Stuart, Florida is surrounded on three sides by the St. Lucie River, which empties into the Indian River Lagoon, which then empties into the Atlantic Ocean. All of which make for some great biking. It takes almost an hour to bike to Stuart Beach from my condo, and so if I don't have that much time, I bike along the South Fork of the St Lucie to downtown and from there through an upscale neighborhood just to the east. Along the way are great views of the water. On the way home from my bike ride, I took the photograph on the left at Hildabrad Park, located in that upscale neighborhood, which the sign says is a private park only to be used by HOA members. As I was taking that self-portrait, a car stopped and lingered in the street until I finished taking the photo, and so I think they really mean business. Fortunately, they did not shoot at me. You never know with HOAs.
From there I biked past a stretch along the St. Lucie populated by high-end law and medical offices, including cosmetic surgery centers, until I reached Colorado Avenue Park, seen in the photograph on the right and located right downtown. It is one of my favorite spots to just sit down, relax, and enjoy the view. Right next to it is the Owl House River Retreat, which is owned by the Old Colorado Inn just up the street. It was built in 1904 and features "wide water views and a grand back lawn fronting the St. Lucie River." It has 5 bedrooms and sleeps 14 people. Trust me - it is indeed very nice. However, the standard rate is a whopping $870 per night. Granted, divided by 14 people that is a mere $62.14 a night, but that will probably mean that if you are single, you might be sharing a room with an insomniac or snorer, or perhaps be sleeping on the sofa in the living room, which will make for a long, long weekend retreat.
At the Colorado Avenue Park, the downtown boardwalk begins, and I biked onto it and past a rather pricey restaurant called The Boathouse and the Downtown Stuart Stage, which hosts the Rock'n Riverwalk concert series every Sunday, both of which can be seen in the background of the photograph on the left. From there the boardwalk goes past Stuart City Hall, a restaurant called WaterFront (which long ago was Huckleberry's, where our family liked to have Sunday brunch), past Flagler Park, and then under the railroad tracks and up a path to SW Old Dixie Highway. Of course, "Dixie" is politically incorrect up north, but down here, it doesn't seem to bother anyone at all.
Once across Dixie Highway, you go down a walkway past Sailor's Return, which is the location of my favorite outdoor waterfront bar, and you are then biking along the pier past Sunset Bay Marina, as seen in the photograph on the right. Once you bike past all those yachts, you enter one of the older parts of Stuart, with many houses from the 1920s. Many of these places along the water are now businesses, including a yacht broker, real estate office, a B&B, and, of course, Rose and Rebecca's Day Spa and Wholeness Center, although some of these houses are still private homes.
When you leave this neighborhood, you arrive at Shepard Park, which is quite beautiful, and features boardwalks that go out into the river, where you can admire all the yachts moored out in the river, and seen in the photograph on the left. Sunset Bay Marina has a spot for all those motorized dingies to tie up when those yacht owners come in to get supplies or have a drink at Sailor's Return's outdoor bar. From there you cross Frazier Creek and head into another one of Stuart's 1920s era neighborhoods, past The France Apartments, a waterfront gem from 1927 and reputed to be haunted, and many other 1920s era homes, all of which are happily still private homes. Eventually I reach Palm City Road, head south past the boats on Poppleton Creek, and am soon back at my condo. Quite a lot of scenery for a mere one-and-a-half-hour bike ride. And it was all free. Can't beat that.
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