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Omg, we grew food! That we can eat! Oh yeah, and hike #9.

6/27/2016

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In Florida, the west coast is the best coast and if you need proof then look no further than Lovers Key (and the whole Bonita Springs, Sanibel and Naples area). For Hike #9 of our 52 Hike Challenge we walked the length of the beach at Lovers Key State Park. Right after the hurricane force winds nearly blew us out to sea.
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But first, the important things. Like the fact that our trees and bushes produced fruit this year. Like real fruit that you can eat and no one seems to think this is nearly as exciting as I do, but whatever. I feel like a survivalist. Except I'm not the one who planted (or maintains) them -that's Trevor and Ellison's domain.  I am, however,  reading quite a few gardening and planting books so that should count as participation.

We had peaches, apples, blueberries and blackberries. And they were delicious. And of course, like any proud first-time fruit parent would do, I took pictures documenting the moment like we were the first people to ever grow anything edible. Like we were the ones who invented these trees. It was pretty much awesome in all ways. Except for when Waylon ate one whole blackberry bush. Not just the berries, but the whole bush. The only one that was fruiting. But he is really cute (and patriotic) so I included a picture of him, too. 

In the spirit of edible backyards, Ellison and I can't wait to get the raised-bed vegetable garden planted. It should be finished no later than the end of July. Time is kind of running out for summer planting so we have to hurry. We're also creating a potted herb garden of which Ellison will care for exclusively. It feels good to be making use of what little green space we have.
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Alright, if we're being honest I really just want to quit doing the  52 Hike Challenge because it's June and Ellison and I are only on hike #9. But, unlike the actual rules say, we are only counting hikes that are new to us, not the walks or hikes we rountinely take during the week. So it's slow going, for sure. We're going to try and catch up over the summer and see if we can make the January 1st goal of 52 different hikes in 2016. Ellison doesn't really care as long as we are still going to new places and that should be what this is all about so there really isn't a reason to give up. So, our hike at Lovers Key State Park is #9. 
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The sky was definitely ominous upon our arrival, but we weathered the short-lived storm and were rewarded when the sun came out by having the beach completely to ourselves, and by finding a ton of starfish and sea urchins brought to the shallow water by the strong waves. Ellison was in heaven. She is obsessed with sea urchins and spent the afternoon building a little holding pen for them in a slough. By the end of the day it was filled with urchins, starfish, sanddollars and a variety of other things she collected on our hike. This area is known for its beautiful shells and if you're into that sort of thing then Lovers Key would not disappoint. 

While we just stuck to the beach, the park has designated hiking trails that take you along the mangrove swamps and hammocks. It isn't a boardwalk, just hardpacked shell rock and the north end of the Black Trail loop is shared with mountain bikers so be aware. You can also kayak or canoe in the estuary, which is really nice because the water is so flat and protected (although the Gulf side isn't particularly rough either - which is another reason west beats east). Being on the water offers a great vantage point for wildlife viewing and you could spot dolphins, manatees, alligators, eagles and ospreys. We saw a lot of osprey on our hike, a number of them babies in their nests. 
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While the weather wasn't the best, it is also summer in Florida so it's to be expected. This park lived up to its hype as having pristine white sand beaches and abundant wildlife, but I do recommend staying to southern end of the island because it offers a more scenic view. Not that the north end isn't pretty, but I just felt like the south end offered a little more tranquility. Ellison and I had a great time and she was begging to go back the next day for more sea urchin fun - it didn't end up happening due to time constraints, but it would have been nice. Maybe we'll looking into camping during the winter, although I hear that you have to make reservations up to a year in advance because it's so popular. 
See you back here soon!
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Spending the Day with Edison and Ford

6/22/2016

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Ellison and I went along with Trevor to a work event he had in Bonita Springs last week. Just north of Naples and south of Fort Myers, it turns out that Bonita Springs is a great location for exploring southwest Florida. So in an effort to combine our love of history, old houses and the outdoors, we first opted for a trip to the Edison and Ford Winter Residences. 
Relatively unassuming by the standard of living we associate with today's rich and famous, the houses and grounds of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford are a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. You get a glimpse into what is arguably one of the most intriguing and influential time periods in American history and you can eat one of the best pulled pork sandwiches outside of Pearl's BBQ. Anyone who knows Pearl's in Micanopy knows that this is the highest praise. If you're lucky it will be served by the World's Nicest Woman, who just happened to be manning the cafe cart the day Ellison and I visited. There is also a small museum that traces the lives of both men and discusses more in depth their attempt to find an alternative to foreign rubber sources, which was a major focus of Edison's lab in Fort Myers. He apparently tried over 17,000 different types of plants in this quest to create a domestic rubber trade. This all sounds super boring in retrospect, but I swear it's not! Or maybe it is and Ellison and I are just into this sort of thing. But I have to think we're not alone. 
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thomas edison house

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In our opinion, the two highlights of the Thomas Edison's house are the banyan trees and the Edison Botanical Research lab. The banyan trees and their root systems are incredible, even if they do drop figs at even the slightest provocation by a light breeze. They're all over the property and, while there are a ton right at the entrance, the largest ones are across the street surrounding the two houses and down by the Caloosahatchee River waterfront.
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Ellison and I both agreed that the research lab was fascinating. Thomas Edison created the Edison Botanical Research Corporation with Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone in 1928 and while they never did create a natural alternative to rubber, they did further the research on plant hybridization and renewable resources. While you can only walk through the lab in its entirety on Tuesday mornings with a docent, you can get a close enough look from various arranged vantage points to get a real feel for what it must have been like for Edison and his assistants. I think it helped that we had toured the museum and read about the work being done in this lab beforehand - mainly because there was a thunderstorm and apparently you can't be outside if there has been a lightning within 10 miles of the grounds. So go ahead and scratch every summer day off your list of possible visitation dates. 
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henry ford house

So in our opinion, the Ford house was not nearly as interesting as the Edison house. Neither of us could actually think of a real reason why other than we just found Thomas Edison and his legacy to be more intriguing than that of Ford's. The house is aptly named 'The Mangos' and mango trees (and falling, and fallen, mangos) are everywhere. The grounds, particularly the palms, are beautiful and it is easy to see why both of these men would want to spend their time here. Ellison liked the style of Ford's house the best, but the furnishings of Edison's house better. 
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When you buy your tickets you also get those little handheld recorders that allow for a self-guided tour, which are great, but Ellison and I finally gave up after like the 5th or 6th stop. I think we were just worn out from the heat and from having to wait an hour in the museum because of the weather before we could go back across the street to the houses. Below is Ellison at the end of the tour. She would like you to know that our visit was way better than this picture suggests, but that it was really, really hot out and we'd been looking at houses for hours. I would like you to know that I agree with both of those sentiments and probably looked very similar. 
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Despite the heat, it was an afternoon well-spent. I picked up a copy of this Edison biography in the gift shop and have since finished reading it. Thomas Edison was interesting man in his own right, but it is the story surrounding the public perception of Edison and his rise to media fame in the late 1800s that is also so fascinating. 'The Wizard of Menlo Park' definitely makes it on to my recommended reading list. I think Ellison and I will listen to it as an audiobook during the next long car ride. A ride made possible in large part by Henry Ford. 
See you back here soon!
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52 Hike Challenge: Hike #8 - Anastasia State Park

6/3/2016

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As Ellison and I have mentioned before on this site, we love St. Augustine. And this past Memorial Day we had the chance to hang out in one of our favorite places in the city doing all of our favorite things - spending time with family, eating (tacos) and walking on the beach. A rare and relaxing weekend, for sure. It reinforced the need for presence (I didn't check my phone all day!), as well as our decision to have a slow summer filled with little things Ellison and I have been wanting to do together - baking, sewing, painting, drawing, riding bikes, starting a garden.
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anastasia state park

The majority of our weekend was spent at Anastasia State Park, a location much definitely preferred over the public access parts of St. Augustine beach where the city insanely still allows driving on the sand. Don't even get me started. It's nuts and I just can't even begin to understand. But, anyway, Anastasia is beautiful and the dunes restoration has made it even more so. While many people choose to set up right near the boardwalk, we always head away from the crowds and go much further down the beach. Since this was a holiday weekend it was more crowded, but usually if you are willing to walk a bit then the crowds thin out and the beach is all yours.

Our hike consisted simply of walking a little over 2 miles north along the water's edge looking for shells, jellyfish and horseshoe crabs and then coming back along the dunes scouting for sea turtle nests. We had turned on the mapmyhike app to get the exact time and mileage, but it didn't seem to be working for us that afternoon so no such luck. There is also a marked hike (Ancient Dunes trail) through the mangrove hammock and dunes (which you should definitely do!), but it was so hot that we decided to skip it and stick to the beach where there was a breeze.
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summer stargazing

Ok, if you don't have an astronomy app on your phone or tablet then get one. Now. I am the first to admit that I have only a rudimentary understanding of space at best, but thanks to Ellison I am now addicted to using these apps to see what the night sky has to offer. Ellison has such an interest in astronomy and honestly knows far more about cosmological workings than I do. She frequently watches shows like 'Cosmos' and 'NOVA' and to hear her ask such insightful, nuanced questions about space warms my heart.  So, with this in mind, we decided to take advantage of being at the beach on a moonless night and use some of our favorite apps to check out the current sky. It was really, really cool.

I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone who has even a slight astronomical interest. We used SkyView and Star Chart, but there are a ton of options. Ellison prefers Star Chart, but Trevor and I prefer SkyView (pictured below). They're both user-friendly, but I like the fact that with Star Chart you can just point the phone at the sky and up pops all sorts of information about stars, planets, constellations and satellites. The screen isn't too cluttered, making it easier to identify exactly what you're viewing, it works well for kids and beginners (that's us!) and also has soothing background music that gives your stargazing a kind of planetarium feel. Perfect. If you're in to planetariums, that is. 
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​"Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would create new religions overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead, the stars come out every night and we watch television."
                                         — Paul Hawkens, Commencement address, University of Portland, 2009
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Ellison was so excited because she spotted Saturn, Jupiter and Mars all out at one time and was desperate to take a screenshot and send it to her friends, who she was quite certain had not experienced such wonders and were going to be very jealous of this tri-planetary sighting. We didn't end up sending any pictures, but Ellison has been talking about this night walk and seeing three planets at the beach all week. At her request, we are planning on spending much more family time outside observing the night sky once school gets out. I am happy to oblige. 
​See you back here soon!
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    Welcome! 

    My family and I love to get outside and explore every chance we get. My daughter and I started this blog as a way to chronicle not only the places we have visited, but also as a way to preserve our time together. We hope you enjoy it and will make a little time for a hike with friends! 
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