Florida, day 4

Day 4 photo album is here.

Nearly the whole day was spent at the Edison estate, which was another of the most-nominated things to do among the reader suggestions. Thomas Edison always wintered in Ft. Myers, and later his friend and protege Henry Ford bought the adjacent property. Edison used the vast grounds as a botanical garden, both for aesthetic and scientific purposes--the latter primarily because he was obsessed with finding a plant which could be used for domestic production of rubber. Now you can tour the grounds, the homes, the science labs, and an Edison museum.

Once again, I was completely won over by the ginormous trees--about five different types of ficus, all with complex, multiple trunks and either aerial roots or amazing ground-level root structures. So if you browse the photos, be prepared to see a lot of trees. (And that's after I culled the hundreds of shots down to what you see.) The most impressive by far is the banyan tree just outside the museum, which now covers nearly an acre, and is completely impossible to photograph in its entirety. It's the largest banyan tree in North America. Pardon the cliche, but it's one of those things that you just have to see to believe. (Photos 8-10.)

There's nothing special in these pictures, really. They're just typical touristy shots, recording what there is to see, so that I can be reminded of it a few years from now when my memory has faded. (OK, #35 is pretty nice, but that's about it.) I probably violate every one of Wolynski's recent pieces of photographic advice. (Speaking of whom, if you're in Las Vegas, try to find a copy of the free magazine called "Seven." She has a great picture of downtown Vegas as a study in contrasts, spread across two pages near the beginning of the March 24-30 issue.) I feel like yelling at all of you, "Move on, there's nothing to see here!"

But judging by page views, lots of you seem to like looking through my vacation pictures, so have at it.