Nesting Season

Nesting season has begun on Bird Island. Kayaking out to the perimeter of the island is pretty much the only way to see all the birding activity, especially at low tide, as we experienced this morning. There is a huge sand flat all around it and we were barely floating at times. We stayed outside the preserve signs, but could still see lots of pelicans, wood storks, and even quite a few roseate spoonbills in the trees and bringing sticks in to make nests. As we paddled to the eastern side of the island, we came across several of the spoonbills feeding in the shallows and storks lined up in the trees. I wish my photos showed how pink the spoonbills were.

We then took a lap around Boy Scout Island and suddenly had storks swooping down to the beach and mangroves. We stopped to watch what they were doing, and they were looking for sticks to bring back to Bird Island for their nests. It was funny to see how picky they were. 

This one succeeded in finding just the right branch to bring back to its mate.

We will have to go back in a few weeks' time to see how the birds are doing. It is even more fun to hear all the babies yelling for their parents to bring food. We are so glad this island phenomenon is protected and no one is allowed to even come close to the island. Plus it is so close by to kayak to from Sewell's Point Park. 

This Is Sunday?

Ever since Presidents Day weekend, the Treasure Coast has become quite crowded and busy. That is especially true on the bridges leading to Hutchinson Island and the beach, which have been backed up to the mainland at times, because our weather has been gorgeous. It pays to get up early and beat the traffic and crowds, and that is exactly what we did this morning. We launched our kayaks at the beach on Cove Road and paddled across the ICW to the St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park on the northern end of Jupiter Island. We arrived just as the park volunteer arrived in his kayak too, and he went and got the golf cart tram to take us over the boardwalk to the beach. What perfect timing, and we were the first people of the day with not a soul in sight in either direction. Pure bliss!

We walked to the inlet jetty and when we turned around, there still weren't any people arriving, although just as we got back to the beach entrance, a group of 9 Yoga beginners were exercising at the water's edge. 

As we started to walk back across the island to the kayaks, volunteer Dan passed us with another cart full of beachgoers, and then he came back to get us. We had a quick snack overlooking the ICW and beat the increasing number of boats zooming down the waterway. 

This was such a memorable way to end the three day celebration of our 45th wedding anniversary! Officially it was yesterday, but we had lots going on, so we went out to both lunch and dinner on Friday, had our favorite takeout meals after running the cornhole tournament yesterday, and topped it all off with today's beach outing. Once again, when everyone zigs, we zag. It really works!

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Where the Elite Meet

Where do the elite meet? Palm Beach of course! Way back in the late 70's early 80's, when we used to spend the winters in the Lake Worth and Jupiter areas, we knew this area quite well. We would ride our Honda MB5's and do lots of exploring. We would also go snorkeling at the very northern end of the island at a place called Annie Eggleston's dock. Annie was the dockmaster for 38 years and was quite a character. We saw all sorts of fish around her dock pilings and we would use a slurp gun and catch fish to put in our saltwater aquarium. Now the wood dock has been replaced with just a concrete dock and Annie hasn't lived and worked there since 1984. We drove by in Mustang Sally but there is nowhere to even park anymore. However, meandering through the Royal Palm lined streets and seeing all the mansions was great for reminiscing. 

This cut through the rock reminded us of the Bahamas...

Our goal was to take a walk on the Lake Trail, which is a 5 mile long walking and bike trail along the eastern shore of Lake Worth. We found a perfect spot to park and eat our picnic lunch on a bench overlooking the ICW.

Walking to the south we went by the famous Palm Beach Biltmore Hotel.

Heading back to the north, it was lined with extravagant homes that were barely visible with their huge privacy hedges.  The landscaping certainly was pretty though. 

We didn't make it the whole 5 miles, but the trail was also quite busy and we had to walk single file due to all the cyclists. We were ready to get out of the hubbub of Palm Beach and after driving back to the mainland, we followed the road north along the western side of Lake Worth. This led us right to the Florida Power & Light power plant. We remembered there used to be a small park next to it, where you could walk out and see the manatees that congregate at the warm water outflow of the plant, especially in cold weather. Well, that has really changed with a larger park and a fantastic educational center! 

Unfortunately, there were no manatees in the outflow basin because it is warm out, but there were tons of fish that you could even see on the underwater webcam that was provided in the center. The outflow water was 87 degrees making the water in the basin 78 degrees, and the air was 80 degrees. We went up to the second story observation deck and got a great view of the power plant with the Port of Palm Beach in the background. The stacks used to be higher and painted red and white, which were the landmark we always looked for when coming back from the Bahamas on our boat.

We also watched the dredging project with Peanut Island in the background, plus a barge filled with sand cruising by.

This was another one of those nostalgic days with some new experiences thrown in to make it even more memorable!

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Jupiter Tourists

We have had some warm but windy weather lately, which isn't good for water activities. Instead, Dave came up with the great idea to do something that we have never done before...go to the Jupiter Lighthouse. Located south of us on treacherous Jupiter Inlet, we have passed this icon many times by car and by boat on the Intracoastal Waterway. Before we arrived though, we first explored the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Natural Area trails along the ICW, that we didn't even know existed. The water looked more like the Bahamas and the trail was well maintained, including a stairway going up a big dune cliff. 

We saw several of these butterflies in our travels. We prefer to call them sargent major butterflies, because they are striped like that kind of fish.

We had no idea where we were headed but eventually we saw the lighthouse, although we couldn't get to it from where we were (I wish we could grow these dune sunflowers at our house!).  

The trail ended up being a loop that led back to where we started at the water's edge, so we jumped in Mustang Sally and continued on our way. 

The lighthouse grounds are very impressive, as is the 1860 lighthouse, now beautifully restored. First though, we waited for others to descend the lighthouse under this gigantic Ficus tree that looks like several different trees, but it is actually branches that re-root themselves.

Before we started climbing the 105 steps up the circular stairway to the top, we had to go up this hill's staircase. Those 105 stairs up to the top of the light are only 4 steps more than the Elbow Reef Lighthouse in Hope Town...but seemed like much more (or we are just older now 😉).

The view was well worth the climb up. This is the inlet...

Looking northeast...

The U.S. Route 1 bridge is being replaced and this is a huge, multi-year project. We recently read that soon the bridge and road will be closed for quite some time, so we are glad that we did this trip now, before traffic becomes even more congested.

Dave is looking west at the bridge in this photo. I liked the portholes that go around the top of the lighthouse. More importantly, there is a hefty railing that goes around the walkway, so my fear of heights didn't bother me...too much anyway. 

Unlike the Hope Town lighthouse, this one is automated. It was interesting looking up into the Fresnel lens. 

Unfortunately with the bridge project, the main museum was closed, because it is so close to all the construction. However, there were other smaller displays and museums on the property, such as a pioneer house that was relocated there. It is still a great destination that we highly recommend. 

We also spent some time at Dubois Park at Jupiter Inlet. This statue of a couple looking out to sea, stands at the jetty...

The tide was opposing the wind which made for large waves and roiling, confused seas. 

The inlet constantly shoals and you need local knowledge to go in or out of it. This fishing boat that looked like it was more of a Maine lobster boat, had no problem going out to sea.

The protected lagoon in the park is a popular spot for swimmers. It was the view for our picnic lunch, since it was protected from the easterly winds. 

This was another fantastic outing, and we will have to keep our feelers out for more things to do in the area like this. Being tourists can be fun!

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Quick Trip To Peanut Island

On the spur of the moment, when we read that the tide was coming in and the weather was gorgeous, we decided to go back to Peanut Island for a quick snorkel and walk. Since it was midafternoon upon our arrival with the kayaks, we didn't have time to do both the walk and snorkel, so Dave went in the water and I did the round the island trek. We both had great experiences. Dave saw lots of fish and had the unique experience of swimming with two manatees that meandered by him. He floated quietly nearby, so as not to disturb them, until someone else made a ruckus and they headed out to deeper water. On my walk, I came across two of these huge orange and gray iguanas on the rocks. They most likely were the same ones we saw the last time we were here.

The port was bustling that day and I was shocked when I saw this superyacht at the docks. Later I Googled its name 'Bravo Eugenia' and discovered it is almost 358 ft. in length and is owned by billionaire Jerry Jones. It was named in honor of his wife, cost $225 million to build at the Dutch shipyard Oceanco, and has an annual running cost of $15-20 million! 

There also looked to be a large dredging project going on in the ships' turning basin as you enter the Port of Palm Beach. I bet that shoaling is a never-ending problem that needs to be addressed for ships to come and go and maneuver around the inlet and port. 

We are so lucky to be able to do trips like this with little or no notice. Sometimes they end up being the best days of all!

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Bike Show

January has come and gone without much excitement. However, the highlight of the end of the month was Dave's trip to see the annual bike show in Dania Beach. He went with friend Scott, but also met my brother and sister-in-law, Rick and Eva, there. Not only were there tons of motorcycle makes and models (and 're-inventions'!) on display, but lots of bicycles too. Dave took something like 60 photos, but I am only posting a few of the most exotic ones, since they would all have to be resized to upload. Enjoy, and they don't need any captions except to say WOW!

They also had competitions with riders having to do things like remove tennis balls from the tops of cones without stopping, and then putting them back on. Rick, Eva, Scott, and Dave are all going to practice this summer and will be ready to win next year! 

For now though, it is on to February fun!