Peacocks Are Running Wild In Fort Pierce, And Nobody Thinks It's Unusual

I drove up to Fort Pierce, Florida yesterday afternoon, and just for fun, I decided to drive over to the Peacock Arts District to see if I could spot a peacock. This arts district is centered around The Peacock House, built in 1926 and which Jackson Crain and his wife Mary Lee Steinhoff-Crain made their home. They also operated a travel agency out of it for 29 years. The Crains liked peacocks and brought 7 of them to Fort Pierce to put in their backyard. When they passed away, the estate was fully restored and is now the home of The Peacock House Art Foundation, which offers art education, exhibitions, and creative spaces for artists and visitors. They also have a half-acre dedicated garden space for peacocks, the number of which has grown substantially since those original 7. The estate is open for tours three days a week and charges a $6 admission fee. I have never toured the house but have occasionally seen a peacock or two in a park-like space across the street. Sometimes I didn't see any, but yesterday peacocks seemed to be all over the neighborhood. I took the photograph on the left of two peacocks, along with two babies, right around the block from The Peacock House.

What really got my attention was that people in the neighborhood pay no attention whatsoever to these birds. In fact, I got the feeling that some of the neighbors were surprised that I was actually bothering to photograph them. The photograph on the right is of two adults and one baby walking up the sidewalk to someone's house. They walked around that house and proceeded toward the greenspace behind it. After I got in the car and was driving away, I saw some other peacocks hanging around that grassy lot with a rooster, no less. We never used to see anything like that when I was growing up on the South Side of Chicago, and if someone did, they would be taken away for psychiatric evaluation. But it is just another day in Fort Pierce.

And just for fun, I took the photograph on the left of the male - I think - peacock walking along a wall The other birds totally ignored me and went about their business, but this one evidently did not want its photo taken and kept trying to avoid me. I was lucky to get the photo I did. What I want to know is whether these birds live in that half acre garden behind The Peacock House and just walk around the neighborhood during the day, or if they make their home in vacant lots, green spaces, or people's backyards. And do they cause problems for the neighbors, or do the people who live there just consider it part of life, like the weather? Questions, questions, and no answers. Unless I pay the $6 and go on the tour. I'll think about it.

A Roger Dean Baseball Tradition: Burgers And Beers Before The Game At Das Beer Garden

My sister Susan and I went to see the Palm Beach Cardinals play the Daytona Beach Tortugas at Roger Dean Stadium in the Abacoa neighborhood of Jupiter, Florida this past Saturday night, and as usual, stopped at Das Beer Garden, located just across the street, for burgers and beers before the game. This is Abacoa's neighborhood hangout and taproom, and is a very lively place, especially on Saturday nights. Inside, it was packed with a diverse group of patrons - young families, singles, seniors, groups of friends getting together, you name it. The outside patio was actually pretty quiet, given that it was hot and humid and the fans in the ceiling did not seem to reach the tables. It was no doubt hardcore natives who sat out there, braving the elements. We joined them for a brief time before Susan suggested heading inside for a bit of air conditioning. And as you can see from the photograph above of Susan, Das Beer Garden caters to the sports crowd, and there were plenty of television showing all the college football games going on. Lively, but also hard to hear what Susan was saying from across the table. But no matter - definitely a fun place to hang out before the game. If you happen to be in the South Florida area, I definitely recommend stopping by.

Watching The Palm Beach Cardinals Play The Daytona Beach Tortugas In Jupiter, Florida

My sister Susan and I went to Roger Dean Stadium in the Abacoa neighborhood of Jupiter, Florida Saturday night to watch the Palm Beach Cardinals play the Daytona Beach Tortugas in the next to last game of the Florida State League's regular season. The stadium is located right across the street from that neighborhood's downtown area, which makes it an ideal spot to have dinner at one of the local restaurants and then just walk a short distance to the ballpark. There was a nice breeze blowing, and little humidity, and so it was a perfect evening to go to a game. Palm Beach won 8-7, surviving a comeback attempt by Daytona that had the tying run at third base in the top of the 9th inning. The Cardinals won yesterday's game, too, by a score of 13-5, and finished with the best overall record in the Florida State League's East Division. But are they going to the playoffs? No, since the FSL is divided into first and second halves. The winners of the first half play the winners of the second half, and the overall record does not matter. Which is why the Daytona Beach Tortugas, the second half winners in the FSL East, will be playing the Jupiter Hammerheads, FSL East winners in the first half. This despite the fact that combining the results of both halves, Palm Beach finished in first place and Daytona in last. Does this make sense to you? Me either. I'm sure there is a reason why it is done this way, but no doubt a pretty stupid one.

Lake Worth Beach - Good Value For The Money Or Total Ripoff?

I drove down to Lake Worth Beach, Florida, both the city and the beach itself, a few days ago. I have never been to downtown Lake Worth Beach - formerly just Lake Worth - but recently read on the internet about its wonderful Bohemian atmosphere. And so naturally, I headed right down there to check it out. And found that downtown Lake Worth Beach is very attractive, but in my opinion, not Bohemian in any sense of the word. Of course, this is South Florida, and so South Florida Bohemian is perhaps much different from what people back on earth believe it to be. In any case, to not make the drive a total loss, I drove to Lake Worth Beach Park, right on the ocean and home to the Lake Worth Pier, as seen in the photograph on the left. I parked in the lot closest to the pier and tried to pay for 15 or 20 minutes of parking in order to take a few photographs. And when I put my card in the meter and tried to lower the time to 15 minutes, I couldn't do it. The rate was $3.50 an hour, and as much as I tried, the only rate I could get was for 2 hours, at a cost of $7.00.

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What is the deal with that? Do they assume that everyone wants to spend a minimum of 2 hours at the beach, or 2 hours dining at Benny's on the Beach, one of the biggest attractions on the pier and seen in the photograph on the right? I then remembered I came here last year and wound up actually paying that $7.00, remaining very bitter about it the entire drive back home to Stuart. And is it worth it to pay that price, when parking at virtually every other city along the ocean is free, with the exception of Palm Beach, which has turned ripoff into an art, just like its most famous resident? In point of fact, the beaches in every other city in South Florida are just as good, if not far better, since every weirdo in the State of Florida seems to hang out around that pier. And weirdos do not enjoy having their photographs taken. I know that from bitter experience.

To Cruise Or Not To Cruise - That is The Question

For many years, the Island Princess would take sightseers on cruises on the Indian and St. Lucie Rivers around the Stuart, Florida area, as well the Intercoastal Waterway as far as Jupiter (the city, not the planet). After the Island Princess was purchased by new owners, it went up north to Annapolis for the summer, intending to return to Florida during the fall and winter months. That was well over a year ago, and it hasn't been back, since. Their website says it is looking for a marina to sail out of before they can return to the Stuart area, but that message hasn't changed since the previous summer. And so, you do have to wonder what the deal is. I did take several cruises on this boat years ago. It is 72 feet long, with a lower, enclosed, air-conditioned deck and an upper weather deck (one that is open to the elements). Good for most weather conditions. In the meantime, a company called Treasure Coast River Cruises has started running cruises on a 12-person pontoon boat, as seen in the photograph above docked at Hutchinson Island Marriot Marina. Which is all well and good, but that pontoon boat is open on the sides, and during the summer months here in Florida that can be problematic. It often rains every day during the summer down here, but you never really know when or where. And if you buy your tickets in advance, that means you might have great weather or be caught in a tropical downpour in the middle of the river. The boat does have a canvas roof, but with those open sides the wind and rain from one of those downpours would definitely get you soaked. They will cancel the cruise if bad weather is forecast, but you just never know down here. Probably best to just wait until the dry season, November thru April, when the chances of leaving the boat not looking like a drowned rat are much higher. Although that can be a popular look down here. Just sayin'.

The Devil's Bible

I just finished reading The Devil's Bible, Steve Berry's latest Cotton Malone adventure. Malone is a retired former Justice Department intelligence agent and currently a bookseller in Copenhagen, but his old boss, Stephanie Nell, keeps calling him back for special assignments. This time, he and his girlfriend Cassiopeia Vitt are called in when the king of Sweden's sister is kidnapped. The ransom - an 800-year-old illustrated medieval manuscript, the largest in the world, called the Codex Gigas and also known as The Devil's Bible due to a particularly vivid illustration. The book was taken by Sweden from Bohemia as war loot back in 1648, and Sweden has finally agreed to give it back to the Czech Republic in exchange for their vote to accept Sweden as a member of NATO. Suspicion for the kidnapping falls upon Russia, who opposes Sweden joining that organization, but it turns out to be much more complicated than that. This is the 20th book in the Cotton Malone series, and I enjoyed reading it very much, but it does have a bit of a shocking ending, which I won't give away in case people out there want to read it. I personally think it would be a perfect beach read, and to emphasize that, I took the photograph above at Stuart Beach here in Stuart, Florida. But I do recommend reading this adventure novel wherever you might be. 

The Boston House Restaurant Is Open For Business! But No Ghost Sightings. Yet.

Boston House, an upscale restaurant in Fort Pierce, Florida, opened for business this past May 31st in a mansion built by the Jones family in 1909. It was formerly a law office, with a reputation of being haunted. Some people have reported hearing a female voice singing in there, accompanied by a harp. Cold spots have been reported in the building, as well as a searing hot blast assaulting the body. Some say the house is haunted by a group of Native Americans, while others say it is the ghost of an African American girl with red hair. The most repeated ghost story is that the place is haunted by Aleaceon Perkins, who wanders the hallways looking for her husband and son, who were lost at sea. Some have seen her peering out the upstairs windows of a space that is now a bar. But so far, no reports of any ghost sightings after three months in business. I read a glowing review of the restaurant, written the week it opened, extolling the decor, the food, and the service. Boston House's website describes the restaurant as featuring "refined plates, crafted drinks, and white glove service," which are three things I always try to avoid in a restaurant. I took a look at the menu, and it is indeed on the pricey side. Perhaps that is what finally drove all those ghosts away. Can't say I blame 'em.