Visiting Florida…Visiting Stuart, Hutchinson Island and Jupiter: The Alligator and Sunshine State and Connections to My Featured Books

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I love Florida and I love this book. I first saw it while in Bradenton, Florida at the gift shop at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature. Unlike the first of this post’s featured book, “My Grandma Lives in Florida” written by Ed Shankman and illustrated by Dave O’Neill, I am not an alligator and my grandma doesn’t live in Florida. However, for the sake of making connections, my parents lived in Florida when I was very small…too small to remember. And I’ve been to Florida several times. Also, we still have family and friends who live there. Like the child alligator in the story, I have great memories of my visits to the beaches and theme parks and of all the walks and talks I’ve had with family, friends and colleagues as we enjoyed each other’s company. This is our memories of Discovering Stuart, Hutchinson Island and Jupiter: Accidentally & By Design.

When I was a college student, one of my dorm sisters once took us home with her to Jacksonville. I have since returned several times for vacation (Orlando, Key West, Tampa, Bradenton, Jupiter, Daytona Beach, St. Petersburg, Stuart), but mostly for track meets (Orlando, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Gainesville), college visits (Tampa, Clearwater, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Orlando. Daytona Beach), continuing education courses and classes (Kendall, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale), speaking engagements (Orlando, Boca Raton, Miami) and conferences/annual meetings (Orlando, Miami, Key Biscayne); to name a few places. Discovering Stuart began with one of these business trips.

Why Florida?

On St. Patrick’s Day Weekend in 2019, I accompanied my husband to a continuing education course he had scheduled for the weekend. We left Georgia shortly after he got off work, headed to Kendall, FL for his course at Baptist Hospital/Baptist Children’s Hospital.

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Our goal was to arrive in the wee hours of the morning; when he could take a shower; get a few quick few hours of sleep; and leave to get to the course shortly afterwards. As the decision to attend was an impromptu decision, we didn’t make hotel reservation wanting to first get a feel for the location of the course. Not thinking, we didn’t put two and two together to realize that it was St. Patrick’s Day Weekend; neither did we realize it was spring break and if that wasn’t enough, that a sports tournament was also taking place.

Kendall Plans Deferred

Need I say more? THERE WAS NO ROOM AT ANY INN! Not a hotel room to be found in or near Kendall in any of the neighboring cities… By the time we had driven around looking, it was time for his course to begin. He had just enough time to change into a clean shirt and go in. While he was in I slept a little and explored the area. The hospital was building and the property with the lake was very relaxing. Of course I found a craft store and a few other places to which we could return later.

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For lunch, my husband and I stopped at Pinecrest Bakery Kendall where he ordered a Cuban sandwich and coffee and I order a sampling of other Cuban items. We both ordered dessert.

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On To Plan “B”

After the course was over, we again looked for a place to lay down our heads and get rest. Finding none, we tried driving into Miami…no luck finding a room for which we were willing to pay the asking rate. I had hoped to stay at the Fontainebleau where I had wonderful memories the one time I stayed there. Although I didn’t get to stay on this visit, it is remains one of my top 5 all-time hotels.

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Why Stuart, Hutchinson Island and Jupiter?

Tired and frustrated by Miami’s traffic into the business/hotel area, we decided to head back towards home. To our dismay we still couldn’t find anything on route to Georgia. We tried Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Palm beach and many other cities and towns along our route. After hours of driving with my husband pulling off the highway and me calling and searching the internet. We finally pulled over at a Holiday Inn Express in Stuart, FL.

They didn’t have any vacancies, but called around for us. Jackpot! He found the last available room in Stuart at a Best Western. Although we don’t usually stay at Best Western and although the price was about triple of what usual rates are, we were thankful for a room, a bed and a place to shower.

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Our experience at the Best Western was great! The person at the front desk was very friendly and welcoming. After receiving the call from the other hotel, he had already began our check-in process. Our room was clean and beautifully decorated and the bed was very comfortable. The service was excellent. We had great sleeps.

Getting Acquainted with Stuart

The next morning, we got up, checked out and decided to drive around Stuart. We drove downtown.

When my husband who loves egg bagels saw a deli, we stopped and parked. Finding egg bagels up north is easy, finding them in the south…at least in Georgia, is very difficult. With that being said, he ordered a coffee and a bagful of egg bagels to eat at the moment as well as for a later snack.

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After enjoying our bagels and beverages, we walked across the street to Memorial Park where we walked, talked and enjoy the beauty of the park, the flora and fauna, and the war memorials.

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After briefly exploring Stuart, wanting to explore more, but not having luck with parking (after all it was St. Patrick’s Day), we decided to head to the beach.

We stopped first around the corner of the Hotel at what I call Stuart/Hutchinson Island Beach. We later ended up at St. Lucea Beach.

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Knowing we had a long drive back to Georgia, we decided we needed to get on the road, vowing to return soon. As we headed out we came across a nearby hotel resort that looked interested so we stopped to take a picture with the goal of making reservations to stay there whenever we returned.

Return to…Adventures In…Memories of Stuart, Hutchinson Island & Jupiter

That was our accidental discovery. Our by design discovery took place in August of the same year. My husband had another course, but this time on the Gulf side in Tampa. We spent the first half of the week on that side of the peninsula; however, determined to return to Stuart and Hutchinson Island as vowed on our March visit, we headed toward Stuart and Hutchinson Island.

Arriving late at night, this time with reservations, we checked in. As I awaited my husband to park the car, I explored the lobby; enjoying the decor.

Marriott Hutchinson Island Beach Resort, Golf & Marina

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The next morning we explored view from our hotel room.

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Feeling hungry, we asked for recommendations for brunch and was recommended to the Berry Fresh Cafe. The food was delicious…a little pricey, but probably not for a resort. I wouldn’t be able to eat here daily, but I would return.

Seeing the Sights

After leaving the restaurant, we decided to drive around and explore.

Fascinated with murals and with a plan to blog about murals, I was delighted to happen upon some. My husband graciously parked so that I could take some pictures.

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The mural walls camouflaged the plant nursery/greenhouses on the other side of the wall.

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While in Stuart, I decided to see if any restaurants sold fried clams with bellies. I found two. We decided to go to Lola’s Seafood Eatery so I could get some. They were a favorite of mine growing up in Boston..

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While in the Stuart, we ventured out to other locations; one was Sewall’s Point where we ate dinner and later took pictures in the dark.

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At Juno Beach we ventured out on the Juno Beach Park Pier and spent time watching the ocean, the people, the seabirds and because a storm was headed our way, the sky. We bought some ice cream from the vendor at the end of the pier.

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Adventure Deferred

Jupiter was a place I had on my list to visit. I wanted to not only see the beaches, but had plans of visiting the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum. Having climbed the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse in the Daytona Beach area, I had plans of also climbing the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. Unfortunately when we went to visit, they were in the process of shutting it down and boarding it due to the pending arrival of Hurricane Dorian.

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We also found that all U.S. Naval Memorial Building tours had been cancelled due to the inclement weather. We did get to see the bridge up. And as we left the parking lot, we looked at the lighthouse from the car.

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Beach Time!

Realizing we most likely were going to have to cut our trip short in order to avoid Hurricane Dorian and its impact on the area, we decided to spend the rest of the day at Jupiter Beach. We walked, talked, waded in the water, searched for shells, and took pictures.

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When the and the clouds became dark…and the water rough, we knew our beach day had come to an end and we headed back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep before leaving the next day.

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Before leaving Jupiter, we stopped at Walmart to get some snacks. I was intrigued by the color of the Walmart. I had never seen a pastel blue Walmart before. It looked so fancy.

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Pit Stops on Journey Home in Stuart, Hutchinson Island and Jupiter areas

After a good night’s rest, we headed home via a scenic route. We stopped at several beaches along the way out. Due to the pending hurricane, most beaches were deserted. Life Guard stands were not manned. Hotels, houses, apartments and condos were either already boarded up or were in the process of being boarded.

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In addition to the beaches above, we also stopped off in Ft. Pierce at several beaches including the Frederick Douglass Memorial Park. Unfortunately, I am not able to find my pictures of the horseback riders or the fishermen on the last beach we visited.

Hasta La Vista, Stuart, Hutchinson Island and Jupiter, Florida…Until We Meet Again

As we departed Florida, I thought of the things I didn’t get to do and the places I didn’t go or see, but am grateful for one of the best birthday gifts I have ever had. I had so much fun. As we talked about the future, my husband and I look forward to our next trip to the Stuart, Hutchinson Island and Jupiter, as well as surrounding areas. We have already scouted out the rental that we plan to pursue. As night approaches and we cross the Florida-Georgia border, I say good night to lighthouses, coconut palm trees, sea creatures, beaches, the food, beautiful tropical murals, egg bagels, bougainvilleas, jacarandas, tabebuias, clams with bellies and fresh juices.

When I reminisce about our discoveries of Stuart, Hutchinson Island, Jupiter and the beaches in the area and to all all I had to say goodbye and good night, I close with my other featured book: “Good Night Florida” written by Adam Gamble and Mark Jasper with illustrations by Joe Veno

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Connection Ideas

• Create a slideshow presentation of a trip.
• Create a brochure of a trip that you can share with others.
• Plan a visit to one of the featured cities or another city.
• Think of the many, varied and unusual thing(s) you would do if you had been on the trip.
• Record yourself reading a Florida book (one of these or a different one) aloud.
• Send thank you notes to someone who served/helped you on a trip.
• Post a picture of one or more of your pictures on a social media platform.
• Scrapbook a trip in either paper or digital format.
• Record a portion of your trip.
• Use your photos to encourage discussion.