Fun…spur of the moment…..quirky and mad about each other! We totally loved shooting Laila and Mathias around the grounds of their condo on Marco Island! And we can’t wait for their wedding…..what could be more romantic than getting married on Valentine’s day at the Ritz Carlton Naples on the beach? Can’t wait!
Now that we have some weekends off to enjoy each other’s company, we like to take weekend excursions to all sorts of neat and offbeat spots right in our own backyard. It’s really amazing just what you can find within a few hours if you look hard enough!
There’s a TON of spots around Florida that we are wanting to visit. And like us, these spots are a little off the beaten path, a little ‘un-normal’ and lots of fun! I know, I know. You are all dying to know just what’s on our list for this year: Well, here’s the short version! Gibsonton, home of lobster boy, the Burt Reynolds Museum in Jupiter, Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, Coral Castle in Homestead, Dinosaur World in Plant City, Potter’s Wax Museum in St. Augustine, the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg (which is a MUST SEE if you are in the area) and the list goes on and on!
So, this time around, and very fitting for Friday the 13th, I am posting about our trip to the Shell Factory in Fort Myers, Florida. Being almost a native Floridian, I had been to the shell factory but when I was a wee lad of only 8. I do remember it because my dad let me get one of those oysters that contain a pearl. Well, I did find a pearl and my dad had it made into a ring, which I still have. So it’s a ‘warm fuzzy’ memory type of place for me! And I can’t believe that Rene, also being an almost native Floridian, had never gone. So, it was top on our list.
The Shell Factory has changed in the last 10 years. It’s huge now! It’s definitely a tourist spot that kind of feels like you’ve entered a black hole/Twilight Zone-ish place once you arrive. Time stands still as you are lured in and begin to explore the many weird spots in the park.
Like animals? They have a nature park. I lament that I did not partake in the park, but the report from Rene and Ali was that it was clean, the animals looked happy and the enclosures were pretty large. I don’t like zoos or “nature parks”. End of story.
The shop is more like a mega-complex of junk, err everything under the sun made of shells, sand, plastic, lights, bright colors, loud textures and loud noises. It’s definitely an interesting visual experience to walk through the humungous shop that includes different rooms for different things.
When you first enter, to the left is the ever-famous men’s suit made of, you guessed, it shells! Check out the pictures below in case you really didn’t believe what I just wrote. And yeah, someone did actually wear it, for a long time, every day!
There are certainly some amazing shells that you just won’t see anywhere. If you are coming from up North and don’t have access to shells, this place has some beauties! And the price range goes from very inexpensive to lots of mula! They also have some funny wooden characters sitting in different spots around the store, ready to creep you out at every turn. And of course, who can go home without the plastic gold Jesus in a shell figurine or seashell night-light.
If dead and dried out sea animals, a la Spongebob is more to your liking, there are plenty of those! Bin after bin of dead, dry and stinky sea horses, sand dollars, starfish, blowfish, alligators and other ghastly stuff is all on display for your perusal. Oh, and don’t forget to grab some shots of you and your dead sea souvenir in the photo booth!
There’s the Christmas store, which has a ton of well, Christmas and holiday stuff, including Ali’s favorite, a pink tree. It even has an upside down tree complete with presents. And of course, to make the Christmas store complete, two huge tiny villages were set up. Pretty cool actually. We of course totally loved the Halloween village. Ali and Helena actually got to ride Santa’s sled. Of course, I think that we now have permanently scarred Helena as evident by the look on her face in her picture below! Our duty as parents: DONE!
So what were the highlights of the day you ask? Well, in third place would be the preserved shark fetuses in a jar, of which you can take home with you and proudly display on your mantle (just don’t bring it on board the plane with you as that’s a no-no!).
In a close second place, the Gator Things display also had some beauties: dry alligator heads with shiny black eyes, all lined up on a shelf ready to go home with you OR the best treat of the day! The alligator claw back-scratcher! Huh…now I know what to get Rene for his birthday!
And in first place? Why of course, the United States’ larges taxidermy collection, right here in our backyard! It’s an impressive collection of animals ranging from the zebra, to baboons, to a monster polar bear head and skin, to gazelles to cheetahs. You name it, it’s here!
So, words can’t really describe. My gallery down below is a good teaser, but you really must come out and see for yourself. Kitschy, fun, unique and definitely memory-making, the Shell Factory is fantabulous if you want something of the totally mondo-beaten path! Oh, and don’t forget to stay until dark to catch the waltzing waters show! 
If you go, leave us a message here telling us about your day!
Go forth and explore your world, and create your own perfect day!
Oh, and Happy Friday the 13th….
Astrid
Even though we are pretty much Naples natives, very used to hurricanes and the waiting game that we must play with them as they make landfall, it was no different with Fay. Yeah, Fay hit Southwest Florida as a tropical storm, but it kept us up regardless! To be precise, the rain and wind kept us up…
Add to that the fear that our pool would overflow and our coughing Ali laying next to us; and you could say we had a restless night. The pool came dangerously close to overflowing and at 4:00 am, Rene grudgingly trudged out in the rain and wind and drained some of the pool water.
We spent the last end of the morning collecting massive amounts of avocados that had littered the backyard like mini-bombs (can’t wait to make guacamole!). And we spent most of the day lazily playing and doing, uhm, not much. But then we made a spur of the moment decision to head to the beach after we saw little glimmers of the sun finally appear. I’ve gotten really good at predicting great light at the beach and my gut feeling didn’t let me down this time around!
It was SO magical and we are totally glad we made it to our spot! We had a bit of cabin fever in us and getting out to see our favorite beach was just what we all needed. The long paver pathway was flooded, but it was a wonderful adventure and as we made our way to the beach, we were greeted with the sounds of the crashing Gulf and lots of wind.
I managed to snap a few shots of the wonderful palm trees that line the coast and in the slides show down below, you can see them flowing in the wind. The beach, the light, the salt air and the wind….it was amazing….and the sunset was one of the best we’ve seen in a long time. And while there was no visible sun setting, the colors of that the sun created against the full clouds were like a technicolor|HD|80’s neon|flourescent|trip explosion!
Whenever you see a painting of a sunset here in Florida and it’s all pinky and baby bluey and you think to yourself, “Gee, what was this painter ON when he/she painted this sunset ?” Believe what you are seeing! It’s not some artist’s rendition of a Florida sunset gone wild. The sunsets down here really are pink and orange and baby blue and the ones right after hurricanes and tropical storms are downright amazing. Ali even got into the spirit of things and brought her camera to capture the magic.
The show after the storm was really incredible but I’m totally glad everyone is safe and I hope Fay leaves Florida and the rest of the coast alone! Here’s to a perfect day and to a safe hurricane season here in Florida!
Look at these fabulous thank you cards I picked up from a little gift store here in Naples! The moment I saw these I knew they were the perfect thank you cards for sending to my bride and grooms! They are so stylish and yet so simple and elegant. That’s always the sign of great design!
So we went to Koreshan State Park Sunday and it was definitely one of those outings you don’t soon forget (because your mind, body and soul is STILL crying out in pain!). Not only did we pick what seemed like the hottest day in the history of Florida to go hiking with two small children under 4, but we also didn’t think to remember the mosquitoes!
Ah yes! mosquitoes: Florida’s state bird! And don’t let anyone tell you any different! At least that’s what it seemed like to us….mosquitoes the size of small house flies, happily flying around our hot, sweaty, miserable bodies as we trekked through the Florida woods in the dead heat. With two toddlers. In a wagon. Going uphill. Mosquitoes. In 99 degree weather. Did I mention the mosquitoes? The heat? Of course I did.
So here’s the scoop: my mom led the pack, Rene behind her pulling the wagon with the two hot and grumpy toddlers inside PACKED full of provisions, and me right behind them, fanning them with the largestt palmetto leaf I could find….keeping the birds mosquitoes at bay. The girls didn’t get bit that much, thank goodness. But don’t ask about us. And YES! We ARE Florida natives. YES we should know better and YES we DO HAVE repellent, only it’s at home. Safe. In our bathroom cabinet. 30 miles away.
We’ve done this hike several times before and it’s truly wonderful. I love this park because there is so much to explore and the history here is simply amazing. Part of the trail to the settlement cuts across this amazing Bamboo forest, which if you stand still (which we didn’t do this time for fear of being carried off by mosquitoes), literally sings to you. But it’s not for the weak of heart…(translation: don’t go in July without bug spray). The entire time we RAN through the hike, we kept wondering how the Koreshans ever managed living here SANS any form of repellent. I surely would have killed myself if the bugs didn’t get to me first! The Koreshans are truly amazing….and their culture and society is most interesting…..and it’s all right here in our backyard!
Anyway, it was a gritty day and we loved every minute of it. After spending the entire week behind a camera and computer and cooped up at home, we all LOVE getting out on Sundays. It’s our family/adventure/see-the-world/make memories/bond with each other day. And this is exactly the kind of adventure we hope for.
So for the daily photo rambling, I chose another lovely Florida palm image that I took as I ran walked through the settlement. This is the official Florida state tree, the Sabal palm (also known as the cabbage palm). It’s a lovely palm tree that grows to over 50 feet in height and stands out considerably.
I decided to have some fun with this image and used texture and a totally bold palette. It definitely has an intenseness about it but it’s quite lovely too, just like our special day at the park. I love this picture….I love how majestic the palms look here, as though they were soaring above the clouds.
