Mid-January Update

Wow, this month has been flying by for these two old goats! We have been having a blast though with kayaking adventures and land based events. For the first time this season, we made it to the backwaters of Fort Pierce and had one of our best encounters with dolphins ever. There was a mother and calf in the shallows, probably foraging for crustaceans, and they did not care that we were there floating close by. The calf came right up to me and stuck its cute little head right up out of the water to look at me! Then it wiggled away, as the water was so shallow that it must have been scraping its belly on the bottom. I was unprepared at the time to take a photo, but afterwards took some shots of mom, since the calf was so quick. 

The whole trip was amazing, and we lucked out with the incoming tide that made the water super clear. We stopped at a tiny island beach to eat our lunch and watched tons of mullets (the fish, not the hairdo 😉) jumping out of the water and then lining up into the current, with their mouths out of the water to filter the water for food. To top it off, the tide went slack on our paddle back to the ramp, so it was a leisurely trip. Just when we thought it couldn't get better, we took the kayaks down to Peanut Island the following day. The Gulfstream is only 3 miles from Palm Beach now, so the water was crystal clear (that is Dave in his wetsuit getting ready to snorkel in the background).

When we took our walk around the island, the iguanas were everywhere. We counted ten of them in one spot, including a huge orange one, that was king of the hill...or rocks in this case.

As usual, the yachts were coming and going from the Lake Worth Inlet, including this very modern one.

Then the 227 ft. mega-yacht Intrepid came by with its helicopter landing pad on the stern. There was no helicopter on it, but that could be because it can be lowered down into an enclosed work area. Plus, the Intrepid is actually a 'tender' that carries all the boats and toys for the main mega-yacht, a 383 footer, owned by the man who owns Harbor Freight Tools! 

As we paddled to and from Peanut Island, we noticed that most of the half sunken boats had been removed from the anchorage and the boats that had washed ashore were gone. However, there was a burned hull left that I had read about recently in the news. The fire melted just about everything on this outboard motor powered vessel.

Back at the kayak launching beach under the Blue Heron Bridge in Phil Foster Park, we were just in time to see this E-Foil Board. It is battery powered and you stand on it while going along. The board raises up so the foil cuts through the water and you aren't affected by the waves as much. You certainly have to have good balance to ride one...and a lot of money to own one (Something like $11,000!).

Land events are starting to pop up on our calendar now. Our first one was the Fort Pierce Winter Fest and car show. Here are a few of the vehicles we saw:

Wild Viper...

1980 Dodge Ram Charger with 30" wheels!

1934 Ford, 3 window coupe...

Jumper! The real thing...

Mini-jumpers...Radio controlled!

Causeway Cove Marina, where the festival and car show was held, is also a campground. Campers and trailers are really changing. This 'toy hauler' had it all, including a back porch!

Walking back to our car, we spotted this jeep with Hope Town and Abaco Potcake stickers on it...

 

We also went to an outdoor concert at the Mansion at Tuckahoe in Indian Riverside Park, along with friends and neighbors from Pinelake Village. 

Tonight, we have another concert to go to at our local Lyric Theatre...The Machine, which is a Pink Floyd tribute band. The fun goes on!