Celebrating Emilie's Big Birthday

With Barb and Emilie at The Mizner Estate on First

We all know it's not polite to ask a woman her age. It would be even more impolite to blurt it out in my blog. So suffice it to say that my friend Emilie just celebrated a special birthday that ends in the number "0." Barb suggested commemorating the occasion with an overnight adventure. She didn't have to ask me twice.

Barb had heard from a friend about the Mizner Estate, a terrific Airbnb just minutes from the River District in Fort Myers. With the place to rest our heads at night secured, we developed an itinerary with a little bit of everything.

Deb, Em, Libbie and me with Kulin's "Steel Palm"

Each venue was revealed to Em as we arrived. Our first stop was the Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens in my old stomping grounds of Punta Gorda. The Gardens yielded not only beautiful botanicals and great sculptures, but the surprise addition of Deb and Libbie. (Coincidentally, they'd been dying to visit since learning that hyper-realistic sculptor Carole Feurman has four sculptures at the Gardens. Click here to see Feurman's "Bibi on the Ball," which was exhibited at the Venice Biennale.)

The rain let up just as we arrived at the Gardens, leaving us with perfect weather to explore. There were many photo opps along the way, including this one with Jacob Kulin's "Steel Palm." The 18' sculpture is comprised of three separate components which happened to align perfectly for this photo. Great shot, Barb! To read more about the Gardens, click here.

Em with "Melomano (Music Lover)" by Edgardo Carmona

The rest of the day was dedicated to eating, drinking and shopping. But never fear -- we managed to find some art along the way!

I was delighted when we came upon some of Edgardo Carmona's "Iron Giants," a series of 23 sculptures featuring everyday people. My friend Janice and I were introduced to the sculptures -- fresh off an 18 stop European tour -- in 2016. The original intention had been for the works to live in Fort Myers for two years and then head to Spain. But both the City and Carmona felt the sculptures had found a home, and in 2018 the City Council approved the purchase of the entire series for what appears to have been the bargain basement price of $125,000. The works are displayed throughout the City. To see images and descriptions of all the sculptures, click here.

With Tom in the trees

Sunday morning found us at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, a National Register Historic Site I somehow never visited during my time in Punta Gorda. Tom was there to greet us amidst these beautiful banyan trees.

The homes are gorgeous, and not only due to their location on the Caloosahatchee River. Tom and Mina Edison were snowbirds, spending three to four months each year enjoying the expansive porches of their Florida home. (Curiously, Tom's office faced away from the water.) Twenty years after the couple first started coming to Fort Myers, they purchased the home next door and converted it into a respite for their guests, including Henry and Clara Ford. When the adjacent house went on the market, Henry purchased it to use during their annual trek to Florida to celebrate Tom's birthday.

The complex contains a museum replete with Edison's inventions and Ford's vehicles. Tom's mind seems to have never been at rest, and he's known for declaring himself "the busiest man in America."  Having seen the scope of his inventions, I can believe it.  We all know about the light bulb, of course. But I didn't know he invented one of the first motion picture devices --  the kinetoscope. The machine -- which one person peered through at a time -- was intended to "do for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear." Click here to see "Fred Ott's Sneeze," the earliest surviving copyrighted motion picture in the United States. It's not exactly riveting, but it was revolutionary. Edison's other inventions include the Dollphone, a precursor to Chatty Cathy. The doll recited popular nursery rhymes with the assistance of one of Edison's tinfoil phonographs. It was an idea before its time.

We all know generally about Ford's contributions to the automobile industry. I didn't, however, realize he was a forerunner in the use of assembly lines. In 1913, the Ford Motor Company's vehicle production exploded from 25 to 1,000 cars per day thanks to the new business practice. The cost of Ford automobiles fell, and sales skyrocketed. With his eye lasered in on the bottom line, Henry was quite opposed to the concept of unionization when workers began to organize. (They were successful nonetheless.) We learned he was similarly unsympathetic to his son Edsel. When Edsel complained he wasn't feling well, Henry told him it was all in his mind and that he just needed to eat better and develop healthier habits. Soon thereafter, Edsel died of metastatic stomach cancer.

These turkeys didn't seem appropriately anxious

given the approaching holiday.  

Our final stop was a real gem -- Rosy Tomorrows Heritage Farm in North Fort Myers. Rose O'Dell King's resume is ridiculously perfect for the venture and includes sheep farming, a degree from the French Culinary Institute and many bylines as a food and wine writer. We had a chance to chat with her husband, a former exec with the Chicos chain. He was hilarious as he told us about the gap between the 10 acres he had envisioned and the 100 acre farm and restaurant they run today. Suffice it to say that all of their hard work has been well worth it, at least from this diner's perspective. Brunch was a memorable experience, from the royal palm turkey welcoming committee to the last bite of a spring roll stuffed with fresh vegetables from Rosy's garden. It was farm-to-table dining at its best, and the perfect way to end Em's birthday extravaganza. For information about Rosy's, click here.