Wednesday, December 14, 2011

A Hidden Gem

Naples has lots of surprises within the city limits...a first class botanical garden, a zoo, a historical "old Florida" shopping district and some quiet little parks. Naples is a ritzy town in some ways, with its expensive shopping districts and multimillion dollar homes. It would be easy to spend a LOT of money here in the restaurants and shops. Thankfully, there are lots of places offering reasonable prices, happy hour specials and dinner deals so you can still hobknob with the rich and famous! But then there are wonderful places that don't cost you anything except for the price of gas to get there, or in Sparky's case, a bike ride to Sugden Park off Tamiami Trail in Naples, very close to our RV park.

It's a beautiful park with a short bike/walking trail and beautiful scenery. It also has a beach at the park's own Lake Avon, a 60 acre lake. The park has a great playground for kids and-- a butterfly garden. The first time I rode through today, a whole bunch of ibis were lined up on an observation platform overlooking the lake, about 15 of them. Of course, I didn't bring my camera, thinking I'd just hit the bike trail today and then head home. So I did head back home and get the camera, and of course, they were gone by the time I got back. There are anhingas hanging their wings out to dry, there are a variety of ducks...Here's the beach, which has gazebos for shade and many nice areas for picnics.

It's a beautiful place to spend part of your day and it's free...We LOVE free!

3 comments:

  1. Oh, that looks so beautiful. Thanks for the info, we will be in Naples in about 5 or 6 weeks

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  2. Never been to Naples but you make it sound very inviting. Lovely pictures!

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  3. That's a very pretty park. Have you ever been to Corkscrew Swamp? Not free but so very worth the money!

    Did you find a "home" for next month?

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