Monday, March 9, 2020

March 6 Stuart to Ft. Pierce


March 6


Left Stuart with a stiff breeze already blowing.  We were side tied to pilings with the wind blowing against our beam so thought we might have issues getting away but it all worked out after a little extra preplanning a hard push off the pilings and some judicious use of the bow thruster.  Out the last of the St. Lucie River and to the AICW proper where we made a hard turn to port and started our trek northward into the Indian River. At the crossroads of the St. Lucie River, St. Lucie Inlet and the AICW we crossed paths with our friends Russ and Jax on “InQuest” who were heading north from Jupiter.  We’ll catch up with them in Ft. Pierce for the weekend where we’ll hunker down the next several days as another cold front and strong winds pass through.
Passing under the triple bridges at Stuart
  

We’ve been fairly busy here.  Another town which has done a nice job of preserving several blocks of buildings around the waterfront.  Good restaurants, an awesome bakery, Sailfish Brewery, museums, theatres, and other shops.  Not as big or busy as Ft. Myers but a nice waterfront area.  The municipal marina is good sized compared to some we’ve stayed. More big boats here which is working to our advantage. We’re tucked in and protected with 50+ foot boats surrounding us on all sides which is minimizing those gusty winds.  Martha compared us to an old school Florida home tucked in amongst all the new Florida McMansions.
Avenue A looking from marina to town


Spent several hours on Friday visiting the A.E.Backus museum.  He was a Ft. Pierce native and artist   who became very well known for his landscapes of the natural beauty in the area.  During the Jim Crow era he was instrumental in teaching a number of local African-Americans how to paint Florida landscapes.  This group of 28 artists became known as “The Highwaymen” as they traveled up and down the Florida coast selling paintings out of their car trunks.  Friday night we enjoyed some music and vendors for their “First Fest” at the waterfront park.  SpaceX shot off another Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.  Martha got up at midnight and was able to see it in the distance.
A typical A.E.Backus Florida landscape 


Ft. Pierce is well known for their Saturday farmers market and despite it still not being into prime growing season there was a nice selection of fruit, vegetables, seafood, meats, baked goods, crafts, etc.  Bought some very sweet and juicy Honeybell oranges, red grapefruits and just picked Plant City strawberries.  We had gotten a rental car for a few days and headed down to West Palm Beach to visit with my godmother Aunt Joan.  On the way we hit a sudden traffic snarl coming to a standstill on I-95 at the WPB airport exit as the presidential motorcade headed over to Mar-a-Largo.  After a half hour delay we finally arrived and spent an enjoyable afternoon visiting, going out for a late lunch, catching up on family and reminiscing about some old family history. Ninety years young and still going strong with a sharp mind and quick wit.   I’m kicking myself for somehow managing to leave without taking a single picture.  What was I thinking???
Spacex Falcon 9 rocket
Sunset and moonrise over Indian River 
 Sure looks like Backus caught the colors right in his paintings


We continue to be stuck in Ft. Pierce with steady 20+ winds and 30+ gusts. So we used the rental car to drive up A1A and explore the coast. Wound up in Cocoa Village which is one of our upcoming marina stops and just happened to catch it when they had their quarterly street arts festival. Very nice, but I swear we saw some of the same vendors from the First Friday Fest in Ft. Pierce!!
Checking surf conditions during our drive up A1A
Journey for March 5

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