It has been six long months since I have had an opportunity to travel. I just needed this so bad for my mental health. It was even more important with the wildfires here in California and Oregon. The last 6 weeks with social unrest, covid, unusually high temperatures, and unhealthy air quality, this trip was a welcome change. This trip was business and pleasure.
We landed just ahead of Tropical Storm Sally (later to become Hurricane Sally) at Palm Beach FL airport on Friday night. As is typical in the fall each year, it downpoured off and on the entire trip but was particular bad the first two days with the Tropical Storm moving across Florida to the Gulf of Mexico.
We stayed at Jupiter Beach Resort and Spa in Jupiter which is right on the Atlantic ocean. I was pleased to discover that my room had an ocean view. My first night found me sitting on my balcony listening to the ocean waves and the rain. Around 2 am, it let up enough that I took a quick walk on the beach and I just had to get my feet wet. The waves were very rough but not too bad.
Saturday found TS Sally still announcing her presence with overcast clouds and rain mixed with moments of beautiful sunny BLUE skies. We drove around the area and to view the sites. I have not been to this particular area of Southern Florida. I was impressed with how clean it was and well maintained. Many of the homes have a dock in the back yard with a boat. It is quite common to take the boat just like you would a car with the InterCoastal waterways as your road. This trip I did not do it, but many of the resturants we ate at had docks where you could just park.
We stopped in at the Loggerhead Marine Life Center where they nurse back to health rescued turtles both Green Sea Turtles and Loggerhead Sea Turtles. Many are there because they have been injured from boats, nets, or even sharks. One guy was there because he had a buoyance issue. He has been there for over a year already as the staff continue trying to fix this particular problem.
People also drop off hatchlings who did not go to the ocean or nests that were disturbed. My understanding is that the hatchlings get disoriented from the city lights. Check out these cuties. Once they are large enough, they will be released into the ocean.
One day we went to Riverbend Park to kayak on the Loxahatchee River. We went very late afternoon with the hope of seeing some of the local wildlife – manatees, alligators, turtles, snakes, birds, etc. Someone in my group saw an alligator but I personally only saw turtles – a lot of turtles sitting on logs or the riverbank. The paddle down river was fun and easy but paddling back to the Jupiter Outdoor Center was very strenuous. My apple watch didn’t even register my two hours of kayaking and swimming. It was fun to see some of the swamp up close and I would love to do it again when they get the shuttle up and running again so I would not have to paddle upriver.
Our last day in Jupiter, we were fortunate enough to be able to go on a lunch cruise on the InterCoastal Waterways. It was a gorgeous day. We anchored at a sandbar across from Jupiter Island to have lunch and swim. The water was so clear. I was told that it was usually clearer but TS Sally had stirred things up. Fish were swimming up to different people in the party nibbling on them as they looked for handouts. What a great way to wrap up a much needed mental break. I can’t wait to go back!
Although we worked most days we were able to see so much. I can’t wait to go back to check out all the things we didn’t get to see. The food was amazing. As one would expect, the seafood was on almost every menu. I tried out salmon, crab, conch, and other Florida delicacies at a number of different resturants in the area. I wish I could remember the name of them all so I could let you know just in case you find yourself there.
I hope you enjoyed this break from the normal blogs. I hope to have more travel diaries over the next year or so when we get back to our normal lives.
Peggy