My first trip to Florida

On October 22nd, I left what was beginning to be a snowstorm in Colorado for my first Florida experience. My dear friends John and Susan had relocated from Northern California to Delray Beach, Florida, in July of this year. They were greeted by Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Ivan, Hurricane Frances, and finally, Hurricane Jeanne! With two of these came mandatory evacuations.

My visit, however, found the area to be clean, warm (HOT!), and beautiful. I had the BEST time. We took an airboat tour of the Everglades, motored on the Intercoastal, had wonderful meals al fresco, overlooking both the sea and the Intercoastal, and toured the beautiful neighborhoods of Palm Beach. It was surreal leaving my 22-degree weather in Keystone and stepping off a plane in humidity and warmth. The water temperature alone was 80-plus degrees!

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Best Way To Get Around:

Delray Beach could be seen without a car. The town is very walkable, and with a bike, one could cover the very flat terrain and see everything without worrying about parking. But Florida is the ideal environment for a convertible! While you might want to put the top up during one of the brief and seemingly frequent rain storms, put the top down the rest of the time and enjoy the scenery!

Busch's is a beautiful, relaxing restaurant situated on the Intercoastal. We celebrated my friend's birthday at a comfortable outside table overlooking the water.

Service was very good. We enjoyed excellent margaritas and appetizers without being rushed to order our main courses. Our server knew when to hover and when to leave us alone.

Unbelievably (for someone from Colorado), the evening was warm enough to sit outside sweaterless. We watched patrons arrive by water, tying up at Busch's dock.

We enjoyed two very nice appetizers, crab and artichoke spread with crackers and spinach dip with tortilla chips. The margaritas were large and delicious. I had a grilled salmon entrée with a light mustard sauce, a choice of potato or rice, and well-prepared mixed vegetables.

My first Delray Beach/Florida experience, after the short trip from Ft. Lauderdale, was dinner at Boston's on the Beach. We dined on the upper deck, where we had a fantastic view of the ocean and beach.

Boston's caters to a hip clientele. Lively bars, both upstairs and down, keep customers well-sated while they wait for a table. Live music is on the schedule most evenings. Special events are advertised on the restaurant's website: www.bostonsonthebeach.com.

I had the grilled salmon, which was just delicious. We also shared a very good crab cake appetizer. I don't understand why I was never able to order a mojito in this part of Florida.

Right next door to Boston's on the Beach is Caffe Luna Rosa. The restaurant has al fresco dining both inside and out (restaurants in Delray Beach have windows that disappear in good weather). While it serves meals all day, we enjoyed a great brunch here.

Choosing what to eat can be a real trick here. Just walking to your table, you pass examples of wonderful options on other diner's plates! I had my favorite, eggs benedict. It was excellently prepared and quite reasonable at $8, and the the fresh-squeezed orange juice and brewed coffee rounded out my happy brunching experience!

The Intercoastal waterway runs just a couple of short blocks east of the Atlantic beaches. Fabulous homes line the waterway, many with their yachts docked along the water. Cruising the Intercoastal is a great way to gawk at these homes, their interesting landscaping, extravagant patio furniture, unique sculptures, and beautiful pools and spas. Huge hotels and condos, all with their private marinas, and restaurants and bars can be found along the waters' edge.



On weekends, the waters are filled with yachts, smaller watercrafts, jet skis, cigarette boats...... "Bow babes" decorate the front of the boats (don't these people know about skin cancer?).



The Intercoastal is lined with condos, hotels, homes, parks, and restaurants. There is a high-rise condo building and a welcoming restaurant. Patrons can dock their boats free of charge and enjoy a nice lunch or dinner, dockside.



On this Sunday afternoon, the waterways were chock-full of boats, both big and small. There is a ton of money floating on that water! Monster homes and their monster boats line the waterway. The city streets that cross the Intercoastal have draw bridges. These bridges open twice each hour. Young people in skimpy swimwear adorn the front of many boats. Some of the more extravagant boats find a sweet young thing, scantily clad, riding on an old guy's bow. Trophy wives are alive and well in Florida!

Florida has incredible diversity. While the beach and ocean (or Gulf) beckon, be sure to visit some of the inland treasures.

We took an airboat ride through the Everglades. The 45-minute ride zoomed through the reeds and over the water lilies (and alligators), while we got a tour of just a fraction of the state's protected watery acreage. Naturalist "Wild Lyle" stopped occasionally to tell us about the biology, history, and ecology of the area.

When we started our trip, it was very hot. But soon the clouds came, and we found ourselves in a downpour. Wild Lyle whipped out some ponchos for us, and we continued the trip. The rain fell hard, and flying across the waterway on our airboat exaggerated the effect of the rain. It pelted our faces as we peeked out of our ponchos through slitted eyes.