Great day trip when in the area. We drove up from Naples, FL  (approx 45 minutes) with a 7 year old who didn’t want to go, but after we did the self guided  tour, he said it was fun. I am glad we went earlier in the day when it’s not so hot and we could spend several hours wandering through the estate. The grounds are quite beautiful and what an amazing feeling to know Thomas Edison once lived and worked there.

We started the tour with losing Nicholas. Seriously, by the time we paid for a  The Complete Estates Tour the kid was gone.  While we were looking for him all over the estates ( over 20 acres of botanical gardens, nine historic buildings including Edison’s Botanic Research Laboratory and the Edison Ford Museum), Nicholas was touring the lab. It pays to be cute, you can go anywhere you want without paying the admission fee ( even though it is not bad  • Adult  $20.00  • Child  (ages 6-12) $11.00 •Child  (ages 5 and under)   FREE).

Once we found Nicholas we started the tour with the museum and the Laboratory. They have some really neat stuff there, kids can make a short movie and you can learn about Edison’s work and inventions.

After that we crossed the road and enjoyed the  tour of the grounds. The  old homes are lovely, the grounds are beautiful, and one can get a sense of what it was like when Edison and Ford were sitting on the huge veranda enjoying a view of the nearby bay.

Edison designed his beautiful  homes that were adjoined by a walkway, and which have beautiful wrap around wide southern porches. We enjoyed  standing on those porches and looking into the rooms at the decor, and hearing about the history of the rooms, buildings,and gardens of both the Edison and Ford homes.

The grounds are breathtaking with the myriad numbers of foliage.  The great banyan trees are gorgeous too.

If you are in Florida with kids, this is definitely a piece of history you don’t want to pass up!