Sandsprit Park, Stuart, Martin County, Florida

Destination: Sandsprit Park

Travels With Diane - A Morning Visit

               This unique Florida Park offers many different types of experiences for visitors. Located just off St. Lucie Blvd., Sandsprit Park is a short ten minute drive from Hobe Sound along Highway A1A.  You pass through the historic village of Port Salerno, a gem of a time capsule where it feels like you have stepped back in time to the 1950's, before you reach St. Lucie Blvd. One example of an interesting time warp is The Powder Puff Beauty Salon.

The Powder Puff Beauty Salon, Port Salerno

            One of my favourite local restaurants in Port Salerno is Shrimpers Grill and Raw Bar, located on the water at the Manatee Marina. Locally referred to as Shrimpers, the food is delicious, the service is friendly and the waterfront views are incredible. You feel like you never want to leave. One of my favourite appetizers on the Shrimpers Menu is the deep fried green beans. I am drooling just thinking about them right now.

 Shrimpers Grill And Raw Bar, Port Salerno

One View From The Back Boardwalk at Shrimpers

                               Sandsprit Park has many beautiful things to see including local seabirds, fauna (in particular furry little squirrels),  

sea critters, incredible vistas, tiny sand beaches, boardwalks, and an unusual forest area. The variety of seabirds includes osprey, great blue heron, pelicans, cranes and gulls to mention a few. 

                               Pelican on the end of a boat dock at Sandsprit Park

A couple of photos of these cute inquisitive squirrels.

                          The wooded area at Sandsprit Park is home to these curious and friendly little squirrels. There is one awesome tree in this area of the park that makes one feel you have walked into a fantasy world. Judge for yourself.

                                                                   

                                                                      Mystical Wooded Area Sandsprit Park

                  As you walk along the boardwalk area you can watch the underwater life through the crystal clear water in the shallow areas. The morning I was there, I saw 6 different species including a small manta ray. Canoeists and kayakers launch here to paddle across the sparkling water to visit nearby small islands. Fishing boats and yachts leave from the marinas in Port Salerno, while smaller boats launch from the Park Boat Ramp. Small curved beaches with soft white sand are found at the end of the boardwalk.

                                         A Kayak & Canoe Launch

                                                  

A Kayaker Heading For A Small Uninhabited Island

Small White Sandy Beach

                 Next time I will take you to my all time favourite restaurants in the Martin county, Florida area.

Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, Jupiter Island - A Secret Florida Beach

Destination: Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, Jupiter Island, Florida - A Secret Beach

Travels With Diane - Blog Number Two


                 Snuggled unrevealed at the top of a dead end road, the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge Beach is a five mile unspoiled, wild, and incredible coastal seashore. This Reed Wilderness Seashore Sanctuary was established in 1969 to protect the Loggerhead and Green Sea Turtles. Bisected by the Indian River Lagoon, this coastal beach covers 171 acres of the total 1,035 acre Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge.

                Hidden behind towering sand dunes, this spirited beach can not be seen as you travel along the dirt North Beach Road. Suddenly as the road ends, there is a small refuge sign overpowered by the thick lush vegetation everywhere. You then notice a small dirt lane heading through these walls of vegetation into the refuge, where a park ranger booth, a parking lot, washrooms and a wooden observation platform above the dunes are the only man made structures.

                 "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead."

                                                                                                                 Einstein
                   This quote from Einstein embodies the feelings I experienced as I gazed upon this Seashore Sanctuary. As I stood on the wooden observation platform above the dunes and gazed at this wonder, this marvel, I was moved by the mystery of this secret place. Muriel, an artist, I met in Hobe Sound, choses this beach to sketch for her paintings. She told me she can not express how this place touches her except through her unique paintings.

                    Each time I visited this mystical beach, the feeling of mystery took on different nuances. I tried to capture some of this feeling in my photographs. My most exciting visit was on a day the high winds were whipping up 10 foot waves and riptides and fiercely shifting and blowing the beach sands creating a desert like landscape with shades of a forever moonscape.

               

A morning after a huge storm I found these washed up items on the beach.

My next blog will take you to some interesting sites in Martin County near Hobe Sound. 

Destination: Hobe Sound, Florida, United States Of America

Travels With Diane - Blog Number One, Created June 13, 2013

                The unincorporated village of Hobe Sound Florida is located on the East Coast of the Atlantic Ocean about 1 hour north of West Palm Beach. As you drive towards the Hobe Sound Public Beach, you cross a lift bridge that takes you to Jupiter Island. Driving along Bridge Street you feel as though you have entered a magical world, as the sun filters through the overhead arched canopy of ancient banyon trees.
                 Hobe Sound Public Beach is an incredibly beautiful pristine beach that offers its visitor something new every day. Whatever you are looking for at the beach, whether it is peace, meditation, excitement, or the awesome power of nature, you can find it here.

                        Every day at Hobe Sound Public Beach is a one of a kind experience shaped by wind direction, temperature, storms, sunshine, clouds and rain. The sand on the beach holds new treasures each day and the waters hold varied marine life and fish. I love the ocean in all its manifestations, but I think my favourite days are the ones created by the strong winds and cooler weather. The waves and riptides can reach up to ten feet and the ever-changing shades of the ocean from blues to greens to grays are enhanced by visually stunning whitecaps. The sailboarders, surfers, and kite boarders love these
wild, powerful and dangerous conditions. The grace they display flying through the ocean's fury is
spellbinding

.

                                                                                             

Sailboarding at Hobe Sound

                            Fishermen arrive with the ebb and flow of the schools of fish, waiting patiently at the shore of the beach hoping for a good catch, which might include mackerel or bluefish. Schools of tiny fish jump through the waves bringing in the larger fish to feed on them. Naturally, the pelicans and seagulls are companions to the fisherman. I was very lucky to get up close and personal with some pelicans, although I did seem to annoy one particular seagull who engaged in a prolonged stare-down with me.

                                             
                             Next week I will take you to Hobe Sound National  Wildlife Refuge Beach located at the north end of Jupiter Island.