Celebrating Labor Day In Fort Pierce

OK - it wasn't exactly celebrating Labor Day in Fort Pierce so much as driving through it and taking a few photographs. Different people celebrate in different ways, right? In any case, there was a survey in the Stuart News asking what's the best beach bar on the Treasure Coast, and the top two were Island Beach Bar and Restaurant and Square Grouper Tiki Bar, both in Fort Pierce. Since it was a bright sunny day instead of an all-day rain, as predicted, I decided to check the two out to see what made them so special. I stopped at the Island Beach Bar and Restaurant first, as seen in the photograph on the left. To be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed. Everyone there seemed to be having a good time, and there was live music, but you could not see the beach from most of the patio seating. There were a couple of picnic tables with a narrow view of the ocean, but not really a place I would have liked to sit.

As for the Square Grouper, I mistook a place right next to it for that tiki bar, took a photograph of it, and missed the real Square Grouper completely. It was actually located in Jetty Park, right behind where I was parked. How I missed it I have no idea. I guess I didn't think there would be a bar in the park itself, but on the other hand, it is Florida, after all. I didn't realize where it actually is located until I got home and looked at a satellite image of Fort Pierce on the internet. That is what happens when you get older, I guess. Very sad. In any case, the photographs of the Square Grouper make it seem really nice, but it is located along the Fort Pierce Inlet, not the ocean, and so does it really count as a beach bar? And by the way, instead of a shot of the Square Grouper, I took the photograph on the right of the path leading to the beach next to the Island Beach Bar.

On the drive back to Stuart, I stopped at the Fort Pierce City Marina, right next to which is Cobb's Landing, where I took the photograph on the left. The place seemed to have a decent crowd, and there was live music there, too. I don't know what the definition of a true tiki bar is, but in my book, if it has a funky roof like in that photo, it is a tiki bar to me. Again, it is located on the Indian River, not the ocean, with not a bit of sand in sight, but still, you can sit and gaze at the boats in the marina, and that certainly works for me. And by the way, it was sunny for most of the day, but around 4:30 the clouds gathered, and it began to rain like hell. And so, the weather forecasters were at least partially right. But there is something I want to know. If baseball players are able to hit a ball 3 times out of 10, they can make millions of dollars every year. If a weather forecaster can be right 3 times out of 10, does he get paid top dollar, too? I suspect not. There is some kind of life lesson here, but I'll be damned if I know what it is.