Last Days in Jupiter

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Tues., Feb. 18, we decided to take a walk at Jupiter Ridge Natural Area trail. This is a little nature area and the first trail we saw was concrete with sand all around that looked like snow (see picture). The concrete soon turned to an all sand path that was a little difficult to walk on so we headed back fairly soon. One interesting part of this hike, however, was seeing an artist with her easel painting the very landscape that we were seeing.

Monday, we had stopped at the River Center in Burt Reynolds Park, but it was closed, so we went back on Tuesday to check it out. It turned out to be a nice little aquarium that was geared more for children. The exhibits were interesting, but not explained well. There were no placards explaining what kinds of fish we were seeing. We left there and found Jim's Place, a nice little diner/coffee shop where we had a late breakfast. The food was very good and the prices were very reasonable. The mugs had Jim's Place printed on them so we asked if we could buy one. So now, when we get home, Jim will have a new mug to remind him where he is. :D

After eating at Jim's Place, we needed to get some more exercise so we headed back to Riverbend Park. They don't rent kayaks or bikes on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we decided to hike. We got a map from the ranger and began what turned into a two hour walk. A woman on a bicycle recommended the River Walk trail and we followed it for most of the time. We came across a turtle in the middle of the path who pulled his head in, but stayed put as we passed. As soon as we got past him, he stuck his head back out and trucked on down the opposite way a lot faster than I thought turtles could go. We also came across a few pileated woodpeckers and heard them pecking on the cabbage palms. After the walk, we were very thirsty so Jim took me to the Square Grouper for drinks. This is a Caribbean-looking bar on the Intracoastal where we were able to drink a margarita and watch the paddle boarders and kayakers make their way down the river.

We watched the sun set over the river from our hotel and headed back to the Food Shack to try again to have dinner there. This time, the wait was only about 20 minutes so we stayed. The Food Shack is the top rated restaurant in Jupiter. The interior was long and narrow with tables close together, similar to a New York City restaurant with similar prices also. Instead of a full seafood dinner, I decided to go with one of the special appetizers, grouper cheeks over pickled veggies and greens. The waitress explained that grouper cheeks are just what they sound like - the cheeks of the grouper fish. It was very tasty and was just enough food for me.

Wed., Feb. 19, we spent the morning at Jupiter Inlet park. We waded in the water and along the beach and sat in the shade reading our kindles and wondered what the rich people were doing. I'm sure they weren't enjoying themselves any more than we were. For lunch, we headed to Dune Dog. Like most of the better known places in Jupiter, we had to wait about 15-20 minutes, but it was worth it for the food and atmosphere - a funky little outdoor place that served good hot dogs (I opted for the fried fish sandwich which was delicious). We then headed for Guanabara, another hip place in Jupiter, for drinks and watched the river flow by (obviously one of our favorite past times). Jim and I both agreed that Andrew and Tim would love it here. We checked with the lady at the front desk of the Best Western Intracoastal and asked if we could stay another night. Luckily, they had a cancellation; we would have to change rooms, but we could stay until Friday. She recommended the Shipwreck restaurant for dinner. We found some coupons in a newspaper and ended up having a very reasonable dinner. Shipwreck has specials every night. Tuesday is their big night as they offer lobster for $12.99. Wednesday, they offered a rack of ribs for $12.99 which I guess wasn't as popular as the lobster as we were able to get in without a wait. I had checked the reviews on Trip Advisor and read that grouper in a bag is a popular entrée so I had to try that. It really was quite good.

Thurs. morning, Feb. 20, we went back to Riverbend Park to rent bicycles and thus complete the trifecta (canoeing, walking, biking). The weather was absolutely perfect. Jim saw a gator sunning himself on the riverbank and pointed it out to me. A hiker told us about 5 deer he saw drinking from the river, but again, they were gone by the time we got there. A while later, however, I saw a deer standing several feet ahead of us on the trail. As Jim and I stayed very still and watched, the deer crossed over into the grass on the other side of the path and was followed by another deer. This one gave us a brief glance and followed the first deer into the grass. Three more deer followed, leaping right over the path. They were so beautiful! Jim and I were very taken with this park, as you can undoubtedly tell. It was definitely one of our favorite places in Jupiter.

Dick and Adrienne invited us for lunch so we went there after our time in the park and spent a couple enjoyable hours with them. Once we got back to our hotel, we decided to walk on the Riverwalk again and headed to the Dive Bar for a drink. It was so pleasant there that we ordered some clams on the half shell and just kept on ordering more food as we watched the sun set. Several reviewers on Trip Advisor had recommended the key lime mango pie at the Dive Bar so we shared a slice of that as well. This was another big hit - the Trip Advisor reviewers haven't failed us yet.

Our time in Jupiter has been so enjoyable. We feel so fortunate that we have been able to spend so much time in paradise.

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Photos

Jupiter Ridge Natural Area Trail
This is the only "snow" we've seen for awhile