Life In Bonita Springs

Go to the Southwest Florida Lee County Fair 62/365

In the spring it is fair season in Florida.  Where I grew up, up north, the fairs were in the summer. In the Bonita Springs area there is easy access to the Southwest Florida fair in Lee County. It’s at the Lee Civic Center in North Fort Myers, Florida.  It’s a fair situated on about thirty acres and there is a little bit of something for everyone. 

The fair is rich in history as the first fair was in 1924.  This year’s fair runs from Feb 28 through March 10, 2019.  It’s usually held around February/March so you can always Google it if you need to find the current year info or you can visit their official website: https://swflcfair.com

The Southwest Florida Lee County Fair has all the fair favorites, rides, activities, games, naughty carnival food, tons of exhibits and 4-H projects. If you go to the fair remember to wear comfy shoes and tons of sunscreen.  Pets are not permitted, either.

Sometimes there are specials for rides on particular days. Again, there are ads on the radio, television and online.  Entry is about the price of a movie ticket and it’s worth it because there are so many fun things to do.

This year my grandson is going to go watch the 4-H swine show because he has a hog that will be at the Collier County Fair in a few weeks.  Stay tuned for information about the Collier Fair in Naples.

Coconut Circle Park in Naples, Florida 61/365

We have guests and a pool cage being installed, so I was blocked in, as the driveway was full. So, I started looking around online for places to visit when I noticed a small neighborhood park in my zip code, i.e., within biking distance. From this website, you’ll see that the parks are divided into 8 types, (although a school as a type of park probably has limitations as to when you can use them). I also should mention there are parks in Collier that aren’t on that list, such as nature preserves.

So, I pumped up the tires on the bike, and headed out to check it out. There’s a diner just a little past there, so I figured I’d make it a two for one ride.

Coconut Circle Parks’ address is just listed as Guava Drive on the website. There were some young folks just pulling into the little one car parking apron as I peddled up. I felt a little funny about taking pictures of strangers, so I didn’t get a picture of the main access to the park, (or the basketball court), I peddled around the block and entered the park at the other end, off of Lotus Drive where there is a wooden ramp over the drainage swale. The park has a couple of picnic tables, one at each end, one by a basketball court, and one underneath a tree/trees. There is a Children’s play area which has some kind of contraption that we used to call “monkey bars”, but this seemed a little too elaborate for that name. I didn’t understand how the two slides were supposed to work, but I guess if I was an appropriately aged kid, I would figure it out.

Now, I mentioned there were some young folks at the basketball court, and so I didn’t get any pictures, but the overall condition of the court was good; the nets were up, the backboards were intact and straight, and the pavement was uncracked painted concrete or asphalt. There was a picnic table, and a couple of benches, and what I thought was a nice touch, there was a drinking fountain. There also was one of those old-fashioned park grills.

There are no restroom facilities, or much in the way of hiking trails; Coconut Circle Park is a small park, after all.  If you’re looking for fun things to do in Naples this is a hidden gem. I thought it was interesting to find a little neighborhood park in Naples that most people don’t know about.

Additional articles by John:

Keewaydin Island, Collier County Florida and

The Naples Pier in Naples, Florida

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About the author - John Farren is a resident of Naples, Florida and an avid kayaker.

Grow a Winter Garden in Bonita Springs 60/365

In the Bonita Springs area our summer is sort of miserable with rain and oppressive heat.  Starting toward the end of September we get a break in the weather and we start with winter plantings both ornamental and gardening.  This year we put in a few raised garden beds.  I purchased easy to assemble aluminum beds on Wayfair. It’s true, they sell everything including gardening supplies.

We got off to a bit of a rough start with our garden. Many older homes in the Bonita Springs area have well water to irrigate their yards. My home in Bonita Farms has a well. I think the garden was over watered. We lost most of our plants but we didn’t lose two tomato plants.  I was gifted Everglades Tomato plants by a client.  Now, when you look at the picture you may smile because the tomatoes are so small but they are a strain of Florida native tomatoes so they love our weather.  The tomatoes are just the tastiest, juiciest tomatoes you can imagine.  Like the old days before food was mass produced and flavorless.

If you decide to garden you can join a variety of gardening and plant groups to learn how to grown in southwest Florida. If you’re a seasonal resident you can also grow plants in flower pots on the lanai or patio.  Seeds for Everglades Tomatoes can be purchased online and occasionally local master gardeners will be benevolent and give you some.

HeadPinz in Fort Myers Florida 59/365

HeadPinz Entertainment Center in Fort Myers, Florida is great fun for all ages! They offer bowling, arcade games, laser tag, rope walk course, pool tables, restaurant and bar.

When you walk into HeadPinz there is Nemo’s Bistro on the left hand side if you want to sit in the restaurant and grab a bite to eat. We did not eat in the restaurant but ordered food and drinks at our bowling lanes and it was all really enjoyable!

We bowled two games which was awesome with different music playing and lots of lights different video clips after you bowled.

The arcade area is lit up like Las Vegas and has tons of great games from shooting ones, basketball, and skeeball. You can win tickets and trade them in for prizes when you are done. The kids would have stay at Headpinz for the entire day if they could have!

If you are looking for fun things to do with kids in Southwest Florida you must put this on your to-do list.  HeadPinz is only a few miles from Gulf Coast Town Center Mall so you can also grab a bite to eat there, also.

HeadPinz Entertainment Center is located 14513 Global Pkwy. Fort Myers, FL near the RSW airport. 

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About the Author - Jenna Hatfield is a life-long resident of Bonita Springs, Florida and mother of two boys.

Visit The Cows at Bernwood Bonita Springs  58/365

For as long as I can remember there have been cows and horses in the fields at Bernwood in Bonita Springs, Florida. I remember picking grass for the cows and horses when my twins were little … that was probably about twenty-five years ago.

The field wraps around the Bonita Springs Charter School and run south to Spring Creek.  Yes, the same Spring Creek tributary that runs along side of Cedar Creek, Pelican Landing and Spring Creek Village.  It’s barely a trickle up by Old 41.  The cows basically serve as a means for favorable taxes on the real estate but they have a pretty sweet life and they are quite personable.  I frequently see a young family with a golf cart stop and feed them store bought celery.  They come right to the fence for petties.  The horses are more aloof and couldn’t care less about humans. 

There always lots of babies laying down and sunning a safe distance from the fence.  If you're reading about farm animals it's a fun stop to show to the kids. We don’t have a lot of farm animals in this area so if you are looking for fun things to do with kids drive by and take a look. If you go to see the cows remember that they are strong animals so don’t go in the fence area for your own safety.  They’re fun to look at, especially if you’re a little dog.  I believe that Dillon thinks they’re huge dogs.

Locate Gopher Tortoises in Bonita Springs 57/365

You may not realize it but there are many locations where the protected gopher tortoises live around the Bonita Springs, Florida area.  If you’re from outside of the area, simply love tortoises or you have little people you’d like to teach about nature we can point you in the direction of tortoises.

First and foremost, you should not touch them or their burrows. After all, they are protected and doing so could carry a monetary fine. The gopher tortoises burrow under ground and they are vegetarian so you see them in the day time munching on grass and  weeds. As the sun sets they are usually back in their burrows.

In the Bonita Springs area you can easily see a gopher tortoise in the following locations of Bonita Nature Place, Barefoot Beach Preserve Park, Estero Bay Preserve State Park at the end of Broadway in Estero and along the power line easement in the are of Bonita Farms which is at the cross street of Holly Drive and West Terry Street.

Gopher tortoises do not swim.  They are land roamers and their habitat also provides homes to other animals and reptiles, particularly in the event of a forest fire.

If you have little people to entertain this is one of the fun, free things to do in the Bonita Springs area. It is a great learning experience and a way to get them out of the house.

Visit Lakes Park Fort Myers Florida 56/365

Lakes Park in Fort Myers is one of the biggest public parks in Southwest Florida. This park is so big your kids will be running around for hours and enjoy every minute of it! There is a large playground that looks like a train. Plus, there is an actual train ride you can take for a small fee and a real train parked on display. If you have people who are in your family and they are into trains, this is the place to visit.  If you are looking for fun things to do with kids, this is the place.

There is a huge bridge you can walk over and, of course, lakes everywhere … Lakes Park. There are plenty of  shaded areas for picnics or just a good walking trail. Many people ride bikes and walk all of Lakes Park.  The park is stroller friendly, too.

One of our favorite parts of Lakes Park are the two splash pads that they have.  Make sure to bring your kids bathing suit and towel for a cool down after running around the great park!

Lakes Park is located just off of US 41 at 7330 Gladiolus drive in Fort Myers, Florida. It is located near a variety of restaurants and stores so you can also pick up lunch to eat at the park.

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About the Author - Jenna Hatfield is a life-long resident of Bonita Springs, Florida and mother of two boys.

Visit Dinner Island Ranch Wildlife Area 55/365

Dinner Island Ranch Wildlife Management Area is a little over an hour drive from Bonita Springs East of Immokalee, Florida in Hendry County. Dinner Island Ranch is an excellent place to view wildlife year round. Wading birds of all types, as well as Florida sand hill cranes, crested caracaras, kestrels and white-tailed deer are common sightings.

Dinner Island Ranch is part of the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. There are plenty of unpaved roads to slowly drive and see the wildlife so those who have mobility issues can see nature, too. There are plenty of alligators to be seen so step carefully if you do leave your car.

Dinner Island offers year round camping, bicycle trails and horseback riding trails. There is one vault toilet at the entrance at the campground check in station. Hunting is allowed certain times of the year so check their calendar to go in a non-hunting time to increase your chances of wildlife viewing.

If you’re a fan of Melinda’s photography visit also, Watch Nesting Eagles in Bonita Springs

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About the author: Melinda Cochran is photographer and Southwest Florida resident. You can find more of her images at: https://www.facebook.com/journeythroughmyeyes/.  If you know of a great place for Melinda to capture wildlife in action send a message in the comments section of this post.

Visit the Peeps at Rural King Bonita Springs 54/365

A few years ago when they were putting the Rural King in Bonita Springs people would wonder why a farm store would be going in Bonita. I have to say that I don’t know how they researched that store demographic but we actually do like the Rural King store. 

First, you don’t have to be a farmer or outdoorsy to shop at Rural King. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. It’s one of my go to stops for bird seed. I love my birds and ducks so I get cracked corn and mixed seeds there.

Second, you’ll probably buy stuff you don’t need.  My kids were over one day (I live in Bonita Farms which has no farms) and they needed cat litter so they went to Rural King. About an hour later they came back with purple flamingos for my front yard and a go-cart.  They forgot the cat litter! How funny is that. 

One of my favorite things to do is visit the peeps – as in chicken peeps. I grew up on a farm so the sound of them chirping is music to my ears. I just love them.  When you enter the store you follow the little chicken foot prints on the ground to the back to the peeps.  Be sure to stop up front and pick up some popcorn, first.  One of these days I’ll get a few peeps.  Maybe when I move to a little house on the other side of the Imperial River in Nuttinglikit Grove we’re going to get some chickens for sure.  Chickens are allowed in Bonita Springs with permits from the city.

Rural King is located at the corner of US 41 and West Terry Street.  It’s where the original Target store was located in front of Highland Woods and across the street from The Promenade and Bonita Bay.

Take The Kids to Caloosahatchee Creeks East 53/365

We all know that we could use a little more exercise, especially kids.  There are so many places you can take the kids in Southwest Florida to blow off steam.  Even if you or your child doesn’t like outdoorsy things to do you can easily find a level, safe walking boardwalk in several locations.  Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve East is great for all ages and levels of mobility.

Located off of Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers, the preserve is located in some of the prettiest “old Florida” you can see. It’s worth it just to drive down Bayshore Road.  Head east along the river and see the old grown oak trees, farms and agriculture.

There are other attractions in the area such as the Lee Civic Center and ECHO Global Farm. Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve is not very far from Bonita Springs so it is a great place take a lunch trip to.  Just grab your favorite Publix sub and head north on I-75. 

To learn more about the park, read also: Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve East.