Grand Time in Jupiter

For six of our eleven years on the road we have wintered in Florida. Every year we have stayed in the sunshine state we have spent the holidays at Jonathon Dickinson State Park near Jupiter. Our WashPA friends Mary Lou and her husband Jack (who passed away in 2011) have wintered there since 2005 and it has always been great celebrating the season with them. We really like the Jupiter area, but this may be our last time staying here as Mary Lou has put her condo on the market and is moving back to WashPA.

We have done this enough times that we even have a few traditions. On the day of our arrival Mary Lou (right) has us to her place for dinner. This year we were joined by her neighbor Kathy. It was a fun evening getting caught up and planning what we would be doing during our visit.

We have several places we like for dinner and music. A stop at the Square Grouper for a bit of music is always on the list. It's a funky outdoor venue with a name that has a hidden meaning. Look it up.

Another evening we stopped by the Double Roads Tavern where we have been for the Jupiter Jazz Society's Sunday jam session. It was open mike electric night and the music was great. We had an interesting time talking to the harmonica player who is an attorney from Charlottesville, VA.

On Christmas Eve we tried a new place, Juno Beach Fish House.  We added it to our list of great local restaurants in the Jupiter area.

There is something wonderful about taking a dip in the pool on Christmas day. You know it had to be really warm (hot) for Nanc to go in the water.

My personal Polar Bear Club requires that I take a dip in the Atlantic on Christmas. It's not the same as a dip in the Mon in Pittsburgh, but it is very refreshing. 

The three of us on the beach when it is freezing up north is wonderful.

Many Floridians have the same holiday tradition.

Another tradition for our stays here is that Mary Lou makes one of our favorite dishes linguine with clam sauce for Christmas dinner. This year she invited her neighbors from across the hall Jack and Mervat for dinner. They are from Pittsburgh and live on the same street as my brother. It was a grand time which included a great meal, time spent with friends and to top it off, a Steelers win!

Without a doubt our favorite restaurant in Jupiter is the Food Shack. It is in a strip mall and does not look like anything special, but the food is the best. If you are in the area don't miss it.

If you go to the Food Shack on Wednesday evening you get to hear Pam and Dave, one of our favorite local groups. They do a great variety of pop music.

Our stay was not all fun. I have been trying to figure out how to permanently install a new battery temp sensor for a long time. The original one that was installed as they built the rig went bad and I have been running the new one on the ground when we are hooked up. This was a good place to get under Opus and I figured out a path that would work. It took a couple of trips to Napa and Ace for material, but the job is finally done. 

There is always an argument about whether the sunsets are better in the Southwest or in Florida. I'm not sure which is the best but we love seeing them in both places.

We found a place in Tequesta, Locanda Rustica, that has great Italian food and live Jazz on Friday evening. We like that many of the venues in Florida are geared to the "older" set with music staring and ending early in the evening. 

We went to Riviera Beach to visit Manatee Lagoon. It is a viewing area by a power plant were the manatee gather when it is cold. Unfortunately or fortunately it was not cold enough to attract many sea cows but we did get to see these three huddled in the far corner of the lagoon.

In addition, there were many tarpon and we also spotted a bull shark so the day was a success for viewing sea life.

This is what it looks like when it is really cold. We had mixed feelings about not seeing a lot of them. It would have been neat, but it also would have been cold. We heard from Mary Lou that after we left and a cold front came through the place was packed with manatee.

At least we got hugged by a sea cow. It you are in the area, Manatee Lagoon is a worthwhile stop.

This is Oceancrest, the building Mary Lou lives in. It is right across the street from the ocean. If you are in the market for a place in Jupiter here is a link to the information about her place.

 We had a fun evening ringing in the New Year. We started with dinner at Seasons 52. It is great being able to sit outside for New Year's Eve dinner. We then went to the Maltz Jupiter Theatre to see the Capitol Steps, a group that prides itself for putting the "MOCK" in Democracy. They are equal opportunity offenders who make fun of  both political parties with songs and skits. We went to Mary Lou's place to watch the ball drop and ring in the new year. We had a great visit with Mary Lou over the last six weeks and wish her the best as she plans to move back to WashPA full time.

On New Year's Day we moved to the Florida Keys Elks for a month long stay. There are several people here who we have met on previous visits, so we are looking forward to a fun time. The weather has been cool but NOTHING like they are experiencing up North.

HAPPY 2018 EVERYONE!!!!!