The Edison & Ford Winter Homes

Doug, Cameron and I left for Fort Myers this morning.  I drove so that Doug could work in the back of the Pilot.  He had to make several phone calls, attend a virtual meeting and email a lot of different people, but Cameron and I didn't mind.  Cameron finished the last two episodes of Brooklyn 99 and I concentrated on the road.  There was a lot of traffic on I-75 and a terrible rain storm.  

Thankfully, we made it to Fort Myers safely, however, and picked Ford's Garage for lunch.  It seemed fitting since we were going to visit the the Edison & Ford Winter Homes in the afternoon.  We enjoyed our sandwiches very much and were pleased to learn that we were in the original restaurant that started the chain.

I hadn't been to the Edison home since the late 1990s, but remembered loving it.  When Cameron asked to go to the Everglades this summer, I knew that I wanted to include this historical spot on our trip since it was on the way.  I was super concerned that we were going to be able to visit it like I planned, however, because of the lightening storm that hit just as we arrived.  The grounds were closed until it passed and we were concerned that it would linger longer than 4:30 which was their last time for selling tickets.  Fortunately, the storm did pass and while we were waiting we were able to see the famous Banyan tree that I remembered well and Edison and Firestone's rubber testing lab.

Doug, Cameron and I were able to get into the grounds by 3 p.m and spent over an hour on a walking audio tour of Thomas Edison's beautiful winter home and Henry Ford's as well.  We learned a lot about the inventor and his family.  We also found out more about his relationship with Ford and Henry Firestone.  The three of us would have definitely loved living in the home and were amazed with all of its ties to the history of Fort Myers.  Cameron said that he wasn't quite sure when we arrived why I had hyped it up so much.  In the end, however, he totally agreed with me.  It was extremely interesting and gorgeous to see.  I was happy to hear that and pleased that we were able to tour it today.