A Saturday Afternoon On The Riverwalk

Yesterday afternoon my sister Susan and I drove down to Fort Lauderdale and took a walk along the Riverwalk, which runs along the New River in the heart of the city and seen in the photograph on the left. This is a really beautiful place, although a lot of the trees and landscaping seem to have been removed, which I later learned was done to improve pedestrian flow and make more room for outdoor dining. However, you can still look at all the yachts, both docked and cruising down the river, and do a lot of peoplewatching, too. This area is filled with high-rise condo buildings, apartments, and upscale restaurants and shops, but there are still many historic buildings along the pathway, too. A while back, Susan and I stopped at a restaurant called Salt, which had an outdoor bar and patio right off the Riverwalk. They had great happy hour prices, and you could sit on a sofa or at a table and watch the people and boats as they passed you by. It was later closed down and evicted from its space for not paying its employees, which explains how the happy hour prices were so good. The space was still vacant when we passed by on Saturday. 

Years ago, there was an outdoor shopping mall called Los Olas Riverfront on the Riverwalk, which was very popular. It had a lot of upscale shops and restaurants, including Cafe Tu Tu Tango, where Susan, my mother Mary, and I once had lunch. I remember Susan liked the restaurant's napkins so much she swiped a couple of packages of them on the way out. My mother and I kept a bit of distance as we left, in case Susan was arrested, which would allow us to deny knowing her, but nobody chased after us and we continued our stroll along the river. When the big recession hit in 2007, many of the shops and restaurants closed and the mall was taken over by the homeless for a while. 

Las Olas Riverfront was eventually torn down and replaced with a couple of high-rise apartments buildings, as well as a The Wharf Fort Lauderdale, which according to its website has "foodie-friendly popups" from "Fort Lauderdale's most sought-after chefs" and an "open-air setting designed for socializing, music, and entertainment." They also boast about their "stunning riverfront views." Susan and I stopped in there a year or so ago, and the music was deafening. Also, the place is surrounded by a fence with plants along the top which blocks any view of the river whatsoever. So much for the stunning view. Best to stick to a brisk walk along the river and if you want to stop somewhere for a drink, make sure it is a place where you can see the damn river, such as Pirate Republic, seen in the photograph on the left. It is across the river and would involve figuring out how the hell to get there, but it looks very nice.

Holy Cow! The White Sox Are On A Roll!

I watched my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, play the Washington Nationals last night, and it is beginning to look like the Sox are turning into a pretty good baseball team. Although they do have some budding stars on the team, such as shortstop Colson Montgomery, first baseman Munetaka Murakami ("the Japanese Babe Ruth"), and closer Seranthony Dominguez, most of their players are pretty young. But you can tell that the team wants to win, and hustles on every play. After a slow start, they are beginning to win games. Last night, after to returning Rate Field after a 4 and 2 road trip, they came from behind twice to beat the Nationals 5-4. And it was a very exciting game. For the first time in a long time watching the White Sox play, I was on the edge of my seat over the final 3 innings.

White Sox television announcers Steve Stone, on the left in the photograph on the right, and John Schriffen, on the right, were very enthusiastic about the way the team has been playing. In the photograph, Schriffen had just put on a pullover shirt that will be given out at today's game, and it was just after that the Sox rallied twice to win the game. Which means that now he can't take it off during the entire home stand to avoid jinxing the team. And if they keep playing well, perhaps the entire season. A small sacrifice to see the White Sox in the playoffs again. Meanwhile, their North Side rivals, the Chicago Cubs, are currently tied for 1st place with the Cincinnati Reds, although I am still convinced they will choke by the end of the season. As for my adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, they are only one game worse than the White Sox, and both clubs are 5 and 5 over the last 10 games. Most surprisingly of all, there are currently 6 teams with worse records than either the White Sox or the Rockies. The world turned upside down.

Round Island Park: A Pretty Spot With A Lot Of History

I recently read an online article about Round Island Park, located on North Hutchinson Island about 8 miles south of downtown Vero Beach, Florida, and decided to check it out in person. This park has two parts, Round Island Riverside Park, which borders the Indian River and is where the actual island is located, as seen in the photograph on the left, and Round Island Oceanside Park, which is directly across the street along the Atlantic. What made me want to visit was that the article mentioned the river side of the park was teeming with manatees and dolphins. I think they mentioned unicorns, too, but I could be mistaken about that. In any case, the area is very pretty, with a number of people out on kayaks or on the boardwalk fishing, but the only wildlife I saw was a single crab attached to one of the boardwalks pilings. No surprise there.

I headed over to the ocean side next, and it is indeed a very nice and uncrowded beach, as seen in the photograph on the right. But what really got my attention was a sign about its history during World War II. This beach was the site of amphibious training connected to the former Fort Pierce Amphibious Training Base. Just to the south, closer to Fort Pierce, is the National Navy SEAL Museum, located on the former training grounds of the original Navy combat divers, the Frogmen. What was especially poignant was the plaque that said a U.S. tanker, the Java Arrow, was torpedoed 8 miles off the coast from this park by a German submarine, the U-333 back on May 5th, 1942. Two sailors were killed and the rest were rescued by 3 Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers in a 30-foot fishing boat. The survivors were taken to the Fort Pierce Coast Guard Station. That same night the U-333 sunk 2 more ships, the Amazone and the Halsey, off the coast of Fort Pierce. I have never given much thought before to how close that war came to the shores of our country. Very scary times indeed. Definitely makes you stop and think.

A Murky Mystery In The Closing Of The Jensen Beach Mulligan's

Mulligan's Beach House Bar and Grill in Jensen Beach closed on April 5th after 23 years in business. The restaurant, at the corner of Jensen Beach Boulevard and Indian River Drive, directly across from the Indian River, always seemed to be the center of the action in downtown Jensen Beach, and it is sad to see it go. The owner, George Hart, said that business was great, but the high cost of rent drove him out. Hart's landlord has pointed out that Hart originally owned that building in Jensen Beach where Mulligan's was located, and when he sold it, he wrote the 10-year lease for $40,000 per month himself. When asked about this, Hart said he didn't want to talk about it anymore. There were originally eight Mulligan's throughout the area, but only two now remain open, in Sebastian and Vero Beach. The Vero Beach location is where I took the above photograph. That particular Mulligan's is right on the ocean, with an outdoor patio with wonderful views of the sea. I sure hope they don't close that one down. In any case, there has been speculation that Hart is downsizing in preparation for retirement, which might explain closing the Jensen Beach location due to the high rent that he himself wrote into the lease. And by the way, the Mulligan's in Jensen Beach was a key organizer of the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in that city. Hopefully, another restaurant will take the space over and carry on that tradition. Otherwise, next St. Patrick's Day, instead of a parade and street party, we might be seeing Irishmen sitting despondently along the curbs crying into their beer. Talk about depressing.

Beach Erosion - A South Florida Bugaboo

There has been a lot of erosion along the beaches here in South Florida this past winter and spring. And this when the area is still experiencing drought conditions. Beach restoration began this month from the St. Lucie County line to Stuart Beach, and up in Fort Pierce, the area around Jetty Park is in the middle of a $430,000 sand operation. Just last week, two of the three public beach entrances in Palm Beach were closed due to the disappearance of the sand, with a drop-off where the stairway once led to the beach. The reasons for this have been harsh winters, strong winds, and persistent wave action. I myself can attest to the strong winds and persistent wave action. Virtually every time I have gone to the beach this spring, the wind and waves have been relentless, and red and yellow warning flags have been the norm. I took the photograph above at the Juno Beach pier just a few weeks ago and there were only a few brave souls along the shore. A major complication to the restoration project between Jensen and Stuart Beaches is that it is turtle nesting season, and there is danger that the sea turtle eggs will be crushed by construction equipment or buried too deep for the hatchlings to survive. Just yesterday there was an article on the website of WPEC 12News in West Palm Beach that volunteers have relocated more than 4,100 sea turtle eggs from 45 nests along the Treasure Coast over the past few weeks. These volunteers patrol the beach every night looking for new nests and have 24 hours to relocate the eggs from the construction area before they can no longer be safely moved. Each egg has to be dug up and moved by hand to a safe location. Remember, we are talking about 4,100 sea turtle eggs! Talk about dedication. Who says there are not many good people out there these days?

A Blue Anchor Update

The Blue Anchor British Pub in Delray Beach, Florida has had a rough time of it lately. I did a post about the place back in December, after it had been closed down due to "extensive rodent infestation and serious sanitation failures." And so, when I went down to Delray Beach a few weeks ago for "The Delray Affair" (an arts and crafts festival), I checked the place out and was surprised to find it was open. When I got home, I looked The Blue Anchor up on the internet and found an article in the Palm Beach Post detailing a pretty turbulent past few months. Health code violations triggered six temporary closures in December 2025 and another five in February. A March 2nd state inspection resulted in still another temporary closure, but it was cleared to reopen the same day. Regular blog readers will recall that The Blue Anchor was originally built in London in the 1840s. Legend has it that a woman named Bertha Starkey, who lived above the pub, was caught with her lover by her husband, who murdered them both. When the pub was torn down to make way for an office building, its Tudor-style facade and wood interior were removed and shipped to New York. They stayed there until 1996 when the pieces were shipped to Delray, and the Blue Anchor was resurrected on Atlantic Avenue right next to the Intercoastal Waterway. And yes - Bertha Starkey also made the trip across the Atlantic and still haunts the place.

Sadly, the health department closures are not the pub's only problem. Landlord Delray Beach Associates has filed a lawsuit alleging unpaid rent of almost $70,000. Restaurant broker Tom Prakas negotiated the deal to bring The Blue Anchor to Delray Beach, and in a recent interview said that landlord Burt Handelsman paid to have the pub pieces brought to the site, which is part of the Handelsman family's real estate holdings in Delray Beach. His adult children still own the property through Delray Beach Associates. In any case, the pub, a favorite of local soccer fans, especially those following the English Premier League, was indeed still open for business when I stuck my head through the front door and snapped the photograph on the right. Nobody knows what The Blue Anchor's fate will be, but 70K in back rent seems like a pretty steep tab to pay off. Restaurant broker Prakas hopes that if the landlord does take it back, The Blue Anchor will remain the way it is. All of the other restaurants on Atlantic Avenue are expensive modern hotspots, without the charm of an old English pub. The Blue Anchor, after all, is a local landmark. And besides, where would all those soccer fans go otherwise?

Sunday Afternoon Baseball At Roger Dean Stadium

My sister Susan and I went to Roger Dean Stadium in the Abacoa neighborhood of Jupiter, Florida yesterday afternoon to watch the Jupiter Hammerheads play the Palm Beach Cardinals in a Florida State League contest. As I have mentioned before, this is a really nice ballpark in a really nice community, one which has lots of things happening all of the time. The last baseball game we attended at this stadium was on "Opening Night," when the Palm Beach Cardinals played the St. Lucie Mets. In that game, Palm Beach got only two hits and lost to St. Lucie 1-0. And it wasn't nearly as exciting as that score indicates, either. Since then, both teams have improved tremendously. The Palm Beach Cardinals are currently leading the Florida State League East Division with an 11-4 record, and the St. Lucie Mets have an 8-7 record and are in second place. And happily, yesterday afternoon's game was quite good.

Our seats were quite good, too. We sat in the first row right behind home plate and had a great view of the action, as seen in the photograph on the right. The cost for these seats: $12 each including internet fees. To sit in the same location and day at Denver's Coors Field: $400 plus internet fees. I was going to mention that the Colorado Rockies are, of course, a Major League Baseball team, and Palm Beach and Jupiter just Single A teams and much less skilled. But then again, do the Rockies really play that much better baseball than a minor league team these days, having lost 100 games three years in a row? But I digress. The Palm Beach Cardinals beat the Jupiter Hammerheads 7-6 in what turned out to be quite an exciting contest. Definitely worth the $12. I wonder if Colorado Rockies fans can say the same about plunking down $400 for a ticket.