1/14 to 1/31 West Palm Beach - Part 2

Those are the very things I've had the good fortune to experience. And it is with these feelings and thoughts that I conclude my extended stay here on Florida's east coast. The span of time between January 27 and my day of departure, February 6th, was crammed with more terrific experiences. From visitors to dinners, from projects in progress to dining out, it's been loaded with memories that will last (the remainder of) a lifetime. LOL.

• Fellow retiree, Jim and wife, Missy drove up from Boynton Beach to enjoy Chuck/Silvia's hospitality. Chuck's "from scratch" pizzas hit the spot.
• Cousins Norma, Cheri and (another) Carlo made the trip up from Boca Raton and Boynton Beach to enjoy lunch a la Jo Bistro. 
• Down from New York, the timing was perfect for me to see daughter, Marybeth, Carlo and both their mothers before their itinerary took them elsewhere. 
• In Chuck/Silvia's home, an on-going, low voltage wiring project continued:

Bundles of ethernet and coaxial cables that was to provide service for the entire house was left in the attic by electricians and had to be brought down into the garage through the ceiling, identified and labeled. Next terminating connectors are added to each cable.

RJ45 Ethernet Connectors
prior to trimming.

Coax connector

From there, they will pass through a code approved raceway that.... 

... goes from the garage to...

...the back of a cabinet. This rack will house the electronics and ports that receive the ethernet cables. This, in turn will...

provide more room on an adjoining counter.

Finally, at the other end of each wire going to each location, an RJ45 and a coax connector must be added to terminate each wire and then be tested.

The work in progress.

• Nine of us met at City Oyster & Sushi Bar in Delray Beach. The tourists were present in force, the walkways were crowded and restaurants jammed. Even with the chill in the air, this atmosphere continues to give Delray Beach its aura of the winter place to be.

Sushi delicious, restaurant busy, acoustics bad. Very loud.

Taken from website

Mango Tango Roll: Krabmeat, Mango, Shrimp, Avocado, Cream Cheese, Topped With Grilled Tuna, Tobiko.

Pineapple Grove Arts District is probably Delray Beach's answer to Coconut Grove in Miami. Both feature an eclectic mix of boutiques, bistros, art galleries, salons, and spas. "The exciting pubic art and Artists Alley with working artist studios beckon, as well as cutting edge entertainment at Arts Garage."

• Next, a trip to the Society of the Four Arts (Drama, Literature, Art, Music). "The Society of the Four Arts is a nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1936 to meet the cultural needs of the growing resort community. The Four Arts campus is home to beautiful sculpture and botanical gardens, a library and children's library, all which are open to the public year-round. During the winter season, The Four Arts also presents notable speakers, concerts, films, educational programs, and art exhibitions to the public." ~~ Trip Advisor

Built in 2005, the Pannill Pavilion

Chuck, Mary, Silvia

To see all the sculpture in this beautifully serene, immaculately well kept garden, visit the site by CLICKING HERE

Jim Dine. King Parrot, 1995. Bronze.

The parrot is a scarlet macaw from the Amazon, where indigenous peoples believe the bird is associated with transmigration, or the passage of a soul after death into another body.

The reason for our visit.

Through a special process, all photographs on display throughout the garden are able to withstand the harsh conditions of unpredictable weather.

William A. Ewing is a noted author, curator, professor, and museum director with fifty years of work in the field of photography.

In his lecture, Ewing [discussed] the history of the flower in photography and the social and cultural connections between humans and nature. He co-curated Flora Imaginaria with Danae Panchaud, with whom Ewing also co-authored Flora Photographica (2022), which recounts the history of flower photography from 1990 – 2020. This publication, which followed Ewing’s first book of the same name (1991) that explored flower photography from 1835 – 1990, served as the inspiration for the exhibition." ~~ From the website.

• That evening, another trip to Jo Bistro for dinner. For me, Chicken Pad Thai.

• Thursday, an enjoyable trip south to Miami to meet Marybeth and Carlo and to visit granddaughter Sara.

Free shuttles from one place to another makes walking much easier.

A walk along the shore behind the Miami City Hall to see the marina and luxury yachts.

The storage of the not-so-big boats begged the question: Where do they go during the hurricanes?

An afternoon stop at Regatta Grove for a drink.

L. to R. Silvia, Carlo, Marybeth, Mary, Chuck, Sara.

Sunset in Miami

Dining at Farinelli 1937 a delicious experience. The website is visually pleasing.

Poggio Scaletti Chianti classico in Toscana

CRESPELLE DI RICOTTA: Stuffed with ricotta, spinach and nutmeg. Pomodoro Basil Sauce.

Saturday morning, we caught the West Palm Beach Green Market. A huge venue of vendors with crafts and foods covering blocks.

$26.00 Maryland Crab Cakes

An afternoon at the beach in Palm Beach.

Dining at True Foods Kitchen. Their VIDEO explains.

NOT YOUR MAMA’S MEATLOAF:

Verde Farms grass-fed organic beef, herb-roasted fingerling potato, honey roasted carrot, mushroom jus, micro-greens.

The Wishing Tree at Rosemary Square, West Palm Beach

And to finish my extended stay in West Palm, a trip to north Boca for a Sunday dinner at Carlo's mom's place. With Silvia's from-scratch homemade tiramisu in hand, it was another dining event with family and friends.

And that concludes my month-long stay of the east coast of Florida. Time now to move inland to my next stay in Clermont, FL for February and March.

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.”
– Seneca