Hobe Sound, FL
What a big relief when we woke up and saw the sun rays peeking through the curtains. It meant a good day for sightseeing, fishing, biking. 84˚
We headed out at 9:30 am. Stopped at Gator Culvert area while still in the park to look for gators, but none was seen.
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| Checking for gators |
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| There's my gator! |
We went to Hobe Sound Observation tower, climbed up the steps to the top. This is the natural highest point south of Lake Okeechobee! On way up we saw a red-bellied woodpecker on a bare tree. Even though we were few feet above sea level we were already out of breath while still combing up. Well, it was already hot and humid in the morning. Nice view of the scrub jay bush and the ocean view.
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| Red-bellied woodpecker |
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You can see Atlantic Ocean over there
In between is Indian River |
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| Top deck of the observation tower |
On way out we saw two gopher tortoises on the road , one of them was quite huge.
We were on US 1 North when Erwin decided to go by his niece's dog grooming salon, but the store was closed. From there we turned right on 714 to go across Okeechobee Waterway and Indian River.
Made a right turn to NE MacArthur Blvd to visit House of Refuge, but the parking lot was full, so we continued on to the end of the road. Decided to check out Bathtub Reef Beach. Strolled up/down the beach. The water felt so nice. The colors were blue/green.
When we had enough of it we went back to House of Refuge, found a parking spot. Admission was $8 pp, but when the tour guide found out we won't be able to follow the narrative walk she let us in for free, which was nice of her. Took us about 45 minutes to walk through. Nice view of the beach
Information on House of Refuge: It is also known as Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge, is an historic life-saving building and the oldest surviving building in Martin County of Florida. It was built in 1878 and used for life-saving station to rescue stranded sailors from the water after shipwrecks. The lookout tower, built during World War II, was used to look out for enemy submarines.
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| The Lookout Tower |
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| View of the Atlantic Ocean from the property |
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| House of Refuge |
We went to Historic Stuart town and we were very hungry. We wanted to check out Pelican Cafe, but it was closed on Mondays. We continued down the street, found Spoto's Oyster Bar. We were seated by the window and there is a nice view of St. Lucie River. Edith got Granny Smith salad and Erwin went with fish and chips. To top it off we had a large piece of carrot cake. Everything was delicious! Two thumbs up - no.. make it four!
Restroom
There is a river walk under the US 1 bridge. Few anglers, one caught two mangrove snappers, but not within the slot. After staying around and watching we decided not to go fishing here. Too much wind and Erwin started to feel lightheaded. It was time to get back in the van and leave.
On way back to the campground we stopped at Publix to pick up more fruits for our breakfast. After we got back to the campsite both of us took a nap. A nap that lasted two hours! Realizing that the sunset was like an hour away from now we fixed tacos. Then we hurriedly drove to Hobe Sound Observation Center so Edith can get pictures of the sunset from the top deck. We missed the opportunity. There were other people on the top deck watching the sunset. We stayed and waited for the civil colors (30 minutes after the sunset).
Miles Driven: 70
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