If you thought about getting in your car and heading west from the Florida Keys through the Everglades to the gulf coast, what would you expect to see? Crocodiles crossing the road? Panthers peeking out from behind mangrove swamp? Thick bush towering over the sides of the roadway? Well, that’s what we were expecting when we set out from Key Largo (first stop on the recent road trip) to Naples. Instead, what we saw were flat sawgrass marshes, mangrove marshes and lots of signs to beware of panther crossings. Oh, and then there was that line of traffic and no place to pass. But, then, that’s what road trips are all about.

We set out from Key Largo and the trip through Everglades National Park was actually quite a boring couple of hours. We arrived in Naples to find ourselves in automobile city. The traffic was unexpected and the fact that this is a city of cars not pedestrians really did surprise us. Since we are “walkers” (no, we do not have walkers), we found ourselves the only people out walking almost wherever we went except “downtown” where locals and tourists alike walked from the (many) parking lots to restaurants and the odd boutique. Surprising to us, that’s all there really is downtown.

When we thought about Naples, and what we’d heard from people we know who winter there, we expected something more cosmopolitan than a town with a population of around 20,000 and miles upon miles of suburban sprawl. That explains the need for driving everywhere!

We, on the other hand, actually walked the kilometre-and-a-half from our hotel to the mall where there was – not kidding – no sidewalk or pedestrian access. Really! We had to tread in the roadway to even get near the place. But the parking lot was enormous! Clearly, they do not expect anyone to walk. And we walked much farther. It’s the only way to see a place. We did, however, join the locals by taking our car downtown so that we could walk in that area.

We drove down Gulfshore Boulevard to downtown (we walked the boulevard the next day) past incredible mansions.

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We parked at 12^th street then walked for two hours. The downtown is really just a few streets of small, upscale boutiques and some rather nice restaurants. We had lunch at the Ridgway Bar and Grill where the food was delicious and the outdoor, covered patio was a lovely way to sip a glass of wine with a leisurely lunch.

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We walked to the Naples beach which is a very long public beach.

Unlike many tropical destinations, there are no hotels on the beach until you get much farther from the downtown area. Many lucky (and well-heeled) residents, though, do have beachfront houses and condos. There are lots of condos!

Three days in Naples was enough. On this road trip we have two and three-night stops. This one could have been two nights but we managed an extra 11 kilometers of walking on the extra day! Next stop: Sarasota.