The Ochopee Post Office on US 41
If you’re looking for something to do while you’re in the Bonita Springs area that doesn’t involve the beach or golfing consider a day trip to cross Florida on US 41. Besides being a lovely, scenic way to see the “river of grass” there are a few great places to pull over such as the historic Ochopee Post Office. It’s as big as a minute. Notice the blue postal box behind the building to scale the size for you.
While you’re out in Big Cypress consider stopping into Clyde Butcher’s Big Cypress Gallery, too. My last trip across 41 included a tour down Krome Avenue in Homestead. Besides a variety of exotic fruit farms (like dragon fruit) there are all sorts of bromeliad and orchid growers. For the orchid lovers, you can literally walk into greenhouses jam packed with thousands of orchids. Some of the orchids are common but there are varieties that are so distinct and unusual that you just won’t see them in a common store. It’s certainly worth the drive to see at least once. If you’re an orchid lover you’ll give up a day, easily.
There are few orchid sales centers on the west coast of Florida, including East Fork Orchid in Bonita Springs, Florida but nothing matches Krome Ave. in Homestead!