Throughout the southwest coastal area of Florida, you'll find several state parks. We had intention of stopping at some of them to take a look at this area of the Gulf to compare to the Gulf shores in our part of Florida. Some were still closed or had very limited areas open from the storms that had devastated the area in recent years, and we were headed to Fort Myers Beach, so we skipped the ones along the coast as we continued along the Tamiami Trail.
However, we did stop at one that wasn't so much coastal as it was historical. The Collier-Seminole State Park piqued our interest in that it is home to the Bay City Walking Dredge that was instrumental in the construction of the highway through the swamps of south Florida.
You might say this was our "giant ball of twine" for this trip because it was an unusual roadside attraction for sure. You can read about it at the link above. Or watch this short YouTube video as the guy tells you much of what you'd read.
There is also the Blockhouse, a recreation of a Seminole War fort. The first floor is open to the public with interpretive postings on display. The campground is nearby.
From the state park, we drove into Naples in search of Epiphany, a dedicated gluten-free bakery I had read about on one of my Celiac Travel groups on social media. There was a Costco on the way so we stopped for gas before going to check it out. I was so excited to find a dedicated gluten-free bakery, and I was not disappointed. We bought a couple of their cinnamon rolls (7 out of 10, which is pretty good since I have kinda-low expectations for gluten-free sweets), but the highlight was the lemon blueberry bread/cake (10 out of 10). I've found that they will be shipping soon, so I may just have to have some shipped!
And bonus! Right next door was a Turco Taco which had gluten-free emblazoned on their window. That caught DH's eye, so we went in to check it out. While they are not a dedicated gluten-free restaurant, they understood celiac and the need to avoid cross-contamination. We each got a taco and we shared a side of Mexican Street Corn that was so delicious!
As it was a Friday afternoon and already past 3 PM, we opted to go directly to the hotel in Fort Myers Beach rather than try to see anything else along the way. Google Maps said it was about 30 miles and would take over an hour. Yep, we were still in south (albeit southwest) Florida!
~ Cindy D.
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