Dinner At The Pirate's Loft With Linda And Rodger And Susan

I had dinner yesterday evening with my sister Susan, our cousin Linda, and her husband Rodger at the Pirate's Loft Restaurant in Port Salerno. Linda is the daughter of our Uncle Bill and Aunt Elsie, who moved to Stuart, Florida in 1972, and inspired my parents to move down there too 4 years later. When they were raising their families, Linda and Rodger, along with Judy, our other cousin (and Linda's sister) and her husband Cal would come down to Stuart each summer with their children and stay for two weeks at Ocean Village in nearby Fort Pierce, allowing them to vacation by the ocean and also visit with their parents. Linda and Rodger still stay at Ocean Village during February and March, while Judy and Cal head to Bonita Springs on Florida's West Coast, the traitors. In the photograph on the left, going from left to right, are Rodger, Susan, and Linda.

I like the Pirate's Loft very much. We have been going there for almost 40 years. The food is good, and the view from the patio, as seen in the photograph on the right, is great. Sometimes after dinner we would walk down to the docks at the marina below, and look at the boats, many of them fishing charters. It was especially fun when the boats came back from their trip and the crew started cutting up their catch, throwing the unwanted pieces to what seemed like hundreds of pelicans crowding around the table. My only complaint with the Pirate's Loft is that underneath the patio where we dine, they have installed a tiki bar, with a stage right on the dock, where they often have a band playing, which is disconcerting when you are trying to have a conversation. Fortunately, yesterday, the band stopped playing not too long after were seated.

And yes, that is indeed Susan and my parents, Nelson and Mary, on the right in the photograph on the left, and Linda and Judy's parents, Bill and Elsie, on the left back in 1977 in front of Uncle Bill and Aunt Elsie's condo at the Monterey Yacht and Country Club. Their condo was next to the 2nd hole tee, and when my parents and I visited them in 1975, every single golfer seemed to come up to their lanai to say hello. I think that was why my father decided to buy a condo across the road in one of the two buildings on the St. Lucie River side of the complex. Where all the other rebels lived.

Returning To The Sailor's Return At Last!

My sister Susan and I were finally able to have a drink at the Sailor's Return's outdoor patio yesterday afternoon. I was able to snag the last parking spot in the lot, and at the time, the last available table, which I consider quite the coup. We arrived just before 4:30 and it looked like it might rain (which it did, but only as we were leaving), which I am sure helped us get a seat. And despite the overcast sky, it was still pleasant having a beer and looking out at all those boats, many of them good-sized yachts. The Sailor's Return is located in the Sunset Bay Marina, and shares a parking lot with it, which probably adds to the parking problem, since many of the people living aboard those vessels also have cars that park there. Personally, I feel these liveaboards should be forced to park off-site and just have one of their people drive their car over when they need it. That's what I do when I moor my yacht on the French Riveria. Perhaps I'll have a word with the dockmaster.

The Manatee - An Infuriating Creature, To Be Sure

The manatees are back, lured by the warm - or at least warmer - waters of Florida, and so I stopped by Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach yesterday afternoon to take a look at them. Manatee Lagoon is located just across from a Florida Power and Light Plant, which makes the waters warmer and attracts those manatees. This center has a large facility with many exhibits, and in front of the building is the statue of two manatees, as seen in the photograph on the left, which is the only good view I have ever got of one.

I have been to this place on at least three or four different occasions, and each time I have seen any manatees, they are only dark shapes in the water, such as the one in the lower right of the photograph on the right. They constantly stay under the water, only sticking their nose above the surface to get air before immediately heading back down again. Sometimes, if the sun is on them and they get close to the surface, it would be possible to identify and photograph them, but that has never happened when I have been there. But I keep stopping by every once in a while in hopes of finally getting a clear view of one of those manatees, not to mention a photograph. And some year I very well might. But I am not holding my breath until I do.

The Snowbird Problem. I Finally Get It...

This past Wednesday afternoon around 5:00 my sister Susan and I drove to the Sailor's Return to have a beer, or in Susan's case, a glass of wine, on their outdoor patio. It is our favorite spot in Stuart, Florida to have a drink, since it is located at the Sunset Bay Marina, and allows everyone to have a drink while gazing at the yachts and to be able to watch the sun set over the St. Lucie River. But I forgot that this is "The Season" here in Florida, which runs from January through March. The parking lot at the Sailor's Return was completely full, and the valet stand was doing a booming business. In fact, those valets were parking cars right in front of the cars that were parked in the lot, forcing those drivers to ask the valet to move the car blocking them when they left. In contrast, the last time we were there, in December, we practically had the place to ourselves. In other words, there are a hell of a lot of snowbirds down here, and they make life much more difficult for the locals. And so, we drove to Ocean Republic Brewing to have a drink instead. I have never been there before, and it was a nice enough place. We sat at a table in an area with glass windows overlooking a tree-lined patio, where a child's birthday party was taking place, despite the chilly temperature. Inside, there were lots of families with kids running around, and plenty of locals at the bar, as seen in the photograph above. But it did not have a view of the yachts in the various marinas, or of the St. Lucie or Indian Rivers, or the ocean to enjoy while you had your drink. That seems to be the province of the snowbirds until April 1st, when they all fly away. I can't wait.

One Positive To Florida's Cold Weather

I was planning to skip spring training here in Florida this year since practically every seat in the house at Roger Dean Stadium. located in the Abacoa neighborhood of Jupiter, cost $51 (plus fees, of course), which is way too high to watch a baseball game where most of the players you are watching will wind up back in the minor leagues or out of baseball entirely. But then Rodger Dean Stadium had a promotion where you could buy tickets during a 48-hour period that would be priced at the lowest temperature recorded in Jupiter during a recent arctic blast. And happily, that temperature was 29 degrees, which meant that I could buy seats to two games at a total cost of $35 each (including fees, of course). Since the more people buy tickets on the internet, the fewer ticket sellers needed to be employed, I would think internet tickets would be cheaper, but I guess that's baseball for you. I just hope it will not be 29 degrees on game day.

Returning To Stuart, Florida!

My sister Susan and I returned to Stuart, Florida yesterday afternoon, looking forward to spending late winter and early spring enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures. Ironically, when we left Denver, the temperature was 70 degrees, and when we arrived in Stuart, the high was 60, not to mention a low of 42. And this was by no means the first time this winter that it has been warmer in Denver than Stuart. What's wrong with this picture? Denver has not really had winter yet, with a mere 13 inches of snow so far, way below average. Since March and April are Colorado's snowiest months, people there are hoping the shortfall will be made up in the spring. I hope so, too, but I will be pretty damned mad if it winds up snowing here in Stuart instead of Denver. That would definitely be a world turned upside down.

A European Flashback: Milano!

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina concluded this past Sunday, and although I did not watch any of the coverage on television, it did remind me of my only visit to Milan, which was pretty brief, to say the least. Back in 2019, my sister Susan and I traveled to Paris and Italy, and after a number of days in Paris, we took the night train to Florence, which required a change of trains in Milan. We shared a compartment with 6 other people, and when it came time to retire for the night, the porter converted the compartment into 3 beds on each side. I got one of the top bunks, Susan sleeping just below me. As soon as the lights were off, everyone started complaining about the heat, and so someone opened the window, after which everyone complained about the noise. Eventually it was decided to just deal with the heat, after which I fell asleep, although afterwards I learned that most did not. The woman sleeping across from me complained about having to watch an older guy undress right in front of her, didn't sleep the entire night, and said she would never travel like that again. Susan was not able to sleep either, but said it was an interesting experience. As we got off the train in Milan, I took the photograph above, and as we headed to the terminal, we watched a train pulling out, which of course was the train to Florence. Why would it not be? We got tickets for the next train and still got to Florence before we could check into our bed and breakfast, although the couple that owned it were kind enough to keep our suitcases for us so we could wander around town a bit. Which was fun, since the whole area was from the 1400s or 1500s. All in all, a good day, at least for me. Good thing I can sleep anywhere, anytime. A useful trait.