Storm Warning

June is probably the rainiest month in Florida, and so I know I was taking a chance traveling down to Stuart this past weekend.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the weather was nice and sunny both Friday and Saturday.  However, Sunday was mostly overcast.  I went to Stuart Beach  and to the House of Refuge Sunday afternoon and found both places deserted, but with a nice breeze off the ocean.  Looking out over the Indian River (see photo at left) it definitely looked like a storm was moving in.

I walked across the street to the House of Refuge and took the photograph on the right of a storm-tossed sea, and then moved on to Stuart beach for a while. When I started to feel a few raindrops I headed home.  On the local television news that night they predicted that Tropical Storm Colin was on its way and there would be heavy rain and winds Monday, the day I was heading back to Denver. Fortunately the rains held off until I reached the Orlando airport Monday afternoon.  Luck of the Irish.

Stuart Florida Nightlife

Saturday night I took a break from my labors at our Stuart, Florida condo and went over to the Jolly Sailor Pub, which is an outdoor bar attached to a high end restaurant called Sailor's Return, and is part of the Sunset Bay Marina complex.  The place was packed, there was a band playing, and people were dancing, having dinner, and watching the sun set over the St. Lucie River.  All up and down the waterfront walkway people were out strolling, enjoying the mild weather before the summer heat cranks up.  It seems to me there are a lot more young people here than when my parents moved here in 1976, but then again I am a lot older, and almost everybody looks young to me now.  In any case, I took the above photograph of the guitar player at the Jolly Sailor, with the old Roosevelt Bridge in the background.  It is the last drawbridge in town, and is used mainly as a back way into town and for fishing. Once all the bridges here were drawbridges, but the big increase in population caused such big traffic backups that they were all replaced.  Very sad - the end of an era.

Another Florida Sunset

I drove over to the Sunset Bay Marina yesterday evening and took the above photograph of the sun setting over the St. Lucie River.  I know sunset photos are cliches, but I don't care.  They are still pretty.  Sunset Bay Marina is owned by H. Wayne Huzinga,  owner of the Miami Dolphins, and is filled with luxury yachts, including one whose home port is Centennial, Colorado, just down University Boulevard from where I live in Denver.  I still don't understand that one.  I just know there is no way they can sail a yacht into Colorado - I think.  In any case, there is a big controversy down in Stuart about the St. Lucie River these days.  Lake Okeechobee's water levels are very high, and so each day the state is releasing 33 million gallons of water into the river.  This water is very polluted from sugar plantation runoff, and is causing algae blooms - some toxic - in the river.  The governor here does not care, and so protesters held a rally on the Palm City Bridge yesterday to get the attention of President Obama, who is in town this weekend to play golf.  Lots of luck with that, guys.

The Magic Of Minor League Baseball

Back when Denver had the AAA Denver Bears instead of the Colorado Rockies, I never appreciated being able to drive up to the stadium gates 10 minutes before game time, buy a ticket, and sit right down front, not even missing the first pitch.  This is why I always try to attend at least one Jupiter Hammerheads or Palm Beach Cardinals baseball game when I am down here in Stuart, Florida.  Last night I saw the Palm Beach Cardinals lose to the Dunedin Blue Jays (Dunedin is tough this year) and had a great time.  I bought a ticket for $7 and was told I could sit anywhere, and so I sat in the first row right behind the Cardinals dugout.

The best thing about minor league baseball is the atmosphere - very laid back and fun.  Lots of families with lots of kids, and a different type of contest or promotion every half inning. Sometimes you might even run into a giant juggler, like the guy in the photograph on the right.  Although it didn't seem that crowded, over 5,000 people attended the game last night, and so minor league baseball is still very popular.  There was a fireworks display after the game, and they didn't even quadruple the ticket prices for it, unlike the Colorado Rockies.  What could be better than that?

Back To The Ocean At Last!

I took the red eye (with an 11:59 P.M. departure time) from Denver to Orlando yesterday evening, and from Orlando made the 2 hour drive to Stuart, Florida via a Hertz rental.  The first thing I did when I got there was stop at Stuart Beach to make sure the ocean was still there.  Rest assured - it is.  Although I did get to watch the sun rise over the ground fog as I was driving to Stuart - which was quite a stunning sight, by the way - I'm not sure it makes up for the hassle of traveling all night.  But evidently I am not the only cheapskate in Denver - the flight was packed with people who choose price over comfort.  Good thing they don't offer super low fares in the luggage hold.  I'm sure that would be packed too.  And sad to say, I would probably also choose that option if it didn't involve traveling overnight.

Time For A Florida Kind Of Weekend

It is time once again to head back to Stuart, Florida for a long weekend, so I can check out my sister and my condo down there, which has been in the family since 1976. Our tenant's 6 month lease ran out May 1st, and so I will need to clean the place up, do some minor repairs, and get it ready for next season. Of course, June is the monsoon season down in Florida, so if it rains every day, I will not be surprised. On the bright side, that will keep me focused on the job at hand and not tempted to spend all day at the beach or on the golf course - nose to the grindstone and all that.  And I would certainly not be bitter - at least not too bitter - if that happens.  On second thought,  I would be bitter. Really bitter.  In any case, the photograph on the left was taken of me back in the 1970s at Circle Bay, the condominium complex right next door to our condo.  I am always amazed to see that I have not aged at all since that photograph was taken. I definitely need to take a look at that painting of me in the closet.  Talk about something really hideous.

A Quiet Memorial Day Barbecue

I drove up to Fort Collins Monday afternoon to have a quiet Memorial Day barbecue with my sister Susan and brother-in-law George (seen in the photograph above).  Susan and I proposed a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park like we used to do in the good old days, but my ex-wife Lisa couldn't jet in and George insisted he had to work on his paperwork.  As I drove up to Fort Collins from Denver, I did notice that 14,000 foot high Long's Peak was bathed in sunshine, while just to the north, Rocky Mountain National Park was covered in black storm clouds.  At that altitude, it would probably just have been snow instead of rain during our hike, so no problem.  What could be more pleasant than hiking through a little snow shower? I must say, however,  it was a very nice barbecue, with no need to call for a search and rescue team.