The River District in downtown Fort Myers has an old southern town comfort feel. Kinda like a one…read morecop town with a heavy artsy historic influence. My visit to this area (on First Street) I came here with a buddy and went to the Ford's Garage restaurant which was a perfect addition to the district with it's 1920s theme. This River District is an easy walkable area with corporate businesses, arts & cultural and restaurants.

We love Fort Myers. It is where you go when you want to live a college lifestyle again. Great…read moremusic, friendly people, reasonable parking rates. Constant events especially by the waterfront.

I love discovering public art and thanks to Bruce K. I was pointed to this large, 12 foot high…read moregranite circular piece titled Sun Gate created in 1998. It is located at the entrance to the River District on Main Street. Sun Gate was carved by artist Robert Sindorf who was born in Amsterdam in 1951.His family came to the U.S. when he was five. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in art history and philosophy from Columbia University, where he also obtained a Masters of Architecture in 1977. Sadly he passed away at the young age of 57 in 2008. Sindorf used a circle in almost all of his art work. He preferred to use circles because of their perfect geometry and because they have no beginning or end. Circles represented to him the sun, heaven, and the circle of life. I love the theme of this piece. The sun is also a symbol of Florida which has the nickname Sunshine State. I like how you can make the sculpture interactive by sitting in it or going through it. The granite evokes the feeling of nature. Sun Gate is a great addition to the downtown public art scene.

Twelve feet tall and wide, this large granite sculpture is between the Lee County Community…read moreDevelopment building and the Lee County Justice Center. There is no street parking immediately nearby but if you're here, you've probably already found parking. The art piece is by Robert Sindorf. Virtually all of Sindorf's sculptures incorporate a circle as their primary geometrical shape. "It is perfect geometry and has no beginning or end," Sindorf stated. "It is a peaceful, restful form that transcends time and becomes eternal. It is a symbol of the sun, heaven, perfection and, especially, the cycle of life." Which explains why Sun Gate also Sun Gate Front ViewLgoes by the name "Wheel of Life." Note that you're allowed to climb through the "hole" in the piece and the "back" side of the Fun Gate is finished where the "front" side is not. [Review 13326 overall, 644 of 2020.]

I aged in reverse immediately after drinking a small sip. It tastes terrible but the experience was…read moreworth more than 5 stars!

This gets five stars for being one of the strangest finds on my travels. Ever since Ponce de Leon…read moreset out to find the fabled Fountain of Youth 500 years ago, Florida has been awash in dozens of bodies of water that claim to be the fabled waters. The people of Punta Gorda think they have the right artesian well. In 1926 the residents raised enough money to build a fountain to tap into the aquifer below it. The green tiled fountain has tiles of ships on all four sides in honor of Ponce de Leon. For years people drank from the fountain and regaled each other with tales of the waters healing properties. In its prime the tap on the fountain had to be replaced every six months because it kept wearing out. The same water was used to fill the pool at the Hotel Punta Gorda. In 1974 Congress passed the Clean Water Act. In the 1980's the EPA finally got around to testing the fountain and found that the water was contaminated. Artesian water is low oxygen which brings out the radon. After determining that the water was radioactive officials tried to shut the fountain down but were stymied by the resistance of local residents. The radium limit on water is 5 picoCuries per liter and the water in the fountain was almost twice that, clocking in at 9.2 picoCuries per liter. The water is also high in magnesium which is good for your health and is a mineral many people are deficient in and in sulfur which makes it smell like rotten eggs. The health department slapped a warning on the side of the fountain and things have been pretty quiet for the past 15 years although some people still show up with empty gallon jugs to take the water with them. The radioactivity and smell was enough to deter me from trying the water.

The Whispering Giant Calostimucu is an art piece carved from a 20 foot Enterolobium Cyclocarpum…read moretree known as the elephant ear or monkey pod tree. The tree is said to be similar to mahogany. The piece was commissioned in 1974 by Fred Babcock who owned the Holiday Inn. He discovered the tree damaged by lightning on his land in 1973 and he had seen Hungarian artist Peter Wolf Toth's work in Georgia. Toth had experienced repression in his native country and was shuttled among various refuge camps. When he immigrated to Ohio he became interested in Native American culture because he saw a parallel in the way they were treated and what he experienced. Toth traveled the country over 20 years and donated at least one work in each state and two in Canada. His first carving was a stone Native American head in a cliff in La Jolla California in 1972. After that he switched from stone to wood. His last carving was number 58 in May of 1988 in Haleiwa, Hawaii. The collection of large works is called the Trail of Whispering Giants. According to Toth "The statue is not just to honor Native Americans; it's to represent all people who have suffered injustices." The carving took three months to make and it sits in front of the historic A.C. Freeman House. It originally resided in front of the Best Western, previously the Holiday Inn until Hurricane Charley in 2004 damaged much of the hotel. The carving includes the emerging dream of a dying bison on it's back coming out of the top and eagle with a broken wing meant to represent the prejudice and injustice Native people have faced. The sculpture also features the faces of a Native American man and woman. It was Toth's tenth piece and the only one to feature two faces. The artwork was first dedicated in 1974. It was rededicated on January 20, 2006 and a time capsule was buried at the base.

This piece of public art for display is really cool! Directions tell you to pull into the parking…read morelot behind the Italian restaurant and if you can't find it the artwork is on the corner by the road in front of the yellow house behind the restaurant.

It took a bit of research to find the name and details because this lovely sculpture doesn't have a…read morecaption or explanation nearby. Maybe there's one inside City Hall? Nonetheless, this sculpture is "Moons of the Galaxy." The artwork is about fifteen feet tall and is a multi-layered piece, almost an obelisk (and you know I love obelisks https://www.yelp.com/collection/_qW015GIAUpX1-YLYabLoQ). It is brightly colored and impossible to miss as you head east on Bonita Beach Road. The online caption reads, "Since the dawn of time earth's moon has lit up our nights and created a sense of wonder in humankind. Luckily, the city of Bonita Springs has been fortunate to acquire a moon to call its own. Currently on display at Bonita City Hall, "Moons of the Galaxy", is one of the latest creations from Pinellas County artist, Clayton Swartz. The towering metallic sculpture was approved by the Art in Public Places Board (APPB), to be featured as a permanent fixture to highlight the city's commitment to the arts and beautification of the community." [Review 19276 overall - 1625 in Florida - 246 of 2023.]

Discovering public art is a fun and free hobby. On a recent trip to Fort Myers I spotted the…read moreCaloosahatchee Manuscripts, two cylinder shaped bronze public art pieces in front of the Sidney Berne Davis Art Center. The art center is a former federal courthouse and the land it sits on was once a settlement of Creek Indians that pre-dates the army fort from which Fort Myers derived its name. The Caloosahatchee Manuscripts were purchased for the City of Fort Myers by Florida Power and Light in 2001. The work was commissioned to celebrate the 1998 conversion of its power plant on the south bank of the Caloosahatchee River from oil to natural gas. The decision was made because it was better for the environment and it reduced the oil barge traffic on the Caloosahatchee River. Maryland based sculptor Jim Sanborn, known for his light sculptures was selected to create the art piece. The two bronze projection cylinders are 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide. A water jet cutter was used to create the text in them. The cylinder on the east side contains a story told by Native American leader Tchikilli to state of Georgia founder James Oglethorpe. The tale describes how Native Americans came into the lower Southeast part of North America. The west side cylinder has the Latin name of the 1,500 native Florida plants Thomas Edison tested to make a local source of rubber for his friends, car manufacturer Henry Ford and tire manufacturer Harvey Firestone. The manuscripts are interesting by day but if you love photography you will want to visit at night when the spectacular light display comes alive. Pinpoints of light come through the text and spill over the building and sidewalk at night making a light show.

These two tall bronze cylinders are located on the sidewalk in front of the Old Post Office in…read moredowntown Fort Myers. The sculpture was designed by American artist Jim Sanborn. They are bronze with text cut from a water jet cutter, and a pinpoint light source. The eastern drum contains the text of a story told by Maskoki Indian leader Tchikilli to James Oglethorpe about the migration of Native Americans into Florida. The Seminoles, Miccosukee and Creek trace their ancestry to Tchikilli and his people. The western drum contains the Latin names of 500 botanicals that Thomas Edison tested in an effort to develop a local source of latex from which to make rubber in order to help out his friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. The sculptures were given to the City of Fort Myers in 2001 by Florida Power & Light Co. to commemorate the conversion of its power plant on the south bank of the Caloosahatchee River from oil to natural gas. After a call to artists, Maryland sculptor Jim Sanborn was chosen. The commission cost $125,000. [Review 13323 overall, 641 of 2020.]

I entered Chips and could not find the Yelp area. Then someone came up and said it's over here. OH…read more I was given a drink coupon, but they had water, so I gave my coupon to one of my table mates. Not knowing what Chips was, I was somewhat taken aback when I saw everyone playing the golf simulator. I was not happy; I wanted to play trivia, and it was possible I needed to understand what this event was about. I have hearing aids, and in this environment, I am almost deaf, so I missed all the explanations about the event, which was playing golf and then playing trivia. The team formed, and we just gathered. We had four players, but one didn't like the table's looks. So, the fearsome threesome gathered. What a fantastic team what one or two people of the three the third knew. I knew we had done well, but as we waited for the standings, our group, Major Sam, was not called. The reason we were not called early is we won. There was a runoff, with the higher number assigned to your answer. One team member knew the answers to all the questions, but nobody came close to Team Major Sam. We received a nice gift certificate, and I, being the gentleman that I am, gave it to someone who would use it.

Thank you to Adela and the Chips team for facilitating this awesome event! Trivia night is an…read moreawesome addition to chips and will continue to bring in more customers. Chips has everything you would want: themed drinks, food, simulators, and now trivia!! The spread chips provided was delicious! I especially loved the tacos!!! Even if the Smartinis didn't get first place in trivia, we still had a blast. I loved how the questions were all different categories which gave no one team an unfair advantage. It ranged from tv to history to science! I can't wait to come again!

I love this interesting sculpture I found in Riverside Park on a recent trip to Bonita Springs…read more Unveiled on Jan. 10, 2007, the title of the piece is Setting the Pace. The sculpture is 17 feet tall and 8.5 feet long. It features a man balancing on top of a circle which can be a metaphor for life. You can interpret it as life is a balancing act, or the circle of life. This piece was purchased by the Bonita Springs Art in Public Places Board which was formed to expose the public to the arts and to create art education programs. Setting the Pace, along with two other works purchased at the same time, Lords of the Forest and The Ties That Bind cost a combined total of $160,000.. Art is purchased by the city through donations and grants. The board hopes to bring art to people who might not seek it out in a more traditional setting like a museum. Setting the Pace was created by celebrated Colorado artist, Jane DeDecker. A duplicate of this piece is in Evergreen, Colorado where it is dedicated to the volunteers and staff of the Evergreen Fire Rescue. DeDecker has been sculpting for over 25 years and has created over 600 sculptures, 4 of those monument sized. According to the artist "My art is a cumulative process made of my life experiences and my desire to sculpt the human form. I try to retain in the sculpture the beginning strokes and gestures because they contain the truth of the spirit. As subject matter, I attempt to select a moment with which all of us can relate on a personal basis. These moments span all generations, depicting universally recognizable scenes." DeDecker has won many awards and her art can be seen in many states and in the private collections of celebrities. I enjoy discovering new works of art and this large piece certainly commands your attention. If you sit and ponder it for a moment you can come up with many different meanings. Personally, it reminds me how we are are always balancing in life, one step from falling off. The park provides a beautiful backdrop for this sculpture and it was a joy to find it.

We went to this event on 11.21.10 and went again today (11.18.12). It is still just as good, and…read moreperhaps even better. We tried Pastrami on Rye ($3), Prime Rib Sliders ($2), Shrimp cocktail with lots of shrimp ($2), 4 yummy BBQ ribs ($3), and maybe some other stuff, then proceeded to waddle home. This year there were only locally owned "mom & pop" restaurants allowed to participate and that proved to be a big plus.This continues to be the best "taste" event in the area that we have been able to find. Burp.

Taste of Bonita is one of the biggest events in the area. It welcomes back the seasonal residents…read moreand introduces them to new restaurants and brings them back in touch with old favorites. The festival is usually the 3rd Sunday in November and is hosted by Bonita Springs Rotary Noon. The official website is www.TasteOfBonita.com