Here & Now

Tick, tick, tick. at first, it was just a faint rhythm, but it’s getting stronger. Can you hear it? No, it is not my biological clock, but thanks for mentioning it. Actually, it’s April, also known as the Last Full Month of Season. And you know what that means. If you’re a winter resident, it means, "Goodness, where did the time go? We’re about to start packing it in and we’ve barely checked a thing off our ‘absolutely-must-do-this-year-without-fail’ list." For year-rounders, it means, "Wow, in another month, the place will be empty and we can do some of those cool things on our ‘absolutely-must-do-this-year-without-fail’ list." You know the kinds of things I mean; the stuff in the tourist brochures that the locals always plan to get around to doing sometime, but since we live here, there’s no rush. Like native New Yorkers whose only view from atop the Empire State Building was on the big screen in—pick your generation—An Affair to Remember or Sleepless in Seattle.

Stop at an old-fashioned fruit stand. Once on practically every corner, now they are treasures you must seek out. The farm markets where we picked our own strawberries and tomatoes are now posh gated communities. My two favorites? On U.S. 41 in Estero, and on Fort Myers Beach—both virtually unchanged for decades. If you spot one, stop immediately and relish this disappearing slice of Old Florida history.

Gawk at the tabebuia blossoms. They’re the gnarled-trunk trees you don’t notice until they burst into breathtaking yellow pompom blooms the size of grapefruits, strut their stuff for a couple of weeks and then blanket the ground in velvety gold. A beautiful backdrop for a picture of the grandkids.

While you’re at it, take a family portrait at the beach (left). Every year you think about it. Do it now!

Tour the Koreshan Historic Site, Estero. The Koreshans were an intellectual, highly cultural and socially advanced society that believed we live inside the crust of the earth. Remains and artifacts from the settlement still exist and the paddling on the lazy Estero River is sublime. The Koreshan site sits on some prime real estate. Will it soon go the way of the glads and the u-picks?

Go backcountry fishing with the good ole boys. The rivers, bays, backwaters and barrier islands yield great bounty if you pick your charter wisely. Personally, I want a captain with confidence. Salty and weathered is another plus. After exhaustive research (reading the signs at the marinas, mainly) I’m leaning toward either Shore Thang (Punta Rassa/Sanibel) or All-Ways Bite "N" (Naples/Marco/Ten Thousand Islands). Who cares if they can’t spell—these boys are clearly catching fish. I’m sure Prince Albert (Naples City Dock) is a fine gentleman, but velvet morning coats and fishhooks seem a bit incongruous. Captain Marvel? Not if he’s wearing a mask and a Speedo, thanks anyway. Oh, and have you noticed? Those faded, hand-drawn letters on the charter signs at the City Dock have given way to fancy professional, design-coordinated ones. Sigh.

Catch a ’gator-wrestling show. You know you want to. The macho guy with eight or nine fingers max wedges his head inside the enormous jaws of an angry Everglades City alligator and grins for the flashing cameras. Usually the human is victorious, but not always. There was that unfortunate incident of the former Seminole chief and the ring finger he reportedly wears—not on his right hand—but in his pocket.

Visit the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. Besides the way-cool, 15,000-square-foot laboratory filled with test tubes and mysterious concoctions, an original Model T Ford and the gazillion inventions of one of the world’s greatest minds, the side-by-side estates are set in Edison’s personal botanical garden on a gorgeous stretch of the Caloosahatchee River. They’re in the shadow of the world-renowned banyan tree with roots spanning a full acre. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford themselves, theatrically speaking, stroll the grounds telling their stories.

Drop your flip-flop in the mailbox. Really. It’s perfectly legal. Why pay for fancy postcards to your friends back home when you can write their address and "Wish You Were Here" right on the sole of your well-loved beach flip-flop, slap on some postage and put it in the mail. Better yet, get a marker and sketch a cute li’l dolphin or that big fat redfish you caught with the good ole captain of Shore Thang.

And finally, make a romantic memory that will haunt you till you return. Book a private moonlight sail for two on the Lady Stirling, an 80-foot schooner that glides like an angel’s wings over the gentle Gulf. Imagine a silvery moon, four white sails billowing in the balmy air, music, chilled champagne, a gourmet feast, an ever-so-discreet crew and the shoreline of Naples twinkling softly over your shoulder. Ahhhh!