Today we took a self-guided tour of the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford estates. Since these men were good friends, their winter homes were next door to each other. Convenient for them and us, don't you think? The Edison family spent more time down here, but Ford usually only came down for a couple of weeks each year. The estates are located in Fort Myers, right on the banks of the Caloosahatchie River.
We had audiophone units that we each carried with us, so that we could listen to narration at the various spots of interest. It was nice to be able to go where we wanted and at our own pace. I sat at the river's edge where Edison used to do the same. I got this idea to invent something really important, but by the time I got back to the car, it was gone.
The lab was used by Edison, Ford and Harvey Firestone to experiment with ways to produce rubber. Many of the trees on the estates were brought in as possible sources of this product. Edison's electric light, phonograph, etc. inventing period had happened much earlier. The large banyan tree in the collage was a gift from Firestone to Edison. It now occupies a whole acre of the estate. Personally, I believe that it was a bonsai experiment gone terribly, terribly wrong.
As we walked back to the car, we got some of that liquid Florida sunshine that our local weather people had failed to predict. We were a little damp, but still happy.
Note: My sour expression in the picture was because Sue wouldn't let me give Henry Ford " bunny ears".
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