Today, I am off to Naples for a little investigating, and to meet "Cami," a woman who approached me on Match.com and would like to meet. (If you click on the link, her reference is toward the bottom of the page). I finally get on the road at 10:30, arriving in Naples at about11:30. It's only 32 miles, but it takes me an hour due to heavy traffic on Highway 41, the highway that everyone down here loves to hate. It's been described as a "six-lane Cuisinart" of a highway, where "bad drivers from all over the nation gather to tailgate and rush, only to wait impatiently at the next stop light. ... an unbroken strip of of tacky, plasticized commerce stretching 200 miles from Tampa to Naples, jammed with traffice that only slows when sirens scream and ambulances come to strap the broken and bleeding onto stretchers and cart them away."
I'll definitely take I-75 back, but going there, I want to take the "scenic route" and see if it's as bad as Randy White describes (above).
It is.
With today being "President's Day", I realize on my way to Naples that I probably didn't pick the best day to go here, as all the attractions will most likely be jammed more than normal, especially with "locals" who have their little fokkers in tow, due to the day off from school (and I think most schools in the East take the whole week off). But I'll make the best of it.
I head to a tony stretch of old historic downtown called "Fifth Avenue South." I have lunch at a place called "The Jolly Cricket," and it's like a fancy British pub. I have a cup of French onion soup (with melted cheese on top), a lunch salad of baby spinach and strawberries (and had them put six shrimp on the side for an extra $6), and an ice tea. With tip, it came to a little over $30, which is a telling example of how everything is higher priced here. (I can get a nice lunch most anywhere in Ft. Myers -- including the beach and Sanibel Island -- for 20 bucks or under.) After that, I stroll along Fifth Ave. and look at the expensive galleries and accessories stores (including Pucci & Catana Luxury Pet Boutique). Then I stop for coffee and cheesecake at "Fifth Avenue Coffee" and read my book there (I'm about 100 pages into Sanibel Flats at this point).
One pleasant surprise: The public parking ramp for the Fifth Avenue South area was FREE. I was certain I was going to be nicked $5 (or maybe even $10) for parking. So that was nice.
I was thinking of visiting the zoo but I already knew it was packed because I passed it along the way to downtown, and the entrance was jammed. And besides, it was getting on 3 p.m. by the time I finished my coffee, and Cami and I had agreed to meet at 4:30 and I knew I simply didn't have the time. So maybe another day on that, because it is supposed to be quite a renowned zoo.
I meet Cami at a place called "Seasons 52" at the north end of Naples (toward going back to Ft. Myers, which is good) on Highway 41, aka "Tamiani Trail." It's a nice place, high class, and quiet with no television sets in the bar. The menu undergoes major changes four times a year, hence the word "Seasons" in their name. They are supposed to have pretty good food, but we just order drinks. We keep a menu handy in case we want appetizers, but it never comes to that. I have a glass of white wine, and Cami has a grapefruit martini. We have a pleasant enough conversation, but there is very little chemistry, and I'm pretty certain we will not be meeting again. However, I do confirm several of the things I have heard about the "culture" down here since arriving:
- Naples residents DO consider Fort Myers to be somewhat of a ghetto (nicknames like "Fort Misery" and "Li'l Pakistan"). A woman here who is "shopping" for a mate based on finances is definitely considered to be "trading down" if she's looking in Fort Myers. (Although the rich folks in Naples don't mind getting in their BMWs and Mercedes Benzes to drive to Fort Myers to their shopping at the malls and big box stores where the prices are cheaper than in Naples);
- Many guys in Fort Myers looking for a female consider most Naples women to be "rich bitches";
- I definitely could NOT have found a condo in Naples with features similar to the ones I have in Fort Myers for anything less than $2K/month, and most are higher, certainly as you get closer to the ocean.
On the plus side, Cami has a nice smile, and urges me to "keep looking" because even though this online dating thing is difficult, the alternative is not acceptable. On the downside, she's very made up (lots of cosmetics, and a TON of silver jewelry), and quite domineering. She did say something that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. She said she wouldn't get involved with anyone who RENTED versus owned their property, because she said renting was a sign of financial instability, possible bankruptcy, stuff like that. And that's just not true. Many people just don't want the responsibility of ownership, especially in these times when is a home is no longer an investment like it used to be. I think it's narrow-minded on her part, but I do take note that this might be a topic (renting) to approach more gingerly in the future with Match.com prospects.
All in all, I would have to say I was not overly impressed with Naples. Yes, parts are very beautiful, but there were certainly sections of the city that I passed (along Highway 41/Tamiani Trail) that were rough around the edges, lots of strip malls, vacant storefronts, etc. And everything is more expensive here, and I do realize that some of this is due to land costs and rent being higher. But a lot is due to "perceived value" (i.e., that people will simply be willing pay more for a given product/service simply because this is Naples).
So I leave Naples feeling comfortable in my decision to pick Ft. Myers to spend the winter, and have no regrets. Even if I COULD afford Naples, I seem to detect a certain "snobiness" or maybe pretension here that just isn't my style. I swim in the same ocean they do. The same sun that shines in Naples shines in Fort Myers. The cool tropical breezes that blow at night all come from the same place. The seafood I eat comes from the same ocean, the beer from the same breweries. And I put the same gas in my car as they do. And all for 20 to 50 percent less than what they pay. OK, I don't have a Pucci & Catana Luxury Pet Boutique, but I don't think Phoebe and Abby will hold that against me.
Also, I hear via email from my friend, Amy, in Janesville, that she earned her "Doctor" title today. Officially, it's an Educational Doctorate (Ed.D.) and the "major" is in Educational Leadership. It works the same as a Ph.D. in terms of use of the title. I email Dawn and ask her to buy a gift certificate to the Prime Quarter Steak House and mail it to Amy as a congratulations gift. This is great news. Amy has been working on this for a while, and it is an inspiration to me that she has achieved this amazing thing, and done it while working a full time job and raising a 10-year old daughter. Gives me reason to believe that most anything can be achieved if you set your mind to it.
Tonight is "Pawn Stars" night on History Channel, and I catch the new episode, and it is very fun. Rick, Corey (he's losing weight, and don't think he likes to be called "Big Hoss" any more), the "Old Man," and Chumley never fail to entertain! I'm not a gun person, but I have to admit that the 9-shot LeMat combination revolver/shotgun (used by the Confederate Army for a short time) was one of the coolest things I've seen on the show in a while, and the $90,000 that Rick paid for it is one of the most expensive things I've seen him buy on the show.
Expenses today: lunch and coffee, $36; wine/tip at "Seasons 52," $10. Total: $46.
Bruce
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