A stretch of cooler weather is changing how people spend their day across Southwest Florida, pushing many away from the beach and toward indoor attractions, museums and local businesses.<\/p>\n
At the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, staff say they are seeing an uptick in visitors as people look for alternatives to outdoor activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are always busier when it\u2019s cold,\u201d said Lisa Wilson, Marketing and PR Director at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. \u201cI think it\u2019s too cold to be at the beach, and so a lot of tourists that come down here to spend the day at the beach, when it\u2019s cold, they come here instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visitors from out of state echoed that sentiment. Jeff Brown, visiting from Illinois, said while Florida\u2019s cold doesn\u2019t compare to what he\u2019s used to back home, it\u2019s still enough to change plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about twelve degrees at home, so I\u2019ll call this warm,\u201d Brown said. \u201cBut we\u2019re probably not going to the beach today or swimming in the pool. It\u2019s a nice day just to get out, get some exercise and fresh air.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others traveling from the Midwest said they came to Florida expecting beach weather, but quickly adjusted once they felt the cooler mornings and evenings.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody really wants to be out on the beaches when it\u2019s this cold,\u201d said Doug Johnson, visiting from Minnesota. \u201cSo it gives them something to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
For some first-time visitors, the estates offered a surprise escape from the wind and chill.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a nice little spot,\u201d said Gail, visiting from Minnesota. \u201cWe weren\u2019t expecting it. It\u2019s nice in here because it\u2019s not windy, and it feels much warmer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson said the mix of outdoor gardens and indoor exhibits makes the estates an appealing option during cooler stretches. Visitors can explore historic homes, walk the grounds, or step inside the museum to warm up. On busy days, she said the estates can see hundreds of visitors, sometimes nearing a thousand, a boost for the nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n
That shift indoors isn\u2019t limited to museums.<\/p>\n
In downtown Fort Myers, coffee shops and restaurants are also seeing changes in how people spend their time. At Chocolatt\u00e9s, which recently opened, outdoor seating sat mostly empty while customers filled tables inside.<\/p>\n
Neighbors say the cooler weather is pushing them to choose indoor spots where they can stay comfortable longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the mornings, it\u2019s kind of rough getting up early when the sun\u2019s not out at all, it\u2019s pretty brutal,\u201d said Fort Myers resident Caleb Seneca. \u201cSo today felt like the perfect day to stay inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seneca said the atmosphere also plays a role.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like having a view when I study,\u201d he said. \u201cI really enjoy this place over a typical coffee shop. The mood here is really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
With cooler conditions expected to continue, both visitors and locals say they\u2019re likely to keep choosing indoor dining, museums, and quick shopping runs. Trading beach time for places where they can stay warm and still get out of the house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A stretch of cooler weather is changing how people spend their day across Southwest Florida, pushing many away…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[65747,209,211,210,65746,65744,28,8580,897,65745,9879,10014,64109,1521],"class_list":["post-134098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-caleb-seneca","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-director-at-the-edison","tag-edison-and-ford-winter-estates","tag-florida","tag-ford","tag-fort-myers","tag-henry-ford","tag-illinois","tag-minnesota","tag-national-register-of-historic-places-in-lee-county","tag-southwest-florida"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}