Where? SouthWest Florida!
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South west Florida is mainly know for its pristine white sandy beaches that spread as far as the eye can see. But other than the great people who populate Lee County and the surrounding areas know just exactly what goes on there all year long. Lee County is made up of roughly 5 main areas which include Ft. Myers, Cape Coral, Pine Island, Sanibel, and Lehigh Acres encompassed by smaller populated cities.
History
Located at the gulf entrance of the intra-costal water way lies the heart of an area one time populated mainly by the Calusa Indians “The Shell Indians” until the late 1700’s when diseases from the new world eradicated the tribe. Diseases such as smallpox and measles were brought into the area from the Spanish and French explorers and these diseases wiped out entire villages. It is believed that the few remaining Calusa Indians left for Cuba when the Spanish turned Florida over to the British in 1763. But before diseases killed off their people they were known as a “fierce” tribe and were over 50,000 members strong.
Cape Coral
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Largest City?
Included in Lee County is Cape Coral, named primarily for the thick layer of coral located only a few feet under the surface, is the second largest city in Florida with a area that vastly covers just over 115 square miles. With over 400 miles of navigable waterways, Cape Coral has more miles of canals than any other city on earth including Venice, Italy. According to estimates as of 2009, the city had a population of 167,917, making it the largest city in Southwest Florida. The population estimate for the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area was more than 623,725 as of April 2008. As florida real estate grows so will its popularity with tourists alike.
Memories
Oldest City?
Ft. Myers is the heart and soul of Lee County. Established in 1886, Fort Myers is the historical and governmental hub. It is the gateway to the Southwest Florida region, which is a major tourist destination in Florida. The winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford which are both primary tourist attractions in the region, are located in Fort Myers off of historical McGregor Blvd.
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Spectacular Views!
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Most Beautiful?
Pine Island and Sanibel are notorious getaways for people of all kinds, including high powered government officials such as presidents and senators, as well as a multitude of famous celebrities. Not only do the endless miles of pristine white sandy beaches encourage tourists from all over to visit, but they are also one of the best fishing hot-spots in Florida. Accompanying the fishing Sanibel is also rated one of the worlds top beaches for avid seashell hunters, due to the shape and currents surrounding these massive barrier islands, it makes the perfect place to find the most diverse collection of seashells than anywhere in the world. Also check out some short poems I've written with the help of beautiful Florida and it's wonderful people.
Local Beach Pictures
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Beaches Of Southwest Florida
Florida has some of the BEST beaches in the world! From the ever popular Ft. Myers beach, where the party in the sun never stops, to the powder white secluded beaches of Sanibel and Captiva. What ever kind of beach you are looking for, you will find it in Florida. So whether you're just looking to take long peaceful walks on the beach with your significant other or your looking to mingle with fun active beachgoers check out my other site dedicated to people who love the beach. Also know that because of the shape of Florida and the currents in the Gulf of Mexico, Southwest Florida has the best sea shell hunting beaches in the world.
Fishing In South West Florida
South West Florida is known as one of the best fishing spots in Florida, especially if you’re looking to jig for some snook, fly fish for monster tarpon, or just want to catch some tasty mangrove snapper for dinner. With the endless options of fishing holes located through out the waters of Pine Island Sound, Upper Captiva, and Sanibel Island you’re sure to fine just what you’re looking for. To get more information on excellent fishing in these local water check out my favorite authors web site (Randy Wayne White) and see what you can get into. Don’t feel like getting all fishy but want to enjoy exquisite cuisine check out Doc Fords on Sanibel Island, this is one place you just can’t miss.
Tennessee based graphic design firm.
Tennessee based graphic design firm.
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Randy White Fishing
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Local Links
- Sanibel_Island
There's a lot I could tell you about Sanibel Island, Florida. It's well-known throughout the world as one of the best vacation destinations for both families and romantics. It's also where you'll find a... - Cape Coral
Cape Coral is the second largest city in Florida that consists of a little over 115 square miles. The most impressive thing about Cape Coral is that it has over 400 miles of canals, that is more canals than... - Florida Real Estate
Cape Coral, Florida Real Estate Information - Where to Swim with Dolphins in Florida
There are quite a few different opportunities to swim with dolphins in Florida. Here's a rundown of some of the most popular dolphin swim programs located in Orlando and the Florida Keys, as well as St. Augustine. - Top Ten US Beaches For Shell Collecting
Sea Shell, Sea Shell, Sing me a song, O Please! A song of ships, and sailor men, And parrots, and tropical trees, Of islands lost in the Spanish Main Which no man ever may find again, Of fishes... - Tarpon Lodge Pine Island Florida Vacation Accommodations www.TarponLodge.com
The next time your vacation travel takes you to Southwest Florida, take a look at the Tarpon Lodge in Pine Island Florida as a vacation rental destination. This is truly a paradise location that the whole... - Free Family Fun in Orlando Florida
It occurred to me recently that when Ive written articles in the past about fun places to go to in Orlando Florida for free, transport has been necessary from Orlando. I now realise that not everyone has... - Randy Wayne White
The areas BEST local author! - Author Carl Hiaasen
Another Great South Florida Author - Gregory Smitheman
MySpace profile for Greg Smitheman. - Elite Poetry
Short poems written by me.
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What a magical place. I love this hub. :)
Really wonderful informations about Florida. After reading this article, I felt I had been to the places. I am greatly honored to accept your request of adding up my URL (about Florida) here in this hub. I feel proud by that way.
One more thing. Your Elite Poetry is also a nice job. Keep it up. Can you go thro' my hub "Beautiful Poems|Budding Poet|A Poet from our Family". My niece is waiting for a great opening.
Keep writing more hubs here. I am very eager to read more of your hubs.
This is a beautiful area - one of my faves! And you're lucky to live in gorgeous Sevierville! Great hub!
Nice area. Been there several times. And thanks for the mail. You are rapidly gaining ground on HubPages.
A great hub, packed with information about SW Florida. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Beautiful SW Florida - at this time of year, it's starting to look and sound better and better...the rich colors, the sunsets, the beaches, the quality of light....it sounds wonderful.
Nice! It sounds like a great place for a vacation involving painting plein air (fancy art talk for Outdoors Painting). I would love to get one of those sketchbox easels and go down there someday to collect shells and then sit up on the beach painting the view.
I have a couple of questions that don't always get touched on in travel articles.
1) Disability access -- how easy is it to get around for someone limited to a wheelchair or power chair? Do you have to walk long distances to get anywhere or are there a lot of cabs and easy transportation? Do the local cabs have a problem with power chairs?
2) How liberal or conservative is the area? Would a nice gay couple from Massachusetts or Hawaii vacationing for their anniversary be harassed or refused service or face violence? Would an interracial couple face harassment or trouble? Or someone not Christian? Guys with long hair and beards?
This is important because my friends are very diverse and I fit a couple of those categories -- at least nontraditional religion and disability. Though I've come to the conclusion I'm mostly straight, a lot of my friends are gay. I'm an old hippie, used to be radical, now I'm just Liberal.
Of course times changed and today's conservatives, many of them would be flaming liberals back when I was young. But it does shape a lot of people's vacation plans across the full spectrum -- if an area's conservative, that may be exactly what a conservative family is looking for as a place to vacation. I prefer liberal mellowness but I'm not everybody by a long shot, that's just my personal preference.
3) How artistic-bohemian is it as a vacation destination? Can I find local workshops and art excursions (see Plein Air above), are there museums, aquariums, coffee houses, galleries where I could purchase good paintings from the workshop instructors and other local artists? Are there studio walks and other arts events?
These are a huge draw for an area too (and can sometimes overcome my preference for liberal-mellow as long as an area doesn't go to serious violence over the issues.) A place with great scenery is going to naturally draw in a lot of artists. both serious professionals and leisure painters.
If the area doesn't have that and you're looking to encourage tourism, maybe contact the Chamber of Commerce about encouraging it. Those beaches and shells sound irresistible. Shells make wonderful still life objects, so if I went there to paint, I could also bring back a large box of interesting cool things to paint once I get home too. A definite plus.
I love doing tropical beach scenes anyway. You get to use all the bright colors in the box and they're true to nature. One of the best things about going that close to the equator is that the farther South I move, the brighter colors are. The sky is literally bluer and a brighter color. Green trees are greener. Flowers pop and look much more pure-color brilliant.
You've got me dreaming of it anyway, thanks for a great Hub. I'm looking out at bare brown branches in an Arkansas late fall where the grass stopped being green and dreaming of going down to that beach with all my art stuff to hang out without needing a sweater. That'd rock.
Nice work of both history and geography uniquely intertwine
Beautiful Pictures, lovely place! Nice Hub!
What a beautiful place! thanks for sharing!
also well presented and informative! well done
I didn't know the Edison connection. Nice first hub, and welcome to the community!
Really great content, and the video makes me long to be back there.
I loved the detail on this hub, I'm going to check out your Cape Coral link. I really want to move to Florida, but don't know much about the area.
Lauren
What a wonderful insight to SW Florida, cannot wait to get there and see for myself!
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brightforyou Level 1 Commenter 19 months ago
Great Hub, thank you! We are so lucky to live here in Florida - I live in Bradenton/Sarasota area and it is beautiful - I hope you don't mind, but I wrote a poem about a small sound in Sarasota Bay made of the shell mounds from the native indians - I wrote about it here: http://hubpages.com/hub/Ode-to-Tidy-Island-Florida - I haven't been to Cape Coral, but I love Sanibel and Captiva, its like being in the Caribbean - I love Cabbage Key too!