Florida: Naples - Farmer's market, heavy winds, and wild surf

Day 196
No Boat Travel

We slept in rather late today, and while I was eating breakfast, I happened to notice that Naples has a Farmer's Market every Saturday from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. It just happened to be 10:30 by the time I saw the info, so we quick got ourselves together and headed over to check it out.

We rode our bicycles and took a backpack for whatever we might find to bring back. The market was only a few blocks away, but with today's wind gusts of over 25 mph going was sometimes rough. The roads were mostly flat, but at times I felt like I was peddling up a steep incline. I wondered if the market would be closed due to the strong winds, but it was in full swing when we arrived.

Naples 3rd Street South Farmer's Market

Vegetables, Plants, Baked Goods, Jewelry, Live Music

Fresh Veggies Galore

Since we only had 30 minutes to do our shopping, I hurried through from one end of the market to the other to scope it out and then hit the stands that had the items I wanted to buy. Surprisingly I found a vendor selling fresh bagels and bought some for Clark and I to eat for lunch. I also found kettle corn and, on a lark, picked up a bag as a special treat. I even found grapefruit for Clark - I hope it's tasty! Of course I bought some potatoes, onions, zucchini, and broccoli.

With a full and heavy backpack (those spuds and onions were heavy), we headed off to see more of Naples. Clark's first destination was the Naples Pier.

Naples Pier - built 1888 to bring freight and passengers into town

The pier was like Grand Central Station, and I remarked to Clark that if they charged admission they would make a killing today. Everyone wanted to see the surf on the Gulf of Mexico. The scene was a magnificent display of Mother Nature's fury. There is something very exhilarating about watching the surf go wild.

Naples Pier

Wind-whipped Palm Trees

End of the Line - Pier closed due to wicked surf

Rugged waves

Heavy spray on pier

Crashing Surf

Rough Seas -
The news reported 15-to-18-foot waves in the Gulf --
unheard of unless there is a tropical system in the area!

We saw several people taking pictures of themselves and each other. Clark decided we needed a selfie too.

Wild hair day in the wind

One lone person was out in the waves surfing. He paddled out close to the pier, but by the time he finished fighting the waves to get out for his ride he was far south of where he started.

One Guy Out Surfing -
surfing was not recommended per tonight's news.
I wonder why!

After being blown around for our walk on the beach and pier, Clark said he had more sights to see.  I suggested we swing by the boat and empty the backpack before proceeding further on our tour. After dropping off the goodies, we found our way to Naples Bayfront via Tin City. We did not take any pictures of Tin City which seemed to consist mostly of restaurants and gift shops. All of the buildings appeared to be made of sheet metal. I expect that had something to do with the origin of the name of the area.

Bayfront was much more picturesque, and Clark got busy with the camera once more.

Naples Bayfront with
beautiful, colorful buildings

Fountain at the Bayfront

Closeup on the Fountain

Of Course King Neptune
had his own Fountain / Pool to Oversee

After visiting King Neptune, we moved on to the Depot Museum. I found a brochure in the ice cream store yesterday that said the museum was free, so Clark was "all in" on that deal. The museum was very well done and informative. 

Naples Depot Museum

The first thing we saw when we got there was a miniature train going round the track - miniature but big enough to hold seats for full-sized passengers to take a spin around the building / area.

Betty Caboose on the Miniature Train

Full-size Caboose for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad

We were able to board the full-size caboose to see the interior layout of bunks, pot-bellied stove, and seats. Inside the museum building we learned how the railroad influenced Naples' history. Until the railroad was extended as far as Naples, the only way to get here was by boat. A large portion of the museum was dedicated to Naples' railroad  history.

Miniature Train Cars on Display in Museum

Atlantic Coast Line miniature replicas

Besides providing the railroad history for Naples, the museum also described the history of the people living in the area starting with ancient Indian tribes that lived here hundreds of years ago through more modern times. In the late 1800s, without ease of access to this part of Florida, the first attempt at forming the city of Naples failed and the originators sold off all the land they had acquired in the area for just $50,000. Once railroad, and later cars, facilitated travel to the area, Naples started to thrive and eventually became the affluent city it is today.

Model T Ford in Naples' Auto Age

 Franks Garage became the first service station in Naples and later became the town's Ford dealership.

Belair Automobile on Display at the Naples Depot Museum

After visiting the Depot Museum we decided to head back to the boat. We left the boat at 10:30 or so to head out to the farmer's market, which was just about four hours earlier, and we had been biking or walking ever since. We even ate our lunch (our bagels) while we were out on the run. Too bad my FitBit does not calculate number of pedals as well as number of steps! I only made 6000 steps today, but biking for more than three hours should count for something! I am satisfied I made today's goal.

Later, after we had returned to the boat, Clark took a picture of the docks under pretty heavy cloud cover.

View from our boat at Naples City Dock

Tomorrow we are underway again and heading for Everglades City. That should be interesting indeed. We have yet to see an alligator. Perhaps we will see at least one in the Everglades.

For folks who read the blog online, here are a couple of videos of today's adventures at the pier with the winds howling and the surf crashing against the pier.