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Published: November 5th 2010
This is NOT a Sunset!
Yep, we were up before dawn to go deep sea fishing! Worth it! And, a beautiful sun rise!This is a return visit to Silver Lakes RV Resort situated on Route 951 (Collier) between Naples & Marco Island. We love camping on concrete slabs. The heated pools and hot tubs, great landscaping, water views, a well organized lending library, a golf course, and nearby attractions & restaurants are among the amenities.
Rookery Bay Natural Estuarine Research Reserve has excellent exhibitry. We wandered the "snail trail" through the swampy terrain. The trail is new and signage is being developed. It's a tribute to many volunteers and fund raisers that people have access to and can experience these fragile and rare areas up close. We love to go where kids are out and about learning - especially about science - on field trips. The Rookery is a real gem for school groups. We'll wait until next year to take the guided kayak tour through the Rookery estuary; but in talking to some who did it, porpoises followed them the entire way, and the trail took them through mangrove "tunnels." Very cool!
We found an area of Naples on 10th Street with several consignment, antique and vintage shops. Chelsea’s at 2nd Ave. and Options, across the street had clothing, art,
Naples Farmers' Market - 3rd St.
Fresh shrimp, baked goods, pastas, cheeses, fruits & vegetables, crafts, soaps, and more! We were seranaded by a guitar player, bought coffee and breakfast sandwiches, and shopped. jewelry, furniture and accessories. Across the street, Options, was closed for renovations - it's on the list for next year Other fun shopping in Naples is Third Street, and the extraordinary Village at Venetian Bay with great restaurants, boutiques, water views and a design play that plays well with walkways and restaurants on the waterway and open areas with partial roofs!
A shopping disappointment was the Mercado, hyped in a magazine as a happening life style center with residences, restaurants, and upscale retail. The place was simply not ready! Shows how important "soft openings" can be. Maybe next year.
Fishing on the Lady Brett out of Tin City. Wes was the winner here with a 23" grouper (a keeper) and a reef shark (returned to the Gulf of Mexico). This is the third time we have taken this charter. There were 12 guests, a higher number of fishermen than usual, but the crew accommodated seamlessly.
We made return visits to the Capri Fish house on the Isles of Capri. We caught the tail end of happy hour one night and caught a sunset, a long set of "island music" by Rasti Man Frank, and our
Antique District, Naples
We'll be back 10th at 2nd - this is fun shopping - we have also quite a collection of Goodwill Couteur! first "early bird dinner" on another. Funky, Tiki shack look with a little beach and kayaks for rent! Erin's Irish Pub was another "find." We have passed this very modest looking pub scores of times and decided on pub fare one night. What a surprise! Wonderful full menu, cozy and attractive surroundings, and an acoustic string band (vocals, violin, guitar, & bass) playing Irish and American Mountain folk music. They even did Turaluralura! We went back again for oysters and corned beef. A versatile piano player entertained.
Our side trip to nearby Everglades City, Goodland & Marco Island was the subject of a previous travel blog.
Moving on today; next stop Sanibel Island. We've been to this little paradise a few times; but this is our first time to camp on Sanibel.
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