The December Mutts Of The Month

I took the photograph above of the December Mutts of the Month at the Port St. Lucie International Fest that took place a few weeks ago. The dogs were participating in a dachshund dog race, but when the race started, the dogs started running toward me instead of the finish line. Were they thinking I had treats to give them? I was standing by the gate into the field where the event was taking place, and so perhaps they were simply not into the race and were heading for the exit. Of course, it was readily apparent that the owners did not do nearly enough - or perhaps any - training with those dogs, which also explains a lot. And I couldn't help but notice that there were a lot of non-dachshunds in the various races. Is that even legal in a dachshund race? No matter - as long as they posed for a photograph, I was happy.

An Inside Job

I just finished reading An Inside Job, Daniel Silva's latest Gabriel Allon international thriller, and I must say, I really enjoyed it. This series began with Allon working as a spy for the Mossad, Israel's spy agency, eventually becoming that agency's director. The stories featured nerve-wracking operations against the Russians, ISIS, Iran, and other dangerous governments, all very exciting reads. Then Silva has Allon retire from the Mossad and move to Venice, his wife Chiara's hometown, where he returns to his original occupation, which is one the greatest art restorers in the world. I wondered at the time if Silva could continue the same level of excitement in his novels as before, but he does, often involving the dark side of the art world. In this adventure, Allon spots a body floating in the Grand Canal, which turns out to be a murdered Vatican art restorer. This leads to the quest to find a lost Leonardo DaVinci painting stolen from the Vatican by the Camorra, a dangerous Mafia-style criminal organization. Allon works with his old acquaintances from the art world, the Italian and Swiss police, shady characters he knows through his various missions, the Vatican police, and his friend, the Pope, to solve the murder of the Vatican restorer and several others, as well as recover the painting for the Vatican. This is a really good story that keeps you hooked from beginning to end. I highly recommend picking up a copy from your local library today.

Stuart, Florida - Still Sailfish Capital Of The World?

Wherever you go in Stuart, Florida, there are references to Stuart being the "Sailfish Capital of the World." It got this title back in 1938 when Stuart News editor Ernie Lyons hosted half a dozen sports writers from major newspapers across the country and took them deep sea fishing. That week, fishing boats caught over 1,000 sailfish off Stuart, and one of those writers went back home and wrote an article giving the city that nickname, which the City of Stuart later adopted. And according to Ed Killer, a former outdoors columnist for the Stuart News, sailfish are still plentiful off Stuart. But not being a fisherman (or is it fishing person now?), all I want to know is what the difference is between a sailfish and a blue marlin, which Ernest Hemingway used to go after in the Gulf Stream off Key West and Havana.  The answer: sailfish range in size from 6 to 11 feet and can weigh from 120 to 200 pounds, while blue marlins range from 10 to 14 feet in length and weigh from 200 to 1,500 pounds. Talk about a whole different kind of animal. The big question - are there blue marlins off the coast of Stuart? Yes, but they are deep-water fish that hang out in the Gulf Stream, 25 to 50 miles offshore. And if you want to come down to Stuart to go sailfish or blue marlin fishing, expect to pay a small fortune to charter a boat, especially if you are going after those blue marlin. I myself prefer to just hang out around the pier. And by the way, the sailfish statue in the photograph above is located at the entrance to downtown Stuart, created by artist Geoffry C. Smith and donated to the City of Stuart by Edward M. Sellian, Jr. 

Worth Avenue: Still Pretty, But A Bit On The Pretentious Side

My sister Susan and I walked down Worth Avenue in Palm Beach this past Sunday afternoon. It is a very pretty street, perfectly landscaped, but a bit on the pretentious side. I counted 2 Ferraris, a Bentley convertible, and a Rolls Royce while walking past shops such as Chanel, Gucci, Lilly Pulitzer, Tiffany & Co. and Versace. This may surprise you, but I have never shopped at any of those stores, and the only thing I know about the Pulitzers is from Hunter S. Thompson's article titled "A Dog Took My Place," about the divorce trial of Herbert Pulitzer Jr. and his wife Roxanne, which certainly opened my eyes concerning what happens behind the front doors of some of the wealthy and super wealthy. That was over 40 years ago, of course, but being the cynic that I am, I firmly believe that some things never change.

The thing I like best about Worth Avenue are the interior courtyards that run behind the shops fronting the street, with many more pricey stores and restaurants flanking them. I took the photograph on the right of one of those courtyards, which, surprisingly, did not have all that many people walking through it. There was only one couple dining outside at one of the restaurants we passed, but perhaps it was just too warm and humid for patios, and the restaurant itself was filled with diners, running up bills that no doubt would force the average person to dip into their children's college fund. 

I read in the paper recently that Palm Beach is a great place to see Christmas lights. Since it was mid-afternoon, we did not get a chance to view them, but we did see the official Palm Beach Christmas tree on the corner of Worth and Hibiscus Avenues, as seen in the photograph on the left. And so, after an hour, we left Worth Avenue and on the way home drove through downtown West Palm Beach and the CityPlace neighborhood, which were much livelier - and more real - than Palm Beach. The restaurant patios were crowded, as was the open-air plaza at CityPlace, where people were listening to a free concert while their children played in the fountain. A very nice afternoon for all. 

Visiting The West Palm Beach Fine Art Show

This past Saturday afternoon I walked around the West Palm Beach Fine Art Show, which took place at Meyer Amphitheater in downtown West Palm Beach and seen in the photograph on the left. This was a modest little festival with 44 artists in attendance, featuring paintings, sculpture, glass, jewelry, photographs, wood, clay and other mediums. I noticed that a number of the participating artists were also at the Downtown Palm Beach Gardens Arts Festival, held a few weeks ago. That art festival, sponsored by Howard Allan Events, took place in Palm Beach Gardens due to West Palm Beach's CityPlace, its usual location, being unavailable due to construction. The art festival held this weekend at Meyer Amphitheater was sponsored by a non-profit called Hot Works - Institute for Arts and Education, no doubt filling the gap left by the Howard Allan Events show. And it was a very pleasant event to time at.

I have noticed that, at least in Denver, non-profits are usually more reliable sponsors of festivals than for-profit companies and municipalities. CherryArts has sponsored the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, one of the top art festivals in the country, for many years, and a few years ago took over the Denver Chalk Art Festival, making it into another major event. On the other hand, a non-profit in Denver called CHUN (Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods) sponsored the People's Fair in Denver's Civic Center Park each June for many years, but then decided to sell the rights to it to a for-profit company to get the money to buy a Victorian mansion for their headquarters. Seriously. They really did that. The for-profit company ran the festival for a year or two, and when it didn't turn a profit, ended it for good. And the City of Denver used to sponsor the Festival of Mountains and Plains over Labor Day Weekend for many decades. And then decided to split it into four separate, much smaller street festivals to be held over the summer, which of course was a big flop. That festival is now gone forever, too. And what is the lesson to be learned from all this? Festivals and art fairs are not supposed to make a profit or even break even, and when you try to make money from them, it usually never works out.

The Last Day Of Hurricane Season Is Here! At Last!

Today is the last day of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, and for the first time in a decade, a hurricane did not strike the U.S., although a tropical storm caused a lot of damage to the Carolinas, distant hurricanes caused rough oceans that resulted in damage on the East coast, and neighboring countries suffered damaging direct hits. This is much different than back in 2004, when Hurricane Jeanne scored a direct hit on Stuart, Florida on September 5, 2004 as a Category 2, with maximum sustained winds of 105 miles-per-hour. And just 3 weeks later, Hurricane Frances came ashore at the exact same spot as Jeanne as a Category 3, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. 

My mother Mary was living in her condo here in Stuart when those two hurricanes hit. She and her friends evacuated to the complex's clubhouse for Jeanne, and they spent a miserable night there together. When Frances came along three weeks later, they all decided to stay home and take their chances. And being hard of hearing, my mother said she just slept through it. Go figure.  Those hurricanes caused a lot of damage, including to my mother's condo complex, but fortunately, she and her friend's units sustained only minor damage. And by the way, I took the two photographs featured on today's blog when I came down to visit my mother in October of that year. What struck me the most was that all the plastic signs either on or in front of all the stores were gone. Nothing was labeled any more. Pretty eerie. As Dave Barry once famously wrote, living in Florida is great, except during hurricane season, which goes from June 1st to May 31st. Sometimes it sure feels like it.

The 26th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

My sister Susan and I decided to attend the 26th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in downtown Stuart, Florida yesterday evening. It was not Rockefeller Center, but it was a lot easier to get to, being only a mile and a half from our condo. Although the parking situation was probably about the same. These events in downtown Stuart are very well attended, meaning that I have given up trying to find any parking in the actual downtown area. Best just to accept reality and head east down Osceola Street until you find an open space, and walk back, which is exactly what we did. The event took place from 4:00 until 7:00, and as expected, there were a lot of people there, some of whom can be seen in the photograph on the left.

The stars of the show were, of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus, who were doing a box office business meeting and greeting and asking what seemed like the entire child population of Martin County what they wanted for Christmas. And yes, that old pickup truck seen in the photograph on the right appears to be the vehicle the Clauses arrived in, with wrapped packages in the back. Of course, there is no snow down here in the winter, and so I guess it makes sense. Kind of. 

This event is also known as the 26th Annual Christmas on Main Street and has been hyped as such over the past week by CBS12 News, out of West Palm Beach, which would be livestreaming the tree lighting and "kicking off the holiday season with small-town charm and big-time festivities," as stated on their website. Evidently the anchors covering the event, as seen in the photograph on the left, are Jim Grimes and Liz Quirantes. There was a roaming reporter around somewhere named Tiffany Rizzo, but she evidently didn't roam around us. Susan and I left before the lighting of the trees, but I saw it on the 11:00 P.M. WPTV Channel 5 newscast. Evidently reporter Cassandra Garcia was there covering the story, too. Now she I would have actually recognized, but we missed her. What a bummer.

Black Friday!

Today is Black Friday, which has been hyped on television commercials, newscasts, web sites, and every other place you can think of since last June. I even heard that they are having Black Friday specials this year on the notorious Dark Web, too. I myself am underwhelmed. I worked in the book business for most of my life. The day after Thanksgiving was always called the busiest day of the Christmas shopping season, but at least in the book business, and probably many other retail operations, that is not true. The busiest day for us at both Walden Books back in Chicago and Hatch's in Denver was the Saturday before Christmas. People were desperate to find gifts, and the frenzy never let up all day long. And by the way, I took the photograph above featuring Santa Claus this past Sunday at the Treasure Coast Mall in Jensen Beach, Florida, a full five days before Black Friday. Talk about rushing the season. And as you can see, he isn't exactly doing a box office business. Surprise!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! In celebration of this holiday, I am posting a photograph from God knows when of my sister Susan, late brother-in-law George, and mother Mary on Thanksgiving Day. It was taken on the patio of Susan and George's townhouse up in Fort Collins, Colorado. No doubt George was cooking that turkey on his barbecue on what looks like a warm, sunny November afternoon in Colorado. This year it will be just Susan and myself down here in Stuart, Florida cooking a $10 Walmart turkey the old-fashioned way, via the oven. Just why the turkey is so cheap has me wondering if it might be one of those roadkill turkeys, favored by some ethical meat eaters these days, and that when I take the plastic off the bird, we will have to pluck all the feathers off it before putting it in the oven. I am using the "royal we, " by the way. By "we," I mean, of course, Susan. Perhaps I'll take the turkey out the night before and have her start the plucking process early. Just to be on the safe side, right?

Visiting Manatee Bridge: Sadly, Still No Manatees...

Yesterday afternoon I stopped at Manatee Bridge in Stuart, Florida, as seen in the photograph above, to see if there were any manatees around. Sadly, there weren't. I drive past this bridge almost every day, but did not realize it was considered a tourist attraction until reading about it on the internet after I got home. One person commented on that internet site that she stopped there once and saw 30 manatees in the water. Another person counted 17. Manatee season here in South Florida runs from November 15th (exactly 11 days ago) thru March 31st, and so evidently, those manatees are not paying attention to their calendars. Of course, the reason they travel here is to seek warmer water, and it is only when the water turns colder in Florida that they seek their favorite "hot" spots, such as Manatee Lagoon down in West Palm Beach, located right next to a Florida Power and Light facility, and evidently, the Manatee Bridge right here in Stuart, too. On the bright side, depending on your point of view, a disruption in the polar vortex might set the stage for a cold, snowy December in the Northern Hemisphere. Which is bad news for the rest of the country, but good news for manatee watchers down here.

"Met For The Day" At Clover Park

I was working on my computer and half-watching the late newscast on WPTV, one of the local television stations for the Treasure Coast here in Florida, and noticed a news story about being a "Met for the Day" at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, where the New York Mets train during the spring. Evidently, hardcore Mets fans can come down to Clover Park and be a New York Met for the day. I had the sound turned down, and so I only got part of the story when I turned up the volume. The participants evidently get to play a baseball game against a team of - I think - former Mets players. All for a mere $5,000. They interviewed one of the participants, and he was very enthusiastic about the event and said he would definitely be coming back next year. For another $5,000? It confirms everything I have ever thought about Mets fans. In any case, having missed part of the story, I still had a few questions. Were they really playing a team of former Mets players, and if so, what former players did they play against? Was it a full 9 inning game? Was the event really only one day? I googled "Met for the Day" and got no results, and then I checked the WPTV website and found no results there either, even though it was their story. The only proof I have that the event occurred is the photograph above that I took off the television screen. Either I need to brush up on my internet search skills, or they all must be hiding something. Did they bet on their own game and now are trying to cover it up? I guess we'll never know.

Art In The Park

I drove up to Vero Beach, Florida from Stuart yesterday afternoon to attend Art in the Park, a Fine Art and Crafts Show featuring artists from the Vero Beach Art Club. It takes place at Humiston Park on Ocean Drive two Sundays a month from November through March. This is the 44th year this group has hosted these art shows, and I must say, I was impressed with the work on display, which included oils, acrylic, watercolors, pastels, jewelry, glass works, pottery, and sculpture, as well as other crafts.

And I was also surprised by how many artists were there showing their work. The art show tents took up the entire block in front of the park, as seen in the photograph on the right. The nice thing about this semi-monthly festival is that it takes place in the main business district of Vero Beach, right along the ocean. In addition to checking out the art, you can visit the beach, browse the shops, have brunch at a local restaurant, or even have a beer on the oceanfront patio at Mulligan's Beach House, which they claim has the best view of the Atlantic in all of Vero Beach. And I have to agree with them. What better way to spend a pleasant, sunny Sunday afternoon?

The Port St. Lucie International Fest

I went to the 3rd annual Port St. Lucie International Fest yesterday afternoon. I did not have high expectations, mainly because it was being held in Port St. Lucie, the city of endless suburban housing developments and surprisingly enough, the 6th largest city in Florida. But it was actually kind of fun. They had live performances on an outdoor stage, including mariachi bands (one of which I saw), lion dancers (which I also saw, as seen in the photograph on the left), and to conclude the evening, a concert by 1964 The Tribute, a Beatles tribute band that the Rolling Stones have called the "Best Beatles Tribute on Earth," which, of course, I missed. Those are the breaks, I guess.

They also had a dachshund dog race, which I also witnessed. I didn't see all the races, but in the one I did see, once the race started, all the dogs except one headed toward the side of the field (and the exit) instead of straight ahead to the finish line, despite coaxing by one of the event volunteers, as seen in the photograph on the right. Those dog owners need to do a lot more training of those mutts if they want to get serious about racing. Plus, I feel obligated to mention that many of the dogs did not resemble dachshunds, not even remotely. I was thinking of filing a complaint with the Port St. Lucie dog racing commission, but this being Florida, I am sure they would just look the other way.

And I also have to report that I saw a mime in person for the first time in my life, as seen in the photograph on the left. I grew up in Chicago, and for the past 44 years have lived in Colorado, and both states have very strict laws banning mimes. As it should be. This, of course, is Florida, and so almost anything goes down here. After all, Governor Ron DeSantis had all the signs at the state line changed to "Welcome to the Free State of Florida." Which technically is not true, judging by the price of groceries in the local supermarkets. In any case, the festival also had a large number of food booths, featuring international cuisine, and inside the event center there is a "Cultural Fashion Exhibit, " which will be on display until December 1st. And I also might mention that they had a good-sized turnout for the festival, too. This being Port St. Lucie, I assume that is because it is probably the only thing happening there this weekend. All in all, I'm glad I went, despite the fact it seemed to take hours to get out of that sprawling city.

Downtown Palm Beach Gardens - Is It Really A Downtown?

I visited Downtown Palm Beach Gardens to see an art festival this past Sunday, where I took the photograph above. And granted, it does indeed function as a downtown, with shops and restaurants and beautiful landscaping, but let's call it what it is - it is an outdoor shopping mall, a center for retail and entertainment that has been around for over 70 years.  Back in the 1960s, our extended family moved en masse to the Southern Suburbs of Chicago (land of the Pope!), and my grandparents on my mother's side moved to a townhouse in Park Forest, the centerpiece of which was Park Forest Plaza, a shopping center built in 1949. For many years, it was the only shopping center in the area, and so I spent a lot of time there. Park Forest Plaza also functioned like a downtown for that suburb, but nobody referred to it as downtown. It was what it was. In any case, Downtown Palm Beach Gardens seems to be a very popular, vibrant, and pleasant place to spend time, and so I guess they can call it whatever they want. But I grew up in Chicago, and back there, there is no doubt about what downtown looks like.

Stuart, Florida: The 2024 Best Coastal Small Town In The USA. But No Cruise Boats

Stuart, Florida was named the 2024 best coastal small town in the USA, and a big part of that has to do with it being a boater's paradise. Stuart is surrounded on three sides by the St. Lucie River, which flows into the nearby Indian River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. You would think with all that water, there would be cruise boats available year-round to take people on sightseeing tours, but right now there are none. Oh sure, you could book a charter to take you ocean fishing, or hire a boat for a private cruise, but that costs a fortune. There are also eco tours, but the focus there is on nature, not sightseeing. You could also rent a boat and pilot it yourself, but then you might wind up on one of the numerous sandbars in the middle of the river, and be stuck there for hours, if not days. One other alternative is the Tiki Taxi, which operates Thursday thru Sunday from a pier, seen in the photograph on the left, located in downtown Stuart

The Tiki Taxi, seen in the photograph on the right, leaves on the hour from that pier in front of Waterfront Sailfish Lounge and Grill. Years ago, that restaurant was the location of Huckleberry's, which was a great place to dine. I remember going there many times for Sunday brunch with my father Nelson, mother Mary, and sister Susan. The good old days. But I digress. The Tiki Taxi features music and a bar, cruising directly across the St. Lucie River to the Tidehouse Restaurant, where it leaves every hour on the half hour. For $10 you can ride all day, but I imagine after cruising back and forth across the river 5 or 6 times, sitting at the bar, it might get a bit monotonous. And if you stay too long at the bar, after getting off the boat you might wind up getting up close and personal with the St. Lucie River.

There is a cruise boat called the Island Princess, seen in the photograph on the left, that has cruised the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers for many years. However, when my sister Susan and I came down to Stuart last February, it was undergoing a major renovation and did not begin taking on passengers until just before we left to go back to Denver. And when we came back in July, the Island Princess had gone up to Annapolis to cruise the Severn River during the spring and summer. Their web site says they hope to be back in Stuart for the fall and winter, pending a marina to sail out of, but so far, they are still up in Maryland. Hopefully they will find a place to dock and be back in Stuart soon. I have a sneaking suspicion there will not be much interest in cruising the Severn River in a month or two. Although if they were offering free beer...

Fever Beach

I just finished reading Fever Beach, Carl Hiaasen's first adult novel since 2020 (like many authors, Hiaasen has been writing a lot of children's books lately). This novel came out in April, but it took until now to get a copy from the library. Better late than never, right? As with his other comic novels, this story takes place in Florida, where a dumb as a post white supremist, Dale Figgo, has started his own right-wing militia group, which a crooked congressman named Clure Boyette intends to use to help him win reelection. The congressman gets a grant to fund this militia from the Mink Foundation, a charity run by an elderly couple as a front for much darker purposes. In steps Viva Morales, who works for the Mink Foundation and is Figgo's tenant. She is shocked by her landlord's activities and suspicious of what the Mink Foundation is up to. She teams up with Twilly Spree, a wealthy eco warrior, to find out just what is going on at the Mink Foundation, how it relates to this right-wing militia group, and just what Congressman Boyette is up to. This story is filled with crazy characters, bizarre events, and an ending where the bad guys get what's coming to them. Unlike in real life. It is definitely worth checking out. Get a copy from your local library today!

Rio Marine Village Has Been Given A Green Light!

The Martin County Commission recently gave unanimous approval to the town of Rio, Florida for the final site plans for the first two phases of Rio Marine Village and for the Preserve, which will turn 30 acres of land into a Rio Town Center. Phase 1 of Rio Marine Village will consist of 178 apartments over eight buildings, four townhomes in one building, work/live units across two buildings, a marina clubhouse, a pool, docks, and a public path and square. Phase two will consist of a retail building, two buildings for restaurants, one mixed use building, boat slips, and boat storage. The photograph on the left shows part of the area along the St. Lucie River, directly across the river from Stuart, Florida that will be redeveloped. And why is this a big deal? It is because behind that blue tarp used to be the location of a very popular restaurant called Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty, with the Pelicans Nest Marina directly in front of it.

Jack Baker's was a family favorite. Every time my sister Susan and I came down to Stuart to visit our mother Mary at her condo in Stuart, we would have dinner there. It was a wonderful setting with a great view of the marina and the St. Lucie River beyond, as seen in the photograph on the right that I took of Susan and my mother back in 1995. That restaurant would always have an "early bird special" until 5:00 P.M., and let me tell you, it was sometimes touch and go getting there and getting our order in before 5:00. But we always seemed to make it. Sadly, in 2004 Hurricane Frances, a category 2 storm, scored a direct hit on Stuart on September 5th. Three weeks later Hurricane Jeanne, a category 3, came ashore at the exact same spot as Frances, causing a lot of damage. Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty, the marina, and many other structures throughout the area were badly damaged. Jack Baker's and the marina never reopened, and the land they sat on has been vacant for 21 years. It took a long time for Rio Marine Village to be approved, but finally, construction will begin this coming spring. And about time. I'm pretty sure Jack Baker's won't be back, but hopefully a place just as nice will take its place.

The Jensen Beach Mansion

My sister Susan and I have driven past the building seen in the photograph above, located on the ocean in Jensen Beach, Florida, many times. I have always thought it was a very upscale condo building, but recently there was an article in the Stuart News featuring the "9 best Christmas lights to drive-through or go see this holiday season on the Treasure Coast," and one of them was simply called the Jensen Beach mansion. And after checking the location, I realized it was the building I thought was a condo complex. It turns out that this is the home of businessman Robert Eustace and his family. The house is the largest in Martin County at 50,000 square feet, and consists of a main house with 6 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, 2-story great room, formal dining room, gourmet kitchen, breakfast room, family room, library, office, game room, home theater, gym, a 12 car underground garage, a guest house, and covered and uncovered outdoor spaces. I hope they have a big family to help out, because that place must take forever to clean. And evidently, for many years, this mansion has been a major destination to visit for its Christmas lights display. It is described as "the most stunning display of lights on Hutchinson Island," with over 700,000 lights on display. Which must take the Eustace family weeks to put up. Talk about Christmas stress.

Visiting The Breakers In Palm Beach, Florida

I visited The Breakers Palm Beach Resort in Palm Beach, Florida this past Saturday afternoon for the first time in many years. There is a fairly small parking lot for non-guests, and through a small miracle someone was leaving right as I was about to exit the lot. The alternative would have been to leave my 2014 Hyundai Accent with the valet, which I was loath to do. Although if I did, I would be able to use Eddie Murphy's famous line from Beverly Hills Cop: "Be careful with it - all this shit happened the last time I was here." In any case, I took the photograph on the left of the front of The Breakers as I walked toward the entrance.

 

I must admit, I was kind of disappointed with the interior of the hotel. The lobby area seemed kind of dark, and I could not find a corridor that led directly to the ocean side of the building. I was hoping to locate a restaurant that fronted the Atlantic, hopefully with an outdoor bar and pool area. I headed outside to the "Ponce Promenade," seen in the photograph on the right, and headed toward the ocean. And when I got close, I saw that there was a gated entry to the pool and beach area, where, I found out later, there is a restaurant called Ocean House which overlooks two pools and the Atlantic, as well as an open-air bar between those two pools called The Surf Break. However, only guests and club members are allowed to access that area. I also learned that a restaurant called the Beach Club, located in the main building, is being renovated and will open in December, offering oceanfront dining. But once again, only for hotel guests and club members. I did find a walkway accessible to the general public between the main building and the beach, but it was amazingly bland, and frankly, kind of depressing.

Okay. If I really insisted on accessing that pool area, how much would it cost to stay at The Breakers for a night? When I got home, I looked it up, and the cheapest nightly rate during the month of November is $1,090. If you want to stay Thanksgiving night, it is close to $2,000. That is a lot of money to have a beer and look at the ocean. Granted, The Breakers is a very nice hotel, with lots of amenities for its guests, but seriously, $1,090 for a night's stay? Not to mention taxes and fees.  And so why do people stay here? Is it a prestige thing, or is it because they are so wealthy it doesn't matter what it costs? It makes me think that we truly are living in a second Gilded Age.

The Downtown Palm Beach Gardens Art Festival

My sister Susan and I attended the Downtown Palm Beach Gardens Art Festival yesterday afternoon. I have never spent much time in Palm Beach Gardens, and so I was surprised to hear they even had a downtown. I have always thought of Palm Beach Gardens as a big suburb with no center, but it actually does exist. To be honest, it was more like an outdoor shopping center than a downtown, but it was very nicely landscaped and has restaurants with outdoor patios, interesting shops, and attractions for kids.

The booths for the artists were set up along the walkways between the shops and restaurants and included sculpture, paintings, jewelry, glassworks, and photography. This is the first time it is being held in Palm Beach Gardens. It is being hosted by Howard Allan Events, and I was surprised to learn that it is being held in Palm Beach Gardens because Howard Allan Events will not be able to host the 15th Annual Downtown West Palm Beach Art Festival, due to construction at CityPlace. Now THAT is a disappointment. I attended that festival this past April and thought it was great. CityPlace is a wonderfully landscaped mixed-use development close to downtown West Palm Beach, and although the Palm Beach Gardens Art Festival is nice, the one in West Palm Beach is in a whole different league - the difference between holding an art festival in a suburban shopping center and holding one in a vibrant urban neighborhood. And as I recall, the festival in West Palm Beach was very well attended, while in Palm Beach Gardens, not so much.

In any case, there was a lot of interesting art on display at the festival. Some of it was very good, and some just plain weird - photographs of Barbie and Ken dolls out and about in South Florida does just not grab me. Most if not all of the artists seemed to be from Florida, which gave the festival a local flair, which was nice. The few items I checked were priced in the hundreds and thousands of dollars, and so the art was no doubt geared toward the well-heeled, who make up a sizeable part of the population down here. In fact, I have never seen so many Bentley convertible sports cars in my life. I am even tempted to trade in my 2014 Hyundai Accent if I can get a good price on one and keep the payments under $150 a month, but I digress. The Palm Beach Gardens Art Festival continues through today from 10:00 until 5:00 if you want to check it out. It is certainly worth a look.

An Alligator Walks Into A Bar...

This sounds like the beginning of a joke. But in fact, a few weeks ago an alligator actually did walk into Harlow's Hideout, an outdoor tiki bar on the St. Lucie River in Stuart, Florida, and seen in the photograph above. It was a juvenile, about 4 feet long, hanging out behind some lounge chairs. The management summoned the Stuart Police Department, who removed the alligator and relocated it to a more alligator friendly location. But the news reports never mentioned what happened at that tiki bar between the time the alligator was spotted and when it was taken away by the police. Keep in mind it was happy hour, and this is Florida, after all, and so I imagine people just continued with their happy hour routine. The alligator was hanging out in its spot behind the lounge chairs, minding its own business, the bar was still serving drinks, and so business as usual, right? Sounds perfectly logical to me. I'm sure the same thing would have happened in Denver if alligators were more commonplace there.

Obsessing About Two Obsessions At The Sunset Bay Marina

My sister Susan and I took a walk along the Stuart, Florida Riverwalk yesterday afternoon, and along the way wound up walking down D Dock at the Sunset Bay Marina, as seen in the photograph on the left. This marina has a wide variety of boats docked there, from modest cabin cruisers to superyachts. There seemed to be several superyachts along D Dock, and so we decided to head that way and take a look. If we were going to daydream about owning a yacht, we might as well dream big.

We first checked out a good-sized yacht named Obsession, out of Stuart, Florida, as seen in the photograph on the right. A very nice-looking boat, certainly large enough to take us to the Bahamas every once in a while. Since I myself own a condo in Denver as well as having to pay half the expenses for our place in Stuart, and Susan, having sold her townhouse in Fort Collins, Colorado, now has some discretionary income, I told her she would have to be the one to buy the yacht. I myself would pay for lessons to learn how to pilot it, so we would hopefully avoid winding up at the bottom of the sea. Susan is still mulling that over. In any case, we moved on to the next boat, a true superyacht, docked on the other side of the pier.

And the name of that superyacht? Obsession, out of Stuart, Florida, as seen in the photograph on the left. What? How is that possible? Isn't there some kind of name registry, so that each yacht's identity can be verified, kind of like a license plate? Obsession out of Stuart and Obsession out of Nassau, I can understand. But two Obsessions, both out of Stuart?  What if Susan actually decided to buy that superyacht and we headed to, say, Columbia? And what if the US government got a report that a yacht named Obsession out of Stuart was carrying drugs back to the U.S. Would they mistakenly bomb the Obsession coming back from Columbia instead of the Obsession heading back to Florida from Mexico loaded to the rafters (beams?) with illegal drugs? And so, I have become obsessed about the two Obsessions. Perhaps it would be best just to sit on the patio of the Sailors Return, located right in front of D Dock, have a beer, and simply look at the yachts instead of owning one. I really didn't want to pay for those seamanship lessons, anyway.

Cypress Lodge

I picked up a copy of the Fall 2025 Indian River Magazine the other day and read an article about Cypress Lodge, built in 1926 by Paul Hoenshel as both a home and a refined inn, right across the street from Lake Okeechobee in Port Mayaca, Florida. Back in its heyday, the lodge hosted a number of well-known visitors, including Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway's first wife Hadley, who wintered there in the late 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and more recently, Burt Reynolds, who used to frequent the inn's restaurant and bar. There are even rumors of a guest book featuring John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. Does that mean they were okay with leaving a record showing they were together there back in the early 1960s? Seriously? In any case, last year the Cypress Inn was purchased by Jim and Deborah Ann Stroscheim, who intend to return the inn to its former glory. They envision the place as a bed-and-breakfast featuring a restaurant called "Hadley's" and a bar called 1936, and they intend to host weddings, parties, and corporate events. There is also a salon in the basement that is "perfect for a bridal party, girls' weekend," or "getting red-carpet ready for an evening out."

I wish the Stroscheims all the best with their venture. I am sure the house and grounds will be first-rate. But I have to say, I am not a big fan of the Lake Okeechobee area. It seems to mainly consist of endless sugarcane fields and little else. Cypress Lodge was once much closer to Lake Okeechobee, and, I assume, had a view of it. However, thanks to flood mitigation, the lake is now surrounded by an earthen dam that hides it from view unless you climb up that berm. And there is not really much to do in the area except fish or hike, either along the lake or through desolate scrubland. As for using the salon to get ready for "an evening out," you would be hard-pressed to find a place to go to that wasn't a 30-mile drive back to civilization. But that's just my opinion. Perhaps nature lovers will be drawn to the place, and brides-to-be attracted by the lodge's charms. But I grew up in Illinois, and for me, flat and ugly gets very old very quickly.

Cold Snap!

Florida has been hit with an arctic cold front that has sent temperatures tumbling. Yesterday morning was a chilly 45 degrees here in Stuart. The high was 61, with 30 mile per hour winds making it seem much colder. And in Florida, when this happens, iguanas can enter a "state of torpor" and start falling from trees, occasionally hitting innocent Floridians in the head, lying on the ground in a state of shock until the temperatures warm up. A scary sight to see. Meanwhile, back in Denver, the high temperature was 71 degrees. The world turned upside down! I stopped by Stuart Beach, seen in the photograph above, yesterday afternoon and there was not soul on the beach. Not surprising, since the wind was blowing nonstop and the waves looked pretty intimidating. At the Seaside Cafe, overlooking the beach, only two tables were occupied, with just one person at the bar. Hopefully he was drinking hot coco. The good news is that down here, these types of conditions only last a day or two, and then it is back to normal. No problem at all, unless you are a tourist from the north that only packed t-shirts. Which believe me, can happen. And often does.

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day, the federal holiday honoring U.S. military veterans. And on this day, I always think about my father Nelson, seen on the left in the photograph above, and my Uncle Jack (my mother's brother), on the right. They both served in the armed forces during World War II. My father, who was a dentist, was drafted in the fall of 1943, and after training in Abilene, Texas, was sent to Okinawa. My father hated being a dentist, and according to my mother Mary, actually liked being in the army. It was a break from his usual routine. And, of course, he was not on the front lines. My Uncle Jack volunteered to serve in the Air Force, was rejected due to a hernia, and had an operation so that he would be accepted into that branch of the service. While my father spent all his time on Okinawa, Uncle Jack traveled all over the South Pacific, starting in New Guinea, where he contracted malaria, which effected his health for the rest of his life. He ended up in the Philippines, where that photograph was taken. My father was on leave at the time, both to visit Uncle Jack and find out what had happened to his cousin, Adam Boysen, who was captured by the Japanese and was subjected to the Bataan Death March. Adam survived that march and was put on a prison ship heading to Japan. That ship was torpedoed, even though warned not to, by an American submarine, and as those American prisoners struggled to survive in the water, were shot by Japanese soldiers. Adam did not survive that. War is a horrible thing, and it is indeed important for all of us to honor those who served in the United States Armed Forces, many of whom served during wartime.

The 23rd Annual Juno Beach Craft Festival On The Ocean

My sister Susan and I drove down from Stuart to Juno Beach, Florida to attend the 23rd annual Juno Beach Craft Festival. This is the first time I have attended this event and found it to be a very pleasant experience. First of all, instead of being a nightmare, parking was actually very easy. The festival was held on A1A, along the ocean next to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, and there were people there to guide you to a place to park, which was nice. The festival itself consisted of artists displaying artwork, photography, glass creations, and many other handmade crafts. And the festival was well attended, with everyone enjoying the art, the ocean, and a warm, sunny afternoon.

The best thing about this festival was that it was on A1A, right along the ocean. Both Juno Beach and next-door Jupiter have miles of beach with access points every block or so, which many of the festival goers took full advantage of. There were also food stands and food trucks at this event, although not nearly as many as at the Feast of Little Italy in the Abaco neighborhood of Jupiter, also held last weekend, which was more or less a giant food festival with musical acts. And no - neither Susan nor I bought anything at the festival. Between us, Susan and I have more paintings, knickknacks, furniture, books, and God knows what else spread out over closets, my building storage unit, and a rented self-storage space up in Fort Collins. But on the bright side, nothing to carry home and nothing to charge to your credit card. All in all, the Juno Beach Craft Festival was indeed a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. 

The 24th Annual Feast of Little Italy

My sister Susan and I drove down to the Abacoa neighborhood of Jupiter, Florida yesterday afternoon to attend the Feast of Little Italy, which is being held there this weekend. I know Abacoa well because it is where Rodger Dean Stadium is located, which is where the Palm Beach Cardinals and Jupiter Hammerheads play. Just across the street from the stadium is a downtown with restaurants, shops, and a public square with an auditorium for concerts, which is where the festival took place. The street between the stadium and downtown area was lined with booths selling all kinds of Italian cuisine, as seen in the photograph on the left. And it was packed with people. Unlike in Denver, I did not see a Giant Turkey Legs booth, which is always present at all the festivals back there - Los Turkey Legs at Cinco de Mayo, Das Turkey Legs at Oktoberfest, etc. Perhaps they were busted for freezing, reheating, and selling the same turkey legs at every festival in South Florida for the past 20 years or so. You just never know.

The square at Abacoa was the site of a beer and wine garden, as well as tables and chairs for people to eat all that Italian food. And there were also chairs set up for people listening to the musical acts at the amphitheater. While we were there, Cami Clune was performing on the stage. She mentioned between songs that the heat was really getting to her, and so I assumed she was not a local (it was really not that hot). I looked her up on the internet and found out that she is from Buffalo and rose to fame as a finalist on NBC's The Voice, "where she earned a rare four-chair turn and a coach block." And just what the hell does that mean? I suspect something good, but I am beginning to realize I am losing touch with the real world. Probably for the best. 

The Feast of Little Italy also had a large area devoted to children, with bounce houses and a huge inflatable slide. There was also a booth with a carnival style game that guaranteed a prize every time, which explained all those green space alien balloons kids were carrying around. Some of them were pretty damn big. Most impressive was the Ferris Wheel, seen in the photograph on the left, which appeared to be very popular with both young and old. If you live in South Florida, the Feast of Little Italy continues today from 10:00 until 8:00. Be sure to check out their web site at https://www.feastoflittleitaly.com/ if you decide to go. Which I recommend you do. 

The November Issue Of Chicago Magazine

I recently paged through the November issue of Chicago Magazine. The cover story was "The Best Steakhouses, Our Favorites Ranked," in which "Chicago food mavens" Amy Cavanaugh and John Kessler visited the city's top steakhouses and ranked their top 12. All of these restaurants were pretty upscale - the signature cut at their top pick, Tre Dita, cost $290, although they sang the praises of a New York strip for $89 that they made sound like a real bargain. Amazing what some people will pay for a meal these days. But I have to admire Cavanaugh and Kessler for being able to persuade Chicago Magazine to foot the bill for that cover story. Another article, that I really liked, featured 6 photographers who were sent out to take photographs around Chicago at 2:00 A.M. on a Thursday night in September. And those photographs were really good. In addition to the articles, there was an ad for the 83rd Annual Christmas Around the World at the Museum of Science and Industry, located in Jackson Park in the Southside Hyde Park neighborhood. The display features 50 trees honoring traditions from different countries around the world, and I remember going there several times with my family to see that exhibit when I was a kid. But at the bottom of the ad, it said Griffin Museum of Science of Industry. Who the hell is Griffin? Amazing how much can change in a mere 44 years. And by the way, after checking on the internet, I discovered that in 2020 the Museum of Science and Industry was renamed for Ken Griffin, a billionaire Illinois businessman, who donated $125 million to the museum. Surprise!