Brightline Update! The Future Is BRIGHT!

The last blog post I wrote about a Brightline Railway Station being built in Stuart, newly elected anti-growth city commissioners had voted to rescind the agreement they made with that company (which operates a high-speed train between Miami and the Orlando airport), throwing the project into doubt. However, Martin County commissioners recently unanimously voted to go forward with that station, committing $15 million of the $45 million needed to build it at the same spot in downtown Stuart as originally planned, a site owned by the county. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? In my opinion, neither. And will it even really happen? If the train stops in Stuart, people will use it, but not in any great numbers. It won't be like Manhattan whenever it arrives or departs. I doubt people will even notice any increase in traffic. And if no station is built, people will get here the same way they always have. The main issue will still be the same - keeping people from trying to beat the train at railroad crossings. Brightline trains travel at 80 miles per hour between Miami and West Palm Beach and can go up to 125 miles per hour further north. And many people do not seem to realize just how fast that is, with fatal consequences. In any case, the station will be built in Stuart, Fort Pierce, or Vero Beach no matter what, and so it is not the area's most dramatic news story of all time. That one is certainly what happened to all those peacocks that used to wander around Rio and Jensen Beach. What really did happen to them, anyway? If they do still exist, hopefully they will stay away from those damn railroad tracks.

Make Stuart Florida Great Again!

This past week the Make America Great Again Bus was parked in downtown Stuart, Florida, just across the street from Maria's Cafe. And what was it doing there? The election is over, Trump won, what more is there to do? Perhaps those MAGAs were so enthralled with the breakfasts at Maria's that they decided to hang out here in Stuart all week - breakfast in the morning, Stuart Beach in the afternoon, dinner and cocktails at Hutchinson Shores in the evening. Or perhaps they were inviting people into the bus to look at displays describing what Trump will be doing over the next 4 years, from rounding up 20 million illegal immigrants to jailing Trump's political enemies, including, but not limited to, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barack and Michelle Obama and Adam Schiff. Revenge for their stealing of the 2020 election and belonging to a cult that abuses children and drinks their blood. The mind boggles at the possibilities. It will definitely be an interesting four years. As the ancient Chinese curse goes, "May you live in interesting times."

Wild Boars! Are They Taking Over Port St. Lucie, Florida?

I saw a disturbing report on the local television news that wild boars are becoming a problem in Port St. Lucie, Florida. People in the Tradition neighborhood of that city are reporting wild boars weighing up to 200 pounds are hanging out in their backyards and acting in a menacing way when approached. Port St. Lucie is the 6th largest city in Florida, which is really an amazing thing. Port St Lucie has no downtown, and consists entirely of suburban style subdivisions, which stretch from the north fork of the St. Lucie River all the way into the desolate Central Florida wilderness. It is hard to believe, but West Palm Beach, with its downtown, high-rise condos, and office towers is a much smaller city. The Port St. Lucie neighborhood farthest to the west is Tradition, the town square of which can be seen in the photograph on the left, and from which 70 wild boars have been removed over the past two years.

Tradition is a master-planned community with a small-town feel, and I must say, it is a very impressive community. It has 500 acres of lakes and 300 acres of parks and nature areas, which makes for a beautiful community. But just to west are wetlands, lakes, and swamps, home to wild boars, alligators and giant pythons. Like bears occasionally following streams down from the mountains into the Denver metropolitan area, these wild animals often wander into Port St. Lucie. After all, they were there first. Children in Tradition are afraid to go out into their backyards these days, and I can't say I blame them. Florida Fish and Wildlife has warned that it is mating season for wild boars, and that can make them particularly aggressive if you happen to cross paths with them.

Port St. Lucie has grown into such a large urban area because, for many years, it was very affordable for people either moving to Florida or relocating within the state. Homes with large backyards for growing families, as well as apartments or condos for seniors on a fixed income, were within reach. Of course, with the cost of housing exploding since the pandemic, it has gone from affordable to "more affordable," according to the city manager. Personally, I think much of Port St. Lucie is pretty ugly, but it does have its nice areas, such as the older neighborhoods close to Stuart and, of course, Tradition, which has a really nice town square that is the location for various community events, including 4th of July fireworks, a Thanksgiving turkey trot, as well as many other types of festivals. Although if you are there after nightfall, I suggest you keep an eye out for those damn boars.

Tiger Tiger, Burning Bright, On the Fairways Of The Night

Yesterday I drove past Blowing Rocks Preserve, located on the south end of Jupiter Island, Florida, and decided to stop and take the path through a mangrove forest to the beach, where those famous rock formations begin, as seen in the photograph above. It was an impulsive visit, and so not the best time for photos. This park is famous for its limestone shoreline, the largest along the Atlantic. At high tide, during rough seas, the waves crash against those rocks, producing plumes of saltwater 50 feet up in the air. This, unfortunately, was not such a day, and so I walked back to the car, and realized I was just a few miles south of world-famous golfer Tiger Woods mansion. And I thought it would be nice to stop there on the way home, and see how he is doing these days, after suffering injuries in a bad car wreck several years ago. Tiger lives at 462 South Beach Road on Jupiter Island, Florida, but when I drove past, that address was not there, almost as if Tiger did not want drop-in visitors. How disappointing. After doing some research on the internet when I got home, I learned that the property also includes 466 South Beach Road, as well as 467 South Beach Road (which is along the ocean). I am almost sure I saw 466 South Beach when I drove by yesterday, and so I will definitely stop by and say "Hey" the next time I am down that way (perhaps during a storm when Blowing Rocks is at its most dramatic and beautiful).  What could possibly go wrong?

Another Sign Of Aging?

This past summer when my sister Susan and I were down at our condo in Stuart, Florida (love that summer humidity!), I read in the Stuart News that the most popular waterfront bar on the Treasure Coast (made up of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin Counties) was Square Grouper Tiki Bar in Fort Pierce. Just for fun, I decided to check the place out, and even though I found it on a map, I could not locate it while driving through Fort Pierce until the day before I left. It turns out it is actually located in Jetty Park, and you have to drive into the park to find it. It took me 7 weeks to figure that out. I still haven't gone into the place, although I did take the photograph on the left of the entrance to it a few days ago.

Another place I could not find at all last summer was Villa Del Sol, a condominium complex along the ocean in Jensen Beach - just to the north of Stuart - that was in the news a lot back then. There is a new law in Florida that requires all buildings over 30 years old and 3 stories or higher to be inspected for structural defects, and have those problems resolved in a timely manner. This was adopted after the collapse of a high-rise condo building in Sunset, Florida, which killed close to 100 people. After an inspection at Villa Del Sol, three of the complex's building were deemed unsafe due to cracks in the foundation and disintegrating rebar, and the tenants were forced to evacuate. The cost to repair the problem is around 6 million, spread among 73 residences, or about $83,000 per unit. I wanted to look at the complex to figure out exactly where it was, but could never find it, even though I drove past the location dozens of times. When we got back to Stuart this month, the first time I drove past Villa Del Sol I saw the sign and the driveway and took the photograph on the right. What is the deal with that? Is it old age finally setting in, early Alzheimer's (although not really that early), or just plain stupidity. In any case, if I was an owner there, I would be pretty damn mad. For me, it would mean having to take out a mortgage and start making monthly payments, which I assume most of those owners will have to do, which is not good if you are on a fixed income. And I would definitely hate to be a member of that condo complex's HOA. Talk about stressful meetings.

Lunch At Shucker's

My sister Susan, seen in the photograph above, and I had lunch at Shucker's on the Beach, my favorite restaurant along the ocean here in the Stuart, Florida area. I have been coming to this restaurant for many years. It is in a beautiful location, right on the beach, has a great outdoor patio, good food, and is very reasonably priced. A hamburger with fries or chicken sandwich is $12.95, compared to an average price of $17 back in Denver. And even then, in Denver, the only view you usually get is of a street like East Evans Avenue, which is not quite as wonderful as a view of the beach and the ocean (sorry Denver). In any case, back in 2004 there were two Category 3 hurricanes, the eyes of which both passed directly over Stuart. There was a lot of damage, especially along the ocean, and Shucker's was severely damaged. It took several years for it to reopen, but reopen it did, and today it is better than ever. I definitely recommend it the next time you are in Stuart, or even relatively close (less than 2,000 miles). Just do it, as the Nike commercials always say.

One Hell Of A Deal. I Think

I noticed when my sister Susan and I came down to Stuart, Florida this past summer after renting our condo out for 15 years that groceries were more expensive here. The go-to grocery store in Stuart has always been Publix, and that's where we did our shopping. Back in Denver, it is King Soopers, which is part of Kroger, a national chain. Publix, on the other hand, is more of a regional operation. Which means more buying power and a lot more store brands for Kroger, which probably explains the higher prices. But I am having to revise my opinion after buying a 11.6-pound Thanksgiving turkey yesterday from Publix for $5.68.  Yes! That is not a typo. It cost $5.68. I have never in my life paid that little for a turkey. I am not sure how to explain it. Of course, it is frozen and still wrapped in plastic, waiting to be defrosted before the holiday, and so I suppose it could turn out to be a roadkill, still covered in feathers. That would be sad, since I would have to make Susan pull out all those feathers, which would make her very surly, but that would still not change the fact that it is a tremendous bargain. Good going Publix!

Even if Publix is more expensive than Kroger, I still have a warm feeling for the store. Every time I would come down to Stuart to visit my mother Mary, we would head to Publix every day for one thing or another. Mostly it would be to the downtown Publix, located just a mile away, where I took the photograph on the right of my mother back in 2007. We would run into her neighbors there, and she would talk with employees who had been working there for years. And at Christmas, Publix would have, and probably still has, heartwarming ads wishing everyone Happy Holidays, such as the one with the doves, which you can see by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1foZ_szc3hI. After watching that commercial, how can you not love Publix, even if it is owned by a big Trump supporter and donor.