Even though I am in my junior year here at FGCU which means
I have been in Fort Myers for 3 years now, I had never taken the time to go and
check out downtown. I thought that the downtown area was very run down and
wasn't a very nice part of Fort Myers, but how pleasantly surprised I was!! Not
only was there a lot of history surrounding the area but it was also a really
pretty place.
We started off our field trip walking
along the waterfront, which had some really spectacular views. It was so calm,
which I really wasn’t expecting in a downtown area, but it really made me
appreciate just how lucky I am to be in such a beautiful city. When walking
along the waterfront we were able to go and look at this beautiful fountain
named the “Uncommon Friends’. Uncommon Friends is a sculpture
depicting a seated Henry Ford, kneeling Harvey Firestone and reclining Thomas
Edison gathered around a campfire on a 20-foot island set in the center of a
40-foot diameter pool. In the water around the island are life-size sculptures
of a mother alligator and her five babies, a mother manatee and her calf,
otters, lots of fish, and lily pad groups that are piped as fountain heads, and
frogs sitting on small protrusions of
land that similarly double as fountain heads.
As we were driving into downtown we passed Thomas
Edison’s house that he and his wife lived in for many years. Mina Edison, who
was Thomas’ second wife, gave the Edison Estate to the city after Thomas died
and so now the house is open to the public, will definitely be paying that a
visit very soon!! Mrs.Edison, on her arrival to downtown Fort Myers, brought in
Royal Palm Trees to line the street. They look absolutely fantastic and really
give Downtown Fort Myers the grand entrance it to rightly deserves.
Downtown doesn’t just have some historic monuments and a
lovely waterside view and walk, it also has some really lovely shops, restaurants
and hotels. We were lucky enough to be able to go inside Hotel Indigo, a really
luxurious boutique hotel. Thanks to Professor Borden we were able to go up to
the rooftop which hosts not only a little pool and sundeck, but also a bar and
an awesome view of the whole of Downtown. I definitely wouldn’t mind spending a
few nights at the Indigo if I could spend my days wondering around the shops
and sunbathing on the roof, and my evenings sipping cocktails by the bar!
So to conclude I would really like to encourage you to take
at least a day trip down to Downtown Fort Myers! Between the historic monuments,
the waterfront, the shops and the restaurants, you definitely will not be lost
for things to do and will really have a fantastic day, just like I did!
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