for the water to come to me.  Of course Denny wanted more water around my feet so he insisted I go further and ...  Well, let's just say my pants got wet up to my knees but the water felt good.

Walking back to our car we saw an Osprey nest on a light pole across the road from the parking lot.  I was able to get a shot of one of the parents bringing food and then I got a glimpse of one of the chicks after the parent left.  It was exciting to see this bit of nature.

See him in the upper right hand corner of the nest?

As we were heading back to Bonita Beach Road I spotted a turtle off the road.  You see these watch out for turtle signs everywhere and this was the first turtle I had seen.  Dad stopped the car and Denny walked back to take this picture.

We spent the rest of the day together and had dinner at Juanita's. 

Dad took us to Omaha Steaks on Friday to take advantage of their sale.  We got enough meat to fill the freezer and boy it all looked good.  Nice to have things I don't have to repackage.  We'll have steaks, pork chops, chicken, hot dogs, veal parmesan and hamburger patties.  Mmmmm, mmmmm, good.

We pretty much took it easy for the next week.  We drove to Fort Myers and got some more fruit Saturday.  Denny picked out the strawberries and I went into the store to taste the oranges we had sent to Diana and Mike.  They had wanted navel but there were no more available so we sent another one.  The salesgirl told me this type was seedless but I feared she wasn't right.  The orange tastes great and is very juicy but is full of seeds.  Sorry Diana.  I bought Denny a jar of orange marmalade to replace the "orange marmalade CANDLE" Denny bought.  We didn't know it was a candle until we got back home. 

On the way home we stopped at a GMC dealer to check out the trucks.  They had a 2008 Ford 450.  We test drove it but we are not ready to purchase and we aren't sure we want a Ford. 

We enjoyed a quiet weekend and planned a trip to Homestead Thursday to see the Coral Castle.  It's really interesting.  Edward Leedskalen spent 28 years creating his coral castle.  This is the view looking through the entrance.

The docents know their stuff.  One of them told the group about some notes that were found that are written in 18th century masonic language.  This language is no longer being used but he is learning to decypher it and has found someone to help him.  He is hoping that these notes will give them some clues as to how this small 5' 4", 100 lb. man (Ed Leedskalen) could do all this work by himself.  Most of the building was done at night and with no power tools or winches to lift these tons of coral into place.

There are several 6 pointed stars within the castle and many symbols depicting masonic beliefs.  The docent commented that a mason could look at the different areas Ed built and see the 32 masonic levels.
Here are a few of the pictures I took.

There is a peephole criscrossed with wire that looks to a tower outside the wall with an opening at the top that has the same criscrossed wire.  It you look through this opening at night the center of the wire points to the north star.  Pretty cool.

And here is the matching tower

Celestial inspirations

Ed even made a forge that he also used as a "crock pot" if you will.  He used a part from a car and fashioned a track for it to ride on that would automatically open when removed from the fire.

There was so much to see, from the family bedroom with beds for mom, dad 2 kids and baby, a bathtub, a table shaped like the state of Florida, a rocking chair sitting on top of a pedestal.  There are doors that can be opened and shut with one finger even though they weigh several tons.  All made from coral.  Even the building he built for his workshop that had a generator in fashioned from Nikola Tesla's idea of alternating currents.  No one knows where he learned it but he built it from junkyard metals and auto parts.  He was an unusual man.

We left the castle and stopped at a Chevy dealership.  We saw a C4500 sitting on the lot and wanted to look.  It was beautiful but too much money.  What we are looking for but not in the budget right now.  So.. we'll just dream a little longer.

It's time to think about getting the rig ready to move on.  We got groceries, Denny put the outside things away and we both got haircuts.  We took Dad to lunch today.  We found a "Five Guys" hamburger place. We had really enjoyed the one we had eaten in last summer with Hannah and Noah, our grandkids.  This was a good chance to take Dad somewhere that he has never been.  He liked it too and I think he'll go back again.

It's raining tonight and warm enough that we turned the air conditioner on for the first time since we arrived.  Hopefully it will end overnight so we can get the rest of the things done to be ready to leave Sunday.  Laundry tomorrow and Denny will be going to the rodeo with Dad and Juanita Saturday.  I'll stay home, get the inside ready to move and just have the day to myself.  I hope they get back in time for us all to have dinner together to say goodbye to Juanita.

Well, watch for more adventures to come.