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Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, United States

Monday, April 22, 2013

A Florida Sojourn


See photos at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/116843928190236062311/20130417Florida

First, a few shots from our back deck in Yarmouth Port, looking east to Crab Creek,
Follins Pond, and Bass River, which goes south to Nantucket Sound.

MacArthur Park is on Singer Island in Palm Beach Shores.  There is a parking fee.
A tram takes you out to a splendid beach.

Mount Botanical Gardens are on Military Trail, west of the Palm Beach airport.
Features native and cultivated tropical plants.

1873 Ascott Road is the little villa we rented in Juno Beach.  It was an addition our
landlady, a realtor, had built for her parents.  No pets, no guests, very quiet setting
in a residential neighborhood.

Pelican Lake is a manmade pond just south of the town offices in Juno Beach.  The
birds with long beaks are ibises.  They stand in the water and peck for food.  They
also surrounded us, looking for handouts.  The town beach is only a 100 yard walk
from the pond.

Butterfly World, in Coconut Creek, near Fort Lauderdale, is a fascinating exhibit.
The pictures do not adequately portray it.  The butterflies are in constant motion
around the flowers, making the scene a live 3D movie.  In a separate building
tropical birds fly loose, including the little fellow who liked landing on B's head!

B's brother and his wife have a large home in Wellington that we visited twice
for outdoor collations.  They took us to The Breakers for lunch, in palatial
surroundings.  We took them to Ta-boo restaurant in Palm Beach, where people
come to see and be seen.  Size zero young ladies paraded offerings from local
boutiques.

Our list of pleasant eateries:

The Waterway Cafe at the Intracoastal Waterway on PGA Blvd.
Paris in Town Cafe at Route 1 on PGA Blvd.
Il Bellagio at the City Center in West Palm Beach.
The Norton Museum Cafe in West Palm Beach.
By Word of Mouth restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.
Cucina Dell'Arte in Palm Beach, on Royal Poinciana Blvd.

Attended the Church of Bethesda-By-The-Sea in Palm Beach on one Sunday.
It is one of the few remaining country club Episcopal Churches in the U.S.
Four ushers were on duty, clad in blue blazers and white pants, or skirts.

On the following Sunday, to St. David's in the Pines in Wellington.  Although
nominally Episcopalian, it is really an Anglican Church from the islands,
transplanted with its affluent black retirees to Florida.

Driving in Florida is an adventure.  Last year we coped pretty well with the
roads on the west coast.  More difficult on the east coast where you use
the interstate or turnpike to flit from one town to another, at 70 mph.  The
boulevards are fairly easy to manage, once you learn how to make a Uie.