March 18 – 24, 2017
My 18 year old grandson, Rowan, had asked me if we could go visit his Grandfather and Aunts in Boynton Beach, Florida (Palm County) for his spring break from college. Since retirement and becoming an RV-er, air travel was moved to the bottom of my list of favorite ways to travel. With only a week vacation, flying was the best option.
Rowan and I arrived at the airport at 12:30 p.m. for our 3:05 p.m. flight. At the Delta check in kiosk we got a surprise. It said we had missed our flight and to see an attendant. The attendant said that our flight had been changed and we had missed our 12:55 p.m. flight. She said I should have called Delta to confirm our flights. Why? I had printed out our itineraries and it clearly stated that no further confirmation was needed. She made a phone call and vwallah! There were seats available for us on the 3:45 p.m. flight. She said it was a good thing that I had my “printed proof”. There was so much wrong with this picture that I was seeing red, but I decided to just take it in stride and move on. We had seats. We would be arriving two hours later than expected (our connecting flight had also changed), but we were good to go. Dodged that one!
Nine and a half hours later we land in West Palm Beach.
Hurrah! We were leaving Connecticut just in time to avoid a nor’easter! Nice, perfect timing! Ut! oh! Our first night, I was awaken at 12:26 a.m. by a loud intermittent siren. Then a voice warning me “Tornado Alert! Tornado Alert! Seek Shelter Now!” My phone had come alive! It was flashing, beeping and talking! No basement! Where do we go? I picked the Interior hallway with no windows. I turned on my N. O. A. H. app and tracked the big red blob headed toward us. Rowan slept through the whole thing. Fortunately, it was just a scare. The tornado dissipated. We just had high winds and torrential down pours. Phew ??? Dodged another one!
First day, Grampa, gave Rowan a driving lesson on his standard shift Jeep that we would be borrowing for the week. That afternoon Rowan, drove Grampa to the hospital emergency room at Bethesda Hospital East. He had double incarcerated hernias that required emergency surgery. Another glitch, but we just added hospital visits to our itinerary. Good timing on both being there and Rowan knowing how to drive the Jeep.
Our fishing and kayaking plans were dropped from our list of to do’s, because of colder and windier then expected weather. We had booked on Miller Time Charters, a local 6 passenger charter boat. Next time!
We had not planned a lot of meals out. Aunt Liz, is an awesome cook and would have been offended if we hadn’t let her cook for us. We did have the opportunity, not once but twice to go to Steak and Shake for lunch. We had never eaten there before. The food is equivalent to a Friendly’s. Except! The shakes are ten times better, had a lot more flavor options, including “half and halfs”. The price was unbelievable. $3.69 and between 2-5 p.m. Is “Happy Hour” shakes are half price.
Rowan and I did get out and about and had lots of fun.
1. Green Cay Nature Center (FREE)
12800 Hagan Ranch Road
Boynton Beach, Florida 33437
561-966-7000
www.pbcparks.com/nature
There is an awesome mile and a half raised Boardwalk that is accessible even when the Nature Center is closed.
There’s both sun and shade and several gazebos along the way to take a break and relax and enjoy the sights and sounds.
Call the Nature Center for tour times. This was such a treat that we went back twice. During our second visit, I spotted my favorite bird, the Roseate Spoonbill. I was thrilled. She was huge and flew right past us and did a gliding, semicircle swoop over the preserve. It was breathtaking!
2. A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge ($5.00 Parking)
10216 Lee Road
Boynton Beach, Florida 33473
561-734-8303 (Visitor Center)
www.fws.gov/loxahatchee
Kayaking, biking, walking trails, fishing … Don’t miss the 18 minute movie in the visitor center. We saw the largest alligator ever by the fishing pier.
At one of the overlooks we watched an alligator eat two turtles. The alligator was just swimming along very nonchalantly. It seemed he was totally ignoring the two turtles that were gliding side by side about 20 feet away. Very smoothly the alligator went into stealth mode and began to submerse. In a flash he surfaced right behind the turtles and with one big splash and chomp, they were lunch and dinner. It may sound gross, but it was amazing to watch. From the sounds of the six or so spectators, you would have thought we just saw Evil Kenevil jump the Grand Canyon on his motor cycle.
3. John Prince Park (FREE)
2700 6th Avenue South
Lake Worth, Florida
We biked the 4 1/2 miles of paved biking trail that goes approximately 3/4 of the way around the lake. In order to do the full circle you have to bike on the street. We opted to stay on the trail and biked from the Outdoor Fitness Zone and back, which was a little under 9 miles. Nine miles of fairly level pavement. My kind of ride!
The birding and wildlife viewing was very good.
One of my favorite “spotting’s” was a turtle along the shore digging a nest to lay her eggs. It was fascinating to watch.
There were a lot of homeless people in the park, sleeping on benches and just hanging around. That was a bit uncomfortable. At least they were warm and not battling the weather up north. There is a Campground in the park but we didn’t check it out.
4. Loxahatchee Everglades Airboat Ride / Tours ($$$)
15490 Loxahatchee Road
Parkland, Florida. 33076
800-683-5873
561-482-6107
www.evergladesairboattours.com
50 minutes $50 – 70 minutes $70 – 90 minutes $90
There are lots of airboat tour companies, but this one was recommended by some of the “locals”.
Our guide was a little “pre-programmed” with his spiel, but entertaining. He did like to show off his air boat driving skills just enough to make the ride daring, but not scary. At one point he flew through a bunch of cat tails and green pollen flew everywhere, including all over the “tourists”. We had a good group and they all laughed. My favorite part of his presentation was when he pointed out a beautiful, purple in color, flowering plant and said he forgot what it was, but would appreciate it if anyone on the boat knew and would holler it’s name out.
We did not have reservations and had just shown up at 9:00 a.m. We were lucky. There were 6 seats available for the 9:30, 50 minute tour. The rest of the day was sold out. We had hoped to do a 70 minute tour, but as it turned out 50 minutes was fine and saving $20 a person was nice. We saw birds and alligators, learned a little about the ecology system of he Everglades, the Circle of Life and had a fun boat ride. Couldn’t have asked for more.
Oh! On a side note. The morning was cold and windy and some of us had not arrived wearing enough layers. The tour company had two coat racks full of outer ware that you could borrow. Rowan chose a rain poncho, he did not want to get wet. I chose an all weather jacket with a hood. Being warm certainly added to our enjoyment and I was sure they had each garment professionally cleaned between wearings 🙂
5. John D. MacArthur Beach State Park ($5.00 parking)
10900 Jack Nicklaus Drive (A1A)
North Palm Beach, Florida. 33408
Ranger Station/ Office 561-624-6950
Nature Center. 561-624-6952
Florida State Parks.org
This is not my first trip to Mac Arthur Park.
It is on my list of Florida favorites. I call it “a little bit of heaven”. It’s the only State Park in Palm County. There is a one third mile boardwalk across Lake Worth Lagoon that takes you to the Beach.
There is a tram available from like 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. for those that prefer not to walk. I think this deters a lot of “sunbathers”. Which means more peace and tranquility for those that make the trek.
The amenities are Florida State Park typical … Hiking, Kayaking, Fishing, Snorkeling … Check the park calendar for events such as, concerts and tours. Another shining star for the Florida State Park Service.
6. Manatee Lagoon (FREE)
6000 N. Flagler Drive
West Palm Beach, Florida.
561-626-2833
Visitmanateelagoon.com
This is a Eco-Discovery Center “edutainment” attraction.
It’s a 10-15 minute drive from Mac Arthur Park and well worth the stop, especially in the cooler winter months when the manatee are seeking warmer waters. Check out the diverse calendar of events before you visit. There are painting and yoga classes, programs and lectures, lots of family friendly exhibits. The facility is on the shore of Lake Worth Lagoon. There are two tiered decks for spotting.
We were lucky to see two manatee, romantically involved said a man with binoculars, during our mid March visit. This is a natural habitat area so what you see is hit or miss. The water was crystal clear and we also saw many barracuda. It’s a great place for a picnic lunch. There is a small snack bar that has drinks, candy, chips and ice cream bars. The area is not restaurant friendly.
Our flight home was on American Airlines and went smoothly. Our one stopover was Washington D.C.. I have not been to the Capital, yet and was thrilled to see the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial from the air as we landed.
It was a good trip. A few bumps along the way, but it’s all pat of traveling 🙂