DAY 53 July 16, 2009

Barely got out of the room by check out time. I was so tired from yesterday that I slept in. Then I decided to tackle the two interesting little fruits that I had purchased at Robert Is Here in Homestead a couple of days ago. The fuchsia colored one is very light and somewhat sweet-kind of like a cross between a watermelon and a sweet kiwi fruit. The shriveled one was very tart and like a cross between numerous tropical fruits.

I headed for the beach and drove along the coast for the majority of the day. The drive was beautiful. Boca Raton’s beach is deep enough to swim in. It is a clean beach, there are not very many people, and the parking is free. Boca Raton has gorgeous green areas right next to the beaches; they are amazingly beautiful.

Up in Palm Beach County (Del Ray Beach) the parking is on street with meters. The beaches have showers near the street and it is a short walk to the water. The entire trip up from Boca Raton to Palm Beach is a beautiful drive of residential buildings with brief glimpses of the water and virtually no commercial establishments. I particularly enjoyed the landscaping, including the tree canopies across the road.

Palm Beach is populated with the very rich and the very dumb, and these are not mutually exclusive categories. These people cannot evenly cross the street safely much less drive a vehicle. I would not return to Palm Beach. The area is old, dirty, and partially boarded up. The residents are conspicuously wealthy or obviously destitute.

I ate lunch at Southern Kitchen Home Style Cooking in Lake Park, after looking and finally finding Tom's Place for Ribs is no longer in business even though its website was completely functional this morning. I ordered the meatloaf with french fries and it came with "vegetable" and cornbread. The peas were home-style, in that they were unappetizingly overcooked. The cornbread was dry, but I just doused it with some honey and all was good. The meatloaf had the standard beef gravy and was very tasty although not as spicy as I make mine, I added some Tabasco to compensate. The fries were crinkle cut and well done-the way I like them. It was actually really good and a nice change of pace. I could have expected this meal at anyone’s grandma’s house and enjoyed it as such. I chose the location based on the overwhelming amount of cars (they were parked down the block). The tactic worked for me this time, but you need to recognize this is not always the case (remember PJ's).

















On to Juno Beach, where I found the Loggerhead Marinelife Center to be absolutely delightful and well worth a donation to support their work. They rescue hatchlings and rehabilitate injured or ill turtles. They have an immaculate treatment area that includes an operating room. I found their museum to be very informative for adults and children. The recovery tanks were well maintained and staffed with knowledgeable volunteers. Overall a delightful, must repeat stop.

The trip up US 1 finally became less commercialize, with increasing green spaces between communities. I stayed at the Days Inn in Ft Pierce and appreciated the recent update to the rooms, but did not like that they feel the need to constantly remind visitors of the repercussions of bad behavior. When you sign in they make you sign a statement including the replacement costs of various linens. The ice machine tells you that you will be evicted and prosecuted for putting ice in a cooler. The only thing they failed to tell me was the result of stealing the signal booster for the internet-the next person has no internet. They knew the room I was in was missing this all important device, but assigned it to me anyway even though I had stated I would be working online this evening. Very frustrating and it makes one wonder what kind of clientele they are accustomed to serving at this location???

Here's your Sign: "Traffic Calmed Area"????

ROUTE: US 1 and FL A1A North to Ft Pierce

Lodging: Days Inn Fort Pierce

Meals:
Fruit from Robert Is Here
Southern Kitchen (***Food **Service)

Attractions: Beaches, A1A Drive, and Loggerhead Marinelife Center

$$$: $9 Food $3 Car Wash $40 Motel = $52