Out for a Ride

 

Lucky dog.  Or lazy dog.

Coastland Center

 Coastland Center Mall is an older mall in Naples.  It has been struggling for years.

Some restaurants have been built as outbuildings in recent years.  Uncle Julio's was a Mexican restaurant that did well for a few years.  (I love the mural wall.)  Sadly, it closed for good a month ago. 

Trail Boulevard

 Naples residents and visitors drive up and down US Route 41 -- the Tamiami Trail -- all the time.  

Drivers on 41 who look to the east as they pass Pelican Bay see some pretty attractive houses on s road that runs parallel to 41.  On a recent day, I pulled off the highway to take a closer look at those houses.

Some of those houses are quite big, expensive and attractive.

But, the constant road noise is unbearably loud.  With so many other attractive places in Naples, I really can't understand why anyone would make the choice to live there.

Naples UCC

 

Naples United Church of Christ is a big Protestant church on Seagate Drive in Naples.  It looks so much like the Protestant churches in New England.

HE's Afraid of ME?

 

I see and photograph alligators all the time.

I keep a respectful distance.  

Most of the time I am in my golf cart, staying a careful distance away.  The images make it look as if I was very close, but that is a result of a long lens and heavy cropping.  

If I creep too close, the alligators quickly dive into the water.  But, yesterday I was ready and had my camera up while the cart got closer and the alligator made its dash for the water.

Vanderbilt Beach Library

 

The Vanderbilt Beach Library is a small and rustic looking library that is just a mile east of the public beach access to the Gulf of Mexico.  It serves many Naples residents, but primarily residents in Naples Park to the north and Pelican Bay to the south.

Collier County Public Library

 

The headquarters of the Collier Public Library system in on Orange Blossom Drive.  There are nine other branch libraries.  Collier County is a new enough region that the library system dates back only to 1957.