Monday, March 21, Day 17 to Ft Lauderdale

The US Sugar offices, not only sugars from here but beet sugars from MN, SD, and ND area.

Off to the Chamber to do a sugar plantation tour. There was one spot left so we were unable to go on it. The ladies who operate the museum pulled out a video of the process. It gave the process of orange juice squeezing and sugar cane processing. The orange juice is not just putting it into a squeeze machine.

These two items are used to squeeze, the large gears are wooden and manufactured in Brazil.

The other is a set of gears much smaller made by the Goldens'. Another reference to a similar name.

I had a Golden in my boot camp company at the Great Lakes.

It takes manual picking, transporting to holding bins for more ripening and then a wash and sort and then the squeeze. Now there are many options from low grade to Florida’s best fresh juice. At one stage the hold the temp at 32 degrees and in another more concentrated juice at 20. The sugar cane is harvested off 175,000 acres, with 40 ton per acre. They showed the process of burning off the leaves, we saw that happening yesterday, cutting, transportation, cutting to size, pressing and repressing the cane. From this comes molasses and white sugar, one 4 pounder was a Pillsbury brand. After seeing the video we can see why they call the town the sweetest town in the USA. It was surprising to see the city’s sugar industries museum and Chamber in the same location.

A couple items we saw in the museum that were interesting, I think the color again strikes us.

Off down 80 to 27 to Ft. Lauderdale. As we left Clewiston we drove by the orange processing facility. We then stumbled on Harlem, had heard about it on some of the material we heard about the processing unit. It is what it sounded like, the hard working class of the plant live there, run down shanties, boarded up buildings, two sheriff vehicles and a couple of well kept houses amount the rubble. We drove past many cane fields along the way, felt like we were almost in a tunnel.

We pull onto 595 and are now looking for the Flamingo Gardens. It turned out to be more interesting than I imagined. We have a couple minutes and have not had lunch, the hot dogs looked good and sure were.

We were eating alongside this pond of birds. We took the tram to view 50 acres not seen by the walk thru the complex. It was well worth it, as the guide pointed out all kinds of vegetation. One item I had wanted to ask about was the plant the Seminoles used to paint things red with. I am sure this plant results in the red clothing prevalent in pictures of them.

The people who built this in 1930 were the Wray’s. He wanted a place to entertain people and sold parcels with 5 acres of citrus plants. After 5 years if they wanted to buy it at a price determined when first they took it over they could or give it back. He and his wife loved wildlife and plantings and brought much to this area we get to look at.

We listened to a lady that showed us a number of sanctuary animals.We listened to a lady that showed us a number of sanctuary animals. A King snake was first, a Kestrel, a great Horned Owl and this 8 month old alligator, born of two parents who have been in sanctuary for 18 years and had never had young before. They have 80 teeth when born as they must feed themselves. Cute:

Here is some of the vegetation on the properties.

There was also a clock exhibit, this one was made of brass in 1680. The unique thing about it was that you could lift off the top and put a candle in it so you could read it at night. Yes the face and numbers were cut out. The most expensive was a $60,000 clock made of porcelain.

So where are we going to stop for the eve? The traffic is heavy so I turned off on what looked like a busy road by some college’s, thought they should have a selection of places to stay. Well one to be exact, we travelled the road for a couple miles but ended turning around and went back to the first intersection for a Comfort Suites.

We stopped at Flanigan’s Restaurant for dinner. It was another time to look at the layout of the area we are staying in, bustling with cars and activity. As a Irish bar they had Guinness on special so that is what I had with my dolphin (mahi mahi) pieces appetizer, Shirleen had a had BBQ’d chicken, nice flavorful sauce, as I ate some of it. Tomorrow is another day. jerr

Sunday, March 20, Day 16, to Clewiston FL

We went to the Blessed Pope John XXIII church.

Here is what we found in the parking lot of the church, hand built by owner, he described it to a 6 year old like the models you put together, that is what I did.

In the entry there was a life sized bronze statue of him. Its dedication was scheduled for next week with the Pope’s Papal Nuncio (Envoy) to give the dedication ceremony. Reminded me of the mass we had at St. Peter’s church in Rome, it was conducted by Cardinal Luigo who was the Nuncio of the US for many years. Seeing the life like statue of him in his latter years gave me the thought/feeling that he exuded peace and love from deep in his being. The priest had two baptisms during mass and two after, a young parish? 2,107 families and 4,502 attended last Sunday. The bulletin is a four color, 16 page, slippery paper, first class. I think I learned more about baptism and the meaning of the oils, white cloth placed on the child. He used the chrism upon the ending of mass anointing the ears so that they would hear the word of God. The Father Bob was enthusiastic about life itself that - pick me up spirit.

A lunch downtown Ft. Meyers at Vino De Notte restaurant at the high class hotel Indigo. Always nice to have table cloths on the table, unique silver ware, should have taken a picture of it. Shirleen had a Vino Burger with her customary American cheese, because it reminds her of a grilled cheese sandwich. I a Chicken Florentine Panini, a marinated grilled chicken breast with cheese, spinach, caramelized red onion and a sun dried tomato aioli on a foccacia bun grilled Panini style.

A visit to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Ft. Meyers.

Edison statue under the banyon tree.

Here is my Lady with the lady Edison.

There houses had were surrounded by gardens, many different palm trees and flowering gardens.

The royal palms, with the smooth green at the top are from Cuba, not indigenous to US.

Neat place now and back in 1910 when they lived there, two to four weeks per year.

Notice white egret looking for lunch.

We will travel across the state on Hwy 80, there SR80, their Sweet Road 80. They consider themselves the sweetest place on earth. As we drove across the state, I wish we could bottle the orange blossom smell, overpowering.

We thought we would eat at Beef O’Brady’s restaurant, a chain. Shirleen’s fish and chips were thick and juicy, I ordered chicken wings with mild sauce, poor choice. I ordered those because they looked so good last night at Selmon’s. The chips we a double thick potato chips. Jerr