Jupiter and Beyond

After a week in the Keys we moved up the Atlantic Coast of Florida and settled in at Jonathan Dickinson State Park just north of Jupiter.Site 114 in the River Campground

Camping is hard work.

The Park features a nine mile network of mountain bike trails. Great fun.The Park also offers lots of wild life viewing opportunities. We spent every morning checking on the Bald Eagle nest along the paved bike path. A fifteen week old eaglet and its mom made for some must see birding(sorry, no photos). But there were other wildlife sightings as well.

The Park is home to Hobe Hill- the highest point(86 ft) in Florida south of Lake Okeechobee.Part of our motivation for making a stop in Jupiter was to connect with Pat’s High School buddy Lynne. We spent an afternoon on Jupiter Island walking the beach and collecting shells.

From Jupiter, we traveled inland to central Florida to visit with Pat’s brother Mike and his wife Donna. We had purchased tickets for Ben Wendel’s Seasons Band jazz show in Winter Park at the Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts. Wow, what a great band and performance, (Gilad Hekdelman, Matt Brewer, Aaron Parks and Kendrick Scott).

We continued our tour of central Florida with a visit with Pat’s sister Carolyn and her husband Ed. They have recently relocated to Florida from Virginia.Their new home is near Mt. Dora, which is a picturesque town on a lake.

The 1/4 mile boardwalk gives you the opportunity to check out the local fauna.

Baby AlligatorBrown Water SnakeNight HeronA fun time was had by all. And down the road we go.