It's My Life ...& Welcome To It.: If it's Naples, it must be Florida.

Feb 1, 2008

Well, it sure as hell ain't Italia. But the weather is magnifico. It has been a very relaxing few days down here in Southwest Florida. Not really beach weather (we avoid too much sun anyway) but very pleasant in the upper 70's, breezy and beautiful blue skies. Rachel and Oliver are very easy hosts. Last night they went out with friends and so Stacey and I were on our own. Not a problem. I perused the dining situation on the computer. I found out that there's not a lot of cheap eats unless you wanna dine at Micky D's &c. The so-called fine dining is very expensive and there's a finite amount of restaurants in any case. We ended up at a lovely place called U.S.S. Nemo. Situated in a strip mall (just about everything is in a mall), it's decorated in cool blue with a touch of 20,000 Leauges Under the Sea which sounded like it might be a bit too cute and kitchy but it wasn't. Specializing in seafood with an Asian overtone, it was really quite good. Stacey had grilled scotch salmon and I had tandoor salmon. With wine and appetizers, the bill came to $80.00 ... a bit higher than we typically spend in New York but, hey, we're on vacation and it was quite enjoyable. I give it three M's (out of 4). Recommended if you ever get down here.

Rachel and Ollie - good friends. Great hosts.

For those of you not familiar with the west coast of Florida, here's a map to show you where we are. Tomorrow we leave and take I-75 (aka Alligator Alley) across the state to visit my aunt and uncle in Deerfield Beach on the east coast. Lee and Alexis are coming down also and we have other friends who are there as well. So just a few days remain and lots to do and see. We'll need a vacation when we get back to New York.

View Larger Map

Today, Stacey, Rachie and I drove a few miles down to Old Naples - the historical downtown. Seems I was wrong (in my last post) in saying there's nothing old to see down here. The town was founded in 1885. One of the first things built was a very long pier that steamers could tie up to. They were docking so that prospective real estate buyers could be brought to see the potential of building in southwest Florida. A 35 room hotel was constructed and I read that the first guest was Grover Cleveland's wife. Why I should really care about that I have no idea, but I thought I'd pass it on to you so you have one more useless piece of information with which to fill your brain.

But I digress. Seems that many of these late 19th century Victorian era homes and lovely old bungalows are still there. Frommer's tour book (online) points out that Naples may be very wealthy but the town also has a reputation for preservation and, apparently, that's true. Early developers laid out a grid and sold plots and pretty soon the shorefront along the Gulf came to be known as millionaire's row. It's lined with very impressive mansions as far as the eye can see. Hmm, it seems millionaires always want to preserve their own beautiful neighborhoods but are happy to build sun-blocking skyscrapers in poor people's neighborhoods.

Stacey and Rachel pose for my camera. We're out on a long walk to explore picturesque Old Naples.

The streets in Old Naples run down to a fabulous beach. Mansions line Gulf Shore Drive, also known as Millionaire's Row.

A lovely old bungalow from the early 1900's.

From the Naples Pier, the first structure built in Naples in 1888 (it burned down or was destroyed by storms several times and was rebuilt each time) provides a wonderful view up the endless beach.

The star attractions at the Naples Pier are the pelicans and it's no wonder as they put on an amazing show. With huge wingspans (up to six feet for the Brown Pelican which is native to this region) and enormous pouched bills they make an incredible sight - suddenly raising themselves out of the water and then, just as suddenly, plunge-diving back into the water to fill their pouch with fresh fish. They hang out together and fish as a group, chasing schools of fish into shallow water where they can be scooped up easily.

The birds also like to sun themselves on the beach. Here's one putting on a show for two admirers.

The Pelicans put on a spectacular show, soaring and diving for fish.

The historic Palm Cottage, builit in 1895 by Walter N. Haldeman, owner and publisher of the Louisville (Kentucky) Courier-Journal, is one of the oldest buildings in Naples. It's the only remaining building built of tabbie mortar which was made from the burning of seashells.

A rare sighting of the Blogster, ensconsed in a fantastic Banyon tree in front of the Palm Cottage.

We finished our long exploration of Old Naples and walked back to our car on Naples' swanky Fifth Avenue. Tonight, our last night with Rachel and Oliver, would be a sunset dinner at the outdoor bar/restaurant at the very fancy Ritz-Carlton -- the Gumbo Limbo bar. It had been a nice visit with our friends. Tomorrow we're off to the east coast. See you there.