Estero Island Cottage and Matanzas Pass Blog 5

In two words the Estero Island Cottage was quiet and quaint!



It was the perfect little cottage I had pictured it to be in my mind.  All the little knick knacks in the cottage were so interesting to look at.  I really enjoyed listening to Joe's stories.  Joe is a little old lady that has lived locally her whole life.  Matanzas Pass was also very pretty.  Both of these places felt so serene.  I specifically remember that Professor Durham told us that the Matanzas is the 3% of land left that has not been built on in the Fort Myers beach area.  This trip has been my favorite out of every trip.  It completely blows ECHO and corkscrew out of the water.  I really enjoyed the canoe trip.  I got to spend time in the sun, canoe on the water (which is one of my favorite water activities) and even got my picture taken while in a canoe for Time Magazine! Or so the camera man said.  I have yet to see the newest releases of the magazine.  

The quality of life is being enhanced through the Cottage and Matanzas Pass by using the history of the island and it's stories, and through projects like the oyster bed.  The last time I visited my hometown of in Illinois I was surprised to see that my house had barely changed.  The neighborhood house colors had all changed but everything else had stayed frozen in time.  Since I have moved around a lot in my life time I tend to not get too attached to my homes.  If a developer offered me 300% the market value of my childhood home to develop into condos, would I take it?  Yes,  I no longer live in my childhood home.  I have hundreds of pictures and home videos of memories in that house, but it is the memories I hold on to not the house.  

I believe that the county could use the 20/20 program at different sites where there are not already families and existing communities.  This field trip tied all of the field trips together by showing me how all of the things we have learned about effect people personally and has been an ongoing problem for years; and that the future generations are what is going to help.  This reminds me of the Florida Gulf Coast University Earth Charter pamphlit. Principle 4 of the Earth Charter states “Secure Earth’s bounty and beauty for present and future generations (http://www.earthcharter.org/).