Del Mar Naples

This restaurant on Fifth Avenue South has been open for 3-1/2  years.  I have not gone yet.  Shame on me.

Shoulders

 Three big boys.

A House in Naples Park

 Naples Park is a modest neighborhood in North Naples.  It is the home of people working in the community and living in smaller homes, not the wealthy retirees who occupy the biggest houses and are the most conspicuous residents of other Naples communities.

One Naples Park resident has painted up their home and added a mural and sculptures.  I showed it sometime in the past, but I don't remember when, so I couldn't compare.  It seems a bit different.  Apologies if I am repeating myself here.  This post is linked to Monday Murals.

Stuck

 I don't know how the turtle is going to get up.  It wouldn't let me help.

Freedom of Expression

 

The homeowner has made his Presidential preference clear.  I'm glad I don't live next door.

Clouds

 These are two of the places I often visit with my camera in search of birds to photograph.  

The clouds were beautiful, but the birds were elsewhere.

Two benches

 Two neighbors have charming benches in their front lawn.

I call it a tie.

Cyclists

I rented bikes for the granddaughters when they visited recently.  My daughter and her husband used mine.  The fearless first grader took charge and led the group.  The calm third grader was content to trail.

May 1 is theme day for City Daily Photo and this month's theme is "cyclists."

This is my 5,000th post.  It would have been good if the milestone fell on a day when I had a blockbuster image to show, but I am happy that instead today's post features family doing family things.

Two Riders

For the May theme of "Cyclists," I have been looking for bike riders.  

I caught this pair in March, but I don't think the image is the one.  Onward.

A Bike Rider

 The theme for May for City Daily Photo participants is "Cyclists."  I took this recently as a cyclist passed the gates to my community.  Then I recalled that the theme is "cyclists," not "cyclist."  

I kept looking.

An Osprey Mom and Chick

 It had been about a week since I checked the nest.  I suspected that there was only a single chick this year and I confirmed that suspicion when the little guy popped into view.

I kid that Mom is home schooling the chick, but in reality Mom is loudly calling for her mate to come back to the nest.  He ignored her calls.  He better bring a fish.

How about some more birds?

 I enjoy looking for birds and other wildlife in my community.  Here is a recent sampler.

For the past month, three black vultures have been hanging out i the same place.  Here is one.

I have seen green herons more often this year than in past years. 

OK.  You can caption this great blue heron.

A great egret was curious about why a white ibis was joining it.

I like capturing them taking off, flying or landing.  Top to bottom:  a roseate spoonbill, tricolored heron, white ibis and white egret.

Library

 Lee County built a new library in Bonita Springs five years ago.

Buffalo Chips Restaurant

 I have driven past Buffalo Chips Restaurant on Old Route 41 in Bonita Springs many times.  The mural on one side of the building is what usually caught my eye.  But, I recently read a very positive review of the food, particularly the chicken wings.  It was time to go inside.

Sally is one of the owners, a niece of the man who founded the restaurant 41 years ago.  He is from Buffalo and is known as the "King of Wings."  Sally showed me around.

Her uncle is a huge sports fan, especially teams from Buffalo, like him.  He attended the Super Bowl many times.  Boxers, football players, baseball players, rock and roll musicians , actors . . . have all visited Buffalo Chips and left photos with autographs praising the chicken wings.

A football jersey signed by retired Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly is a prized possession.  

As is a robe from Muhammad Ali.  "The Greatest."

1928 Ford Model A

 

The garage showed a gleaming mint condition 1928 Ford Model A.  It was probably not as beautiful when it left the factory floor.  Nor as expensive.

Cobra Kit Car

 I had an itty bitty car repair that had to be done.  (A brake light.) 

While I was there, I got to admire a pretty cool Cobra kit car sitting on the dealer's floor.

Celebration Park

 Celebration Park is a popular food truck venue southeast of downtown Naples.

There are numerous murals.  (Linked to Monday Mural.)

There might be a dozen food trucks, including seafood, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Greek.

Little Gators

 Our Everglades (airboat) and Big Cypress (swamp buggy) tours were operated by Wooten's,  Wooten's is the successor to tours run by Seminoles in the Everglades.  The Wooten family took them over in 1953.

Wooten's offers guests an opportunity to hold either a two pound or a fifteen pound alligator.  Bands keep the gators' mouths closed.  I would have loved to hold a gator, but my hands were full.

The Everglades and Big Cypress

 While Susie and her family were here, we went for tours of Everglades National Park and the adjoining Big Cypress National Preserve.

Mangroves are usually found near the coast, but they have been driven further inland by hurricanes.

Historically, the Everglades are fields of grass.

Palm trees can't survive in the water, so they die and become the homes of insects, animals and birds.

Alligators prefer fresh water, but they will also live in the inland brackish water closest to the fresh water sources.

Strangler figs climb up cypress trees.

A red-shouldered hawk kept an eye on the tourists.