Returning To Stuart

Last week I returned to Stuart, Florida for the first time in 6 1/2 years. My parents, Nelson and Mary, moved from Chicago to a condo there at the Monterey Yacht and Country Club back in 1976, and after my father passed away, my mother continued living there for almost 30 years. She learned to play golf on the par three, nine hole golf course, and made many friends. My sister Susan and I inherited the condo when she passed away, and have been renting it out now for 15 years. I told our tenants that a year from this August, we would be taking the place back, planning to spend almost half the year there, and although they were disappointed, seemed to take it well. We paid them a visit, and I was happy to see that the condo looked well-cared for. Before we visited them, we stopped at Stuart Beach on Hutchinson Island, one of our favorite places in Stuart, and seen in the photograph on the left.

Stuart Beach is still very beautiful, but I was disappointed to find that the shelters along the boardwalk, where my mother and I would sit and watch Susan head out to sea on her boogie board, have been removed and replaced by a restaurant. Instead of sitting in those shelters and looking out to sea, there are now tables and chairs, and what was once a quiet, usually deserted spot to hang out is now a crowded cafe. I took the photograph of Susan on the right sitting on one of the few Adirondack chairs available. As author Bill Bryson, one of my travel writer heroes, often says, "life just keeps getting shittier."

However, the Jolly Sailor, an outdoor bar located at the Sunset Marina, next door to a pricey restaurant called Sailor's Return, is still there. I discovered this spot back in 2016, while fixing up the condo to rent out for the season (but wound up renting it out year-round). The Jolly Sailor used to be a restaurant in downtown Stuart, but closed years ago, only to be reincarnated as a outdoor bar and patio with a great view of the boats in the marina and the St. Lucie River. The view is wonderful, especially at sunset. As I recall, the last time I was there was just before the presidential election, and everyone at the bar seemed to be a Trump fan. No matter - the view was still great no matter what the political situation was. The photo on the left shows the path you take to get to the Jolly Sailor. It would be fun to own a yacht and dock it there, but I think that might be a little pricey. And during hurricane season, a constant worry. Best to accept that living in a modest condo for part of the year in this wonderful little city will be more than enough.

While we were in Stuart, we stayed at "The Villa," which is how it was described on Booking.com. The web site said it had two bedrooms, was located on Hutchinson Island, with a view of Indian River, and appeared to be halfway between Stuart Beach and Shucker's, a restaurant with a patio right on the ocean, and my favorite place in the world to have lunch. But it was only $139 a night to rent, which made we wonder if it was too good to be true. Imagine my surprise to find it was a very upscale place and did indeed have a wonderful view of the Indian River from the balcony. The only problem was that it was located on the second floor, and was a bit of a challenge for my sister Susan to navigate the steep staircase. No matter - one trip up and one trip down those stairs each day was no problem. At least for me - I never did ask Susan's opinion on the matter.