Appalachian in the Smokies

June 13, 2008

In June of 2004 Frank and I trekked on the Appalachian trail from Springer Mountain to Fontana Dam. We traveled for three weeks, stopping every 3-4 days to recoup. On the second stop in Hiawassee, GA, where we stayed 24 hours with my friend Pat, I almost wanted to stop but we continued and covered maybe 172 miles. The photo above is on our 2nd day in Blood Mountain, GA.

I belong to the Florida trails (though not actively) and a few people were going to hike on the Appalachian Trail from Fontana Dam. (They had been backpacking for at least a week before I joined them) The plan was to meet at Nantahala, drive to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to drop off my car, return to Nantahala and start walking on Saturday from Fontana Dam. This way we could walk for three days, camping for two and return by my car to Fontana on Monday.
The only thing that we didn't plan for was the Tail of the Dragon. The Smokies have two main entrances. It took us 2 1/2 hours, one way, to get to the West entrance, most of it on Route 129, which is the Dragon. It was crazy and we didn't get back until 11pm. We have to get up early and get to Fontana Dam?

Nantahala has these cute, if you don't mind sharing, cabins with bunkbeds. I was in a room with two Florida ladies, a mother and daughter. They had been on the Appalachian trail for 3-4 days prior, and slept soundly, despite my late night return.

Florida State University

June 9, 10, 11, 12, 2008

What a great campus. I want to go back to school.

School's Out for Summer!

June 4, 2008

Last day of school for students and teachers. Beach going will definitely improve now. Beach walking? Yes, short distances in the neighborhood. And then it will be off to the Smokies.

Last week I ran out of steam and desire to continue practice with the backpacking but today I was determined to get out for a little Oxbow Eco-Center . I finished with my classroom, turned in my key and put on my backpack. Boy, it was hot and almost everyone else was out of the parking lot, starting their summer vacation. What are they doing now? Shopping, studying, traveling away in their loaded RV?

I only made 3-4 miles, around the Oxbow and retraced my steps along the Otter trail by the river. The tree cover and cooling river water made it more appealing. I saw a gopher turtle and about 6-7 black snakes. Two were intertwined right on the Otter trail and I almost stepped on them. One slithered away and the other kept his head in a hole. Did he not know his backside was sticking out? There has to be a saying that would signify his dilemma. Who can come up with that?

Next week I'll be walking around Florida State University. (without my loaded backpack-because that would really embarrass the teenager)

"Hiking" in the Oxbow

May 28, 2008 Wednesday
It's the end of the school year and everyone is winding down. Getting classes cleaned, booked stored and students ready for the summer. I asked other teachers if they wanted to take a walk into the Oxbow after work but had only one taker. Cathy joined me for the second day into my "practice". She didn't mind the heat, the pace or the length! She probably could have continued walking, even after 6 miles, but she was sans 30 pound backpack.

We had a lovely chat and good camaraderie. Those other people don't know what they're missing!

Walking along the River

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

This past weekend was High School graduation and very little walking was accomplished. A little bit of biking was done and a lot of socializing.

I do have an opportunity to join a small Florida Trails group which will be hiking on the AT into the Great Smokey Mountains starting June 14. I've pulled out my pack and equipment, and now I need to get ready. Walking on the soft, flat, sandy beaches just won't get me ready for the 4,000 foot+ mountains. I needed to get a little challenge, so I headed for the Oxbow Eco-Center after work. I have a lovely route that takes me around the elementary school into the back entrance of the Oxbow. This trail is a rolling, root infested path along the St. Lucie River.

I then walk out the other end of the Oxbow to the Riverpark complex which has a wide chip covered path around the perimeter. After completing the loop around the neighborhood, I return back to the Oxbow and heading straight through the middle come out next to the canel close to where I have my car.

5-6 miles

2 black snakes

Sunrise on the Beach

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Today I woke up early and when I looked outside the sky was amazing, so without waking up the other inhabitants of the house, I grabbed my camera and hightailed it to the beach. I didn't even stop to put in my contact lenses. 6:30am

As I started across A1A, I waved to the elderly gentleman who rides his three wheeler down the sidewalk at least two times a day. He yelled at me to be careful; I looked both ways and trotted over to out run the bugs. There was no one on the beach and the colours were phenomenal. The air was cool. I played around with the camera for a little while and the best and most interesting photo, above, includes our boardwalk, where all our neighbors meet for evening chats and comaraderie. I then discovered that I actually knew how to take a video, sorta, kinda. So in the spirit of Roxie, I tried to present my first beach video. You're going to love the end. But, alas, I couldn't get it to download. I'll have to work on that.

Later in the morning I did get a short walk to Avalon Park and a short swim. There were very few people on the beach. The water was cool and fairly flat. Lounging after my swim, I didn't have a book or a person to talk to. It's called relaxing.

In the afternoon Tatiana had her final piano recital as a young girl. If Boris makes a video of the pieces, I think it will be something you will thoroughly enjoy. Maybe someday I'll learn how to combine Tatiana's music with beach videos.

A Hawaiian Beach walk

Saturday, May 17, 2008
This time of year gets really hectic and not much beach walking is getting accomplished. Today I had a end of school year training class on using technology in the classroom, how apropo is that?

Earlier in the week I found a really cool website that I'm going to keep my eye on. Beachwalk with Rox at first seems to be a commericial site because she is promoting herself as a motivational speaker (and successful podcaster, blogger) BUT what a fun way to do it. Every couple of days she, her dog, Lexi, and her husband, the Secret cameraman, put together a video podcast of Roxanne discussing something as she walks on a beach in Hawaii. Interesting topics, beautiful scenery and what an inspiration! If you love dogs, you'll really like Lexi.

Roxanne says, "...most every day that I am here in Hawaii, I go to the beach to walk and swim with our dog Lexi, and Secret Cameraman comes along so we can share it with you. (Other days I am on the road or we do something special here in Hawaii!) We've had over 2 million downloads and have some of the smartest and kindest people in the world watching our show - which was started by accident, by the way!"

They also have a blog at barefeetstudios.com, which I have yet to investigate.

Don't spend too much time on line, you here? And do let me know what you think about "A Walk On the Beach".

As neighbor Wallace says, "It's better to live life than write about it."

Section: To the beach and return...I did ride my bike to Fort Pierce North bridge and back, swimming in the pool.
Water temperature: 74
UV: 10 at noon
Wind: From the South
Tide: Working toward high
Time: Boardwalk time, before sunset
Length: 1/2 hour at the boardwalk/beach, 10 miles on the bike
Marine animals: none, but the mosquitos are out and so were the no-see-ums
People: Neighbors are Great!
Beach litter: very little

Swimming the beach?

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Another lazy day, though I did walk south less than a mile and back. There was hardly anyone on the beach, where are all the people? After the short walk I went into the water to swim. Normally when I walk longer distances I haven't been going in the water because sometimes it's not so comfortable to walk while you're wet. But after I started to swim I realize swimming, of course, is another form of moving down the beach. For me it would be tedious to swim longer distances; I went about 1/2 mile, breast stroke, crawl, side stroke. Mixing it up with back swim, underwater, running. Other people have been known to swim the english channel and additional large bodies of water. I think I'll stick to walking. The water was almost crystal clear and only a little choppy.

As I was swimming I could see a few neighbors arriving to enjoy the beauty and I thought to appear out of the water as close to Kerryane as possible, to give her a surprise. I don't realize people on the beach are very aware of people swimming in the water. Mary (another walking neighbor) returned from her walk and pointed out to the water, like she was watching something. I swam closer to shore and suddenly...

"Get out of the water!" yells Kerryane, practically throwing her phone (she was talking to her mother).

I was already close, so a few quick steps took me out. There was a large ominious dark shape, moving rather quickly through the water. Then the whiskery nose rose to the surface. It was a manatee.

Later, after lounging and talking, Kerryane and I watched two larger fish swimming quickly south in the clear water. And then a fin broke the surface. Yes, there are sharks. These sharks were small. Watch for bait fish and cloudy water, that's when there is more danger.

Today and yesterday the outside temperature was soaring! It was at least 93 or 94. Blasts of hot air hit me in the face as I rode my bike to the north bridge in Fort Pierce. Florida summer is getting closer!

Section: Home- Breaker's Landing
Water temperature: 74
UV: 9 at noon
Wind: From the southwest
Tide: high Time: 12:00p-3pm
Length: to the home beach and back
Marine animals: fish, manatee, and baby shark
People: a few
Beach litter: very little
photo credit: http://www.manatees.net/

Mother's Weekend

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Not much walking today because I spent the morning at a Mother's Brunch and tea party with my Girl Scout buddies (and my daughter).

Afterward I went on a short walk to the beach, with the beach chair. I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging, enjoying the water and sand, talking to Marco and Boris, and swimming. The wind grew more fierce as the day progressed, and the water became more choppy. I did find a tiny seahorse while swimming. (This photo is NOT the seahorse but rather another found years ago-thus the quality of the photo. Today's seahorse was also half this size) Doesn't he look like a piece of seaweed?

Section: Home- Breaker's Landing
Water temperature: 74
UV: 10 at noon
Wind: From the South
Tide: high
Time: 2:00p-4:45p
Length: to the home beach and back

Marine animals: fish and a seahorse
People: a few
Beach litter: very little

Sunday Saunter with a Friend

May 4, 2008 Sunday

I had planned to travel north to Sebastian for two days in a row but received and unexpected phone call from my friend Lee, who was finished with her college final exams and was ready to do some walking. She lives close to the north Fort Pierce Inlet, so I headed over to her house on my bicycle, and we walked to the beach entry. The tide was low and the beach was wide. It was just like summer with tidal pools filled with clear, warm water. It was fairly busy with people walking, surfing, and playing. We hadn’t seen each other for months and we had plenty to talk about: school, classes, children, summer plans and future plans. We went at a leisurely pace, without time restraints or worries. Lee has on her agenda to hit the beach more often this summer, taking her young son to become more comfortable with the ocean waves.

Upon returning to Lee’s house I continued on my bike to the north bridge. The bridge gives a view of the Indian River Lagoon, South Bridge, Fort Pierce and north, on a clear day, the 17th ST Bridge in Vero. I count it a very lucky day if you see a dolphin or two. (But I didn’t see any today)

Section: Access off of south to south Fort Pierce Inlet, Inlet Park
Water temperature: 76
UV:9 at noon
Wind: From the South
Tide: low
Time: 2:00p-4:00p
Length: Marine animals: none
People: Many
Beach litter: very little

Beautiful May Day

May 2, 2008


Back to Sebastian Inlet and another set of long private beaches. I went north over the Sebastian bridge and counted miles from my last Archie Carr beach access, which held mainly surfers. I kept driving and driving, looking for public beach access. Well, I finally found a couple of spots but panicked as large rain clouds scooted overhead. I needed something not too long in miles, but not too short for the time I spent getting here. I attached my bike to the Archie Carr Beach sign at the start of the path to the beach, then drove back to the surfer's beach.


I attempted to park at the surfer’s beach access but it was massively full, so I drove a mile north to Bonseller Park, which had plenty of spaces and a toilet. I felt like I was racing the storm clouds but it was nice to have a little relief from the sun. The wind was to my back and pushed me along the flat, open beach. There were hardly any people due to the “privacy” of the beaches for the next 4 miles. The sand was fine beneath my feet. I observed the lovely beach houses as I marched by, daydreaming about their owner’s and who took care of their gardens. I passed an appealing beach hut that enticed one to lounge in the two available chairs, but I didn’t stop; it was too early in the game and I was still eyeing the storm clouds. The clouds did eventually dissipate, moving faster and further north. I didn’t think I would have much trouble locating the beach entry where I had positioned my bike because there just weren’t any other entry places.

When I came to the entry I really wasn’t ready to stop walking but I had another 2 miles to make up on the other end, since I hadn’t been able to park at the surfer’s access. On the path away from the beach, which wound around the vegetation, I passed a tiny tortoise. He wasn’t happy for the interference and literally ran away from the paparazzi and the camera. Look at the cute little fellow!

The return four miles on the bicycle route passed through Floridana and Sunnyvale. The mailboxes were a treat. Two manatees (one without his head), two seashells, we’re talking big mailboxes, and a barrel. The barrel mailbox had numerous other keg type barrels outside the house, which had barrel shaped turrets attached to its walls. It was very unique house theme.

As I approached the Bonseller Park, I heard a familiar chirping sound. Could it be? It was my car alarm, disturbing the peace! I managed to turn it off and packed up the bike but the chirping started up again, and though I wasn’t completely finished walking, I high tailed it out of there. I will return to this part of the beach soon.

Section: Bonseller Park(? forgot to write down the name-I'll get it next time) north to another Archie Carr beach access
Water temperature: 76
UV: 10 at noon
Wind: From the South
Tide: low
Time: 12:45p-2:35
Length: Marine animals: none
People: a few
Beach litter: very little

Low Tide Afternoon Stroll

April 27, 2008

Low tide, the best time to stroll. Late Afternoon, even better. The lighting is perfect, the hard packed sand makes for a quick, brisk walk. My mister helped me out today by driving up to North Beach Park at 17th ST. I parked my car and he drove me to my drop off point-Reef Rd, The Moorings.
There were young kite surfers wielding their sails and a few other walkers. I traveled north into private beach area. There was barely anyone on the beach. It was deserted and it was glorious. Where were all the people from the lovely beach homes?
To the left is NOT one of the lovely beach homes but an inviting tiki hut, which led to a private path heading inland. What fun to have a relaxing bit of shade. But I was on some sort of schedule; I needed to get home for supper. A few more people appeared as I approached the public beach access. They were out for a leisurely evening stroll.



Section: Reef RD, The Moorings north to North Beach Park
Water temperature: 76
UV: 10 at noon
Wind: From the South
Tide: low
Time: 5:30pm-7:15pm
Length: Marine animals: none
People: very few
Beach litter: very little
(Mister verbiage courtsey of my new blog friend Mo http://mosmind.blogspot.com/search/label/the%20Mister)

Relay for Life and then some Beach

April 26, 2008


My energy level started out extremely low today; I'm sure due to some over-indulgence. This morning I did a symbolic one mile walk around a track because I missed being with my school's Relay for Life "team" on Friday night.

I've brought my bicycle again and traveling south of Jensen Beach Park I found beach parking at which to lock my bike. I then drove back to Jensen Beach Park and started a short four mile hike. Well, it would have be short if it hadn't been HIGH tide. Oh, it was step, sink, step, sink, step, sink. Not the best time to walk but I was there and already I was feeling better.

"Steven instructed the boy in his own peculiar gait. The slanting beach made the distance lower to put down one foot than the other, and the walking took this into account, so that there was no tiring from the difference. The trick was to be just a little quicker with the right foot going south, and quicker with the left foot going north. Jesse had taught him that, proclaiming him a true beach walkist when he accomplished it."
The Barefoot Mailman, Theodore Pratt (1943)

I'm not sure I'll ever be a "true beach walkist". I guess I do push off harder with the foot on the up slope. It is still slow going, more time consuming, requires more concentration and extremely tiring. I realized, as I had traveled half way, that I might not recognize the entry to my no name beach access. So the odd feeling of not really knowing where you are came into play. If I watch the time I can usually guess how far I've gone. Walking 3 miles in one hour is normal for me, but today I was slowing down due to squishy sand. Would I pass by my bike? Of course not, it was right were I left it. I was feeling much more energetic, and tooling back on the street was relaxing and fun, today the wind was too my back. I rode through a nice green golf course (Ocean Club) and past the Elliot Museum. I'm already planning for another great day tomorrow.

Section: Jensen beach Park South to Beach access (MacArthur) before Bathtub reef
Water temperature: 76
UV: 7 at noon
Wind: From the South
Tide: high, going to low?
Time: 9:30am-11am
Length: 4 miles, return by bike 4 miles
Marine animals: none
People: a few happy beach goers... crowded at the beach entries.
Beach litter: very little

Walk and Ride

April 20, 2008 Sunday

And now for something completely different...

I'm a little tired of all the backtracking over the same sand, since I'm really on a "mission" now. I thought to try combining walking and biking, because when I'm not walking I am biking. Dropping and locking my bike at the Fort Pierce Inlet, I drove to Blind Creek. Kerryane and I used Blind Creek as a destination when we did our car to car walk.

Parking the car at Blind Creek, I headed North. The beach was fairly flat and open. I knew I was going to be on the beach for an extended time so I filled my fanny pack with snacks, water, camera, phone, suntan lotion, bicycle pants, gloves, and bicycle paraphernalia. It was too heavy! I could feel it tight against my hips. Not completely comfortable, but I got used to it. The views were beautiful and the day fabulous; I was distracted. I was happy.

At Middle Cove I had to limbo under numerous fishing lines. I'm not sure if they were catching any fish or just having a relaxed day at the beach. There were a couple of display of garbage “art”, which I’ve thought about constructing myself, but now will re-think because they weren’t particularly attractive. Further North I caught a whiff of horse manure. I was getting close to Fredrick Douglas park. They bring horses for a beach ride once or twice a month. I followed the horse tracks to the park and took a little break. My barefeet were getting a little tired and the slope of the beach was no longer flat. The sand in this section was coarse and starting to wear on me. The sun had been at my back and I was feeling a little sunburned. Four more miles to go?? And I wasn't even finished because I had to get back to my car.

Finally I arrived at the Fort Pierce Inlet and my bicycle was ready to roll. I was looking forward to a change of pace. My timing was off, the walking took longer than I had anticipated. I still had 8+ miles to get back to the car, usually a breeze...but the breeze was against me, slowing me down. I traveled along HWY A1A. This was still better than retracing my steps. I will be using this "walk and bike" strategy again. I was extremely tired but had covered a lot of ground.

Section: Blind Creek North to Fort Pierce Inlet

Water temperature: 72

UV: 9 at noon
Wind: From the South
Tide: low going high

Time: 12:00noon-4pm
Length: 8 miles walking, 8 miles return biking
Marine animals: none

People: plenty at each beach access, very few otherwise...
Beach litter: very little

Earth Day Celebration and a short Full Moon Walk

April 19, 2008 Saturday

Today was the "Living Green" Earth Day Festival at our local Oxbow Eco-Center. I volunteered to work at the welcome booth and my daughter got creative at face painting. The celebration was hopping with tons of people learning about the earth and walking through the grounds. The Oxbow is one of my favorite places to walk, off the beach. The most enjoyable walk is a trail that parallels the St Lucie River. It actually has ups and downs, which is rare in Florida. The flora and flauna are wonderful.

Later Saturday evening we were able to get over to the beach to look at the full moon. It was gorgeous, lighting up the sand, allowing for a short stroll in the coolness.

Weekend Traveling Madness

April 13, 2008 Sunday


Traveled 25 miles North today and early! I headed toward Sebastian Inlet and hoped for low tide. I was off by one hour and the tide was coming up fast. Parking at a tiny turn off, I topped the dune and saw Surfers. Boy, they were happy and looked like they were having a grand time. I never took up that sport. I'm more low impact. The thought of getting hit in the head, staying under too long and the slicing of the fin don't appeal to me.

There were lovely bungalow houses all along the water (some still with hurricane damage). The people had their coffee cups, newspapers and were working on a relaxing Sunday morning. I could see the inlet on the horizon and despite the rising tide the walk was pleasant. The clouds were dark and moving, but patches of sunlight often found holes and transversed across the sand.

By 11:00am I even saw someone with a beer. As I made my return I also saw a standing surfer. (I realize this is redundant but he was standing ALL the time, never lay on his belly once) He used a paddle to maneuver and rode those waves with the best of them. People have such fun.

Sebastian Inlet

Section: Archie Carr Wildlife Refugue South to Sebastian Inlet
Water temperature: 76
UV: 7 at noon
Wind: From the South
Tide: low going high
Time: 9:30am-11am
Length: 2 miles give or take (4 miles, RT)
Marine animals: none
People: surfers and happy Sunday beach goers
Beach litter: very little

Return from the Bed

April 12, 2008 Saturday

Hooray! I'm outside and walking again. I was so happy to be relatively healthy I took another adventurous drive and headed South 65 miles. I ended up at Juno Beach Pier Park. It was crowded with people, and high tide, but lovely clouds and beautiful colors surrounded me. All of the photos I publish are taken with a Canon A550. I didn't go walking on the pier, I'll do that next time when I walk North from there.

I had only a slight idea of where I was walking, so I headed South. The tide had been much earlier, and as always, I wasn't. The walking was difficult. The sand was fine and squishy. But still there were great stretches without buildings or people.

I not sure what I was thinking about today. My mind seems blank. Rosemary Mahoney, in her book Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff,

felt the same way. Because of the physical repetition of the task (walking or rowing) if you relax, you feel good and your thoughts wander. Section: Juno Beach Pier South to a nice parking lot close to the Juno Police Department

Water temperature: 76

UV: 9 at noon

Wind: From the South

Tide: high

Time: 11:00am-1pm

Length: 2 miles give or take (4 miles, RT)

Marine animals: none

People: crowds, but sometimes there wasn't anybody

Beach litter: medium

Off the Beach and into the bed

April 3-5.2008 Thursday-Friday-Saturday

I have been knocked to the bed by a flu. After driving to the Orlando airport to pick up my daughter, suddenly I had a raging fever, chills and sore throat. I couldn't even sleep because I felt so badly. My skin, muscles, and joints ached. I rarely get ill; this was very disappointing. I have beaches to walk on and spring break is the time to do it. I'm so sad.

My neighbors, however, are truely wonderful, they're making me turkey/chicken soup and I believe it's really working wonders. I'll feeling a bit like the character of the book "Oblomov" by Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov. Oblomov can't be bothered to get out of bed.

Walking on the beach with a friend

April 2. 2008 Wednesday

Usually I love to walk by myself. It is reflective and calming. Today we tried something new. My friend Kerryane walked with me. It did take a little bit of coordination to get the two of us headed in the correct direction (sort of) at the correct time (late again) but we had other things to accomplish so...we drove about 19 miles South with two cars and put one car at Blind Creek then drove to Herman's Bay and walked North. Aren't we clever? No backtracking! and doing it twice. Not that doing it twice is really a pain, but when you're working on mileage it does seem wasteful.

Almost the first thing we saw, after walking off the boardwalk at Herman's Bay, were shells. We're talking mounds of different, near perfect shells, a sheller's paradise. It was enough to slow a walker down to standing still. Which we did until our feet hurt; we're barefoot again. We picked a few shells to carry until we put them down. I did take pictures...which will soon be posted. A small thunderhead pushed quickly (and quietly) past us. Most of the clouds were luminous.

The beach soon broadened and flattened, and with only one condo in sight, was quite pleasant. We chatted and walked. Kerryane really walks faster than I, so I had to work to keep up. Sometimes we were quiet. We passed Ocean Bay park and then Walton Rocks, where a fisherwomen confirmed we knew where we were. There are many paths into the dunes and none of the parks are marked beach side. We debated if we would actually be able to find the car at Blind Creek. Just a silly thought.

Once back to Blink Creek, Kerryane departed for another appointment, but I wasn't ready to stop. I took the car South to Normandy Beach. In the parking lot I watched as a car backed out over the remains of their lunch. We're proud to Americans but why no pride in community or self? As I picked up the garabage, depositing it in the trash ten feet away, I wondered how these people could be so lazy and in my eyes disresptful. The aroma of french fries and hamburgers waffed up through the heavy broken bag. My mind went to wastefulness as well as laziness, then quickly to freegan, which I had just read about. Oh my, I'm not sure I can take you to all the places that I go when I walk on the beach. Besides it might not really connect in your mind; it would be a situation where you really had to be there.

To the beach I walked, with my shoes in my hand, North to Herman's Bay. The shoes came in handy since my feet were already sensitive to the cutting shells. On the shoes went when the shells were thick, off again as the sand smoothed out. This was only a little time consuming, besides I had the camera out taking pictures of the numerous birds that flocked on this section.

Section: Part 1: Herman's Bay, St Lucie County North to Blink Creek park

Part 2: Normandy Beach North to Herman's Bay and return

Water temperature: 72

UV: 7 at noon

Wind: From the South

Tide: low toward high

Time: 2:00pm-3:20p North
3:30pm-4:15pm North-South return

Length: 3.5-4 miles 1st leg

1 mile (2 round trip) 2nd leg

Marine animals: a few tiny jelly fish babies, there were a few dead birds but plenty of live ones

People: a few

Beach litter: medium, I didn't pick up anything. Again the items were too big. Way, way too big. We couldn't figure out some of the stuff, except I did recognize a TV.

Driving to the Beach...

April 1. 2008
Okay, I had a late start this morning but remember I am on Spring Break. I've decided this week I need to drive to walk because when I go back to work I will only be able to walk close to home. I drove approx 46.8 miles to Jupiter Inlet Colony. I found a park called Coral Cove. The beach was completely different than our lovely beach on North Hutchinson Island. At the park area this beach had ROCKS. Big rocks; the waves were crashing through them. The waves on both days have been wild but today, on this section, they were even harsher. I took pictures this time but you'll have to wait for me to figure out what I'm doing with the layout.

I think that they had shipped in sand because it was not cool, white and snowy soft but black gritty and contained many shells. The slope and sand were heavy due to my late arrival after low tide. I was walking South into the wind today; my hat wouldn't stay put. The clouds surrounded the area and looked like rain but they just flew around and didn't put out. The sand quality did improve a bit as I walked along, and the tall condos turned to large beachfront houses.

As I'm walking along what was I thinking about? The laundry was done and the toilets weren't that dirty. Today I was thinking about what to write, what to tell you, what would be of interest. I have been barefoot for two days but today I could have used shoes. I did find two separate shoes but I decided to continue without. The walking was difficult and really gave me a workout. I did a lot of concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. I didn't accomplish as much distance on the beach, more distance on the road, but now I have a better plan for this section.

As I was driving through Hobe Sound, on the way home, I saw an appropriate bumper sticker, "The Ocean is My Playground"

Section: Coral Cove Park, Jupiter Island South to Inlet

Water temperature: 72

UV: 7 at noon

Wind: From the South

Tide: low toward high

Time: 1.15 hours (round trip) 1:00pm-2:15pm

Length: 1.5 miles give or take (3 miles, RT)

Marine animals: a few tiny jelly fish babies

People: a few

Beach litter: medium, I didn't pick up anything. I was already working hard and the items were too big.