Peace River Botanical and Sculpture Gardens

Tamiami RV Park at Dusk

We are settled in for the winter at Tamiami Village RV Park in North Fort Myers, Florida.  We stayed here last year for a month, but spent a part of that month back in NY when my dad was in the hospital.  We were here long enough to know we really felt comfortable here and would like to return.  While we were in the area last year we visited several (at least 10-12) other RV parks in the Fort Myers' area.  We found only one we liked as well or better, and several I'd rank from somewhat sketchy to downright scary.  Getting a seasonal spot means putting in a request by the beginning of March.  Those requests are sorted by date received, length of requested stay and whether you have been on that site previously.  In other words, it's a competitive process.  We were offered a spot this year, but not the spot we requested (the one we were on last year).  But we took what we could get and were happy to be able to stay put for a while to enjoy the warm Florida sunshine.

Home Sweet Home

Carol really wanted to be on our old site.  Every time we spoke to someone in the office about anything, she'd want to know if our old site was available.  As it turned out, last week our former neighbor on that site, came by to let us know that the present occupant would be moving to a new site because he got a larger camper that would no longer fit on the site - so low and behold our old site was available.  And yes, we moved down the row to Carol's great delight!  We will be here until late April when we start the trek north for the summer.

Now that we are settled, we have time to get out and explore the area.  Yesterday we visited Peace River Botanical and Sculpture Gardens in Punta Gorda, about 30 minutes to the north.  We had a spectacular time!  This is my idea of the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

One of the first installations you see is the Tree Trellises.  These three rebar sculptures each have a different color bougainvillea climbing the structure.

"Tree Trellises" by Cary Stefani

On the path near the trellises is "Yellow Andy" one of twenty identical life size sculptures of Andy Warhol.  These were created to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Warhol's death.  All 20 were painted all black with the exception of the hands, face and hair which were painted in Warhol's signature bright colors.

"Yellow Andy" by Jack Dowd

One of our favorite botanical features in the garden were these Traveler's Palms.  The unique fan shape palms are so captivating.  We especially loved them because they are fellow travelers 😉.

Traveler's Palms with one of Laurie Tennent's "Botanicals" on exhibit in the garden.

As we were driving into the gardens we drove past this tree and I said, "Wow, look at that tree!  It looks like it's covered with orchids."  When we were able to walk up to it, it is in fact an Orchid Tree!

Hong Kong Orchid Tree

Hong Kong Orchid blossom

There were so many unique plants in this garden, it was impossible to attempt to capture them all.  This was one of those makes you go "WOW" plants that was irresistible.  

Dwarf Pineapple Bromeliad

Close up of the dwarf pineapple on the bromeliad above.

The gardens are located on both sides of the road, so as you walk you cross the road to the other half of the property.  One of the first sculptures you see as you cross is this 18 foot high pair of computer generated graphic designs on metal.

"Ostriches" by Yu Zhaoyang

Many of the sculpture pieces in the garden are works by Carole Feuerman, a pioneer in the Hyperrealism movement, making sculptures portraying models in a life-like manner.  Works by Carole Feuerman:

"New York City Slicker" by Carole Feuerman

"Bibi on the Ball" by Carole Feuerman

"Next Summer" by Carole Feuerman

"Monumental Fire and Harmony" by Carole Feuerman

Meanwhile back in the garden, I didn't do a great job capturing the names of every cool plant and flower I took photos of, but this gives you a sense of the wonderful range of beauty this garden has to offer.

Cycad

Panda Plant

Unnamed orchid

Bromeliad and unnamed plants

"Cherry Cola"

Exquisite compound flower blossoms

Buddha's Belly Bamboo

Unnamed succulent

There is a boardwalk out to Peace River.  This sculpture, made from 23 different pieces of lava rock is visible from the boardwalk.

"The Keel" by Kemal Tufan

Boardwalk over Peace River

Kel and Carol, Peace River 

Looking down the boardwalk towards the gardens.

"Steel Palm" by Jacob Kulin

"Steel Palm" viewed from the side.

The peacefulness of wandering in a garden is one of my favorite past times.  The combination of the beautiful art of nature and the beautiful art of man truly soothes my soul.  This was my favorite piece in the entire garden.  "Rondelet" by Lin Emery.  

I have not captured the entirety of the Peace River Gardens experience in part because our trip was cut short by an unexpected animal rescue.  As I mentioned, the gardens cross the road.  As we were leaving one side to cross the road to go to the other, we met "Buster" (I named him after Edith Ann's dog Buster.)  This dog was by the road, with his leash trailing behind and no owner in sight.  We took ahold of the leash and "Buster" was very happy to see us, hang with us, rub on us, and wait with us for his human.  The problem was, we had no idea who his human was as he was not wearing a tag or ID of any sort.  We called Animal Control and they said it would take an hour to get an officer out to us.  So we sat and waited.  

"Buster" waiting patiently

We kept hoping that while we sat and waited for Animal Control to arrive the owner would drive by looking for their dog.  After an hour, that wasn't looking very likely when a guy came by on a bike.  He passed us and then turned back and said, "Is that my dog?"  (I don't know, is it your dog?)  He comes over and says, "Hey that's my dog... he must have gotten away from my mom."  

Spike and Carol 

Turns out Buster's name was really Spike.  Less than a minute after he rides off with Spike running behind him on the bike, the Animal Control officer arrives.  We tell her what happened and she goes to offer to drive the dog home so he doesn't have to run behind the bike.  Rescue mission accomplished.  Time for a beer.  Fortunately, Peace River Brewery was just down the road.  We'll be back; to the gardens and the brewery. 🌿🍺

Remembering Mom

This post is not my typical travel blog update.  Normally I'm writing about the places we visit in our travels or adventures in full-time RV life.  In my last post we had finally made it to Florida and were at Gamble Rogers State Park in Flagler Beach.  From there we traveled to Tomoka State Park in Ormond Beach.  We met up with a friend for dinner in Daytona Beach and ran into John and Jill, the owners of Charlie's Inn, the campground where we spend the summer and some other Lake Clear folks.  Small World!  From there we went to Sebastian Inlet State Park in Vero Beach and honestly were barely able to leave the camper because the gnats were so bad!  When we arrived one of the campground hosts came over and said, "I see you have your windows open.  That's not a good idea.  The bugs will come in and it will be so bad you'll have to run your AC really high until the cold kills them all.  I'd suggest you close the windows and put the AC on now."  We were dumbfounded.  We rarely ever use the AC, even in FL and this sounded like a miserable way to spend 3 days, and it was.  We'd never return.  And finally we traveled further south to Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Jupiter, Florida.  Johnathan Dickinson was a relief after being cooped up avoiding the "no see-ums" at the last park and we had a large open site and were looking forward to exploring the park and the area.  We'd been there a day when I got the phone call that I should come back to New York as my mom was not doing well.  We called the RV park where we were scheduled to move the following week for the remainder of the season and asked if we could arrive a few days early.  We drove to Fort Myers set up the camper and flew home.

My mom, Wendy, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in January 2018.  That was only two years ago!  It NEVER occurred to me that she would be gone so quickly.  We made it home in time to share her last few days.  On December 18th, she went to her heavenly home.  As sad a day as it was for us, we were happy for her to be at peace at last.  As I reflect on the last few years, I'm so grateful we had so much time together.  Here's a little walk down memory lane.

Washington Park, Tulip Festival, May 2016

Proctor's Theatre, Schenectady, November 2017

Ambrosia Diner, Queensbury, October 2017

Jack's Bistro, Glen's Falls, April 2018

Family Dinner at Uno's Pizzeria, Queensbury, June, 2018
Dean, Maria, Gregory, Mema, Alana, Cema, Dad and Mom 

Docksider Restaurant, Queensbury, August 2018

Family Breakfast the day after Dan and Kayla's Wedding, Ithaca, NY 2018
David, Jack, Peter, Karen, Dean, Maria
Meg, Kelly, Carol, Scott, Mom and Dad

When we got back to New York this spring after our first year on the road, I found myself spending more time caring for mom as her memory declined and her needs increased.  On May 2nd, the day before my birthday, mom asked me what year I was born. She had to confirm that she was right that I was born on the 3rd.  I’m not sure that even seemed strange to her. She was getting so used to not being able to remember things.  It took my breath away. I’d gotten used to her not knowing that she had told me how funny the movie she saw last week was - three times already.  I’d gotten used to the fact that her brain has an overactive delete button. It just came as quite a shock to see a piece of me get deleted.

TGI Friday's, Saratoga Springs, May 2019

Mother's Day outing to the Roosevelt Mineral Bath's Spa, Saratoga Spring, May 2019

Enjoying a cup of tea together, May 2019

Lunch at The Spot, Queensbury, June 2019

Pizza Night with Alana and Gregory, July 2019

Going for a walk behind the apartment, July 2019

In July mom ended up in the hospital as the Alzheimer's melted her brain and her grasp on reality slipped away.  The doctor's determined that she needed 24 hour care and supervision and could only be released from the hospital when that could be provided.  That meant finding a nursing home placement.  The only nursing home with a memory care unit with an opening was in Elizabethtown, which was almost an hour and a half away.  On August 6th she moved to the Essex Center in E-town.  

Checking out the flowers in the courtyard at the Essex Center, August 2019

Visiting on Luau Day, August, 2019

Mom showing off her new shirt matching manicure, September 2019

Visit with the kids: Alana, Mema, Gregory, Maria and Mom, October 2019

This was a difficult transition but eventually mom did settle in, but the distance was a huge issue.  We were very grateful when an opening became available close to home in October.  On October 23rd mom moved to Fort Hudson Nursing Home in Fort Edward.  

Our last photo together, Fort Hudson, October 2019

I fully expected that when we returned to NY in the spring we'd see her again.  Alzheimer's had other plans. I am so grateful that my daughter Maria spent an extraordinary amount of time with her once we were back on the road this fall.  She visited her almost daily and in her final days was with her round the clock.  My brother and sister also were able to get to spend time with her before she passed.  

I find myself thinking, "Oh I should call mom and tell her..." and then catch myself.  So I just have the conversation I was going to call about in my head, and trust she's listening.  I carry her in my heart and will take her with me on all our future adventures.