We had planned to kayak at Sanibel Island on Tuesday, but the traffic getting off Estero Island at Fort Myers Beach was so bad that we realized that we were going to be late for our naturalist-guided tour. So we called them to change the reservation to Thursday and went to Fort Myers to tour the winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford instead. Then we had dinner with Marge on Sanibel Island that evening.

Edison and Ford Estates

Edison's winter home

Ford's winter home next door

The acres surrounding Edison's home are a wonderful botanical garden full of plants he was experimenting with.

The roots of this type of fig tree are fascinating.

This is the third largest banyan tree in the world. Yes, this is all one tree. Harvey Firestone brought a 4' high cutting from a banyan tree in India to Henry Ford in 1925, and it has since grown to cover a huge area 400' in circumference. As the branches grow, they put down supports which also serve to provide nutrients. Old banyan trees often have the center portion die while the outlying portions continue to be very healthy.

Marge, Mary, and Alan