Cape Canaveral to Palm Beach

Last week we exhausted ourselves hopping from park to park at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando.  We took in many other exciting area attractions, then had lunch with an astronaut at Cape Canaveral.  Now we should be ready to relax in the car and drive down the East Coast Florida.  Hwy 95, 1 or 1A will get you started.

The Treasure Coast is a lovely, untarnished stretch of quiet beaches.  There’s booty at the bottom of the ocean along this coastline, where an 18th century Spanish fleet sunk. The McLarty Treasure Museum is where those shipwrecked survivors of yore set up camp. 

The Sebastian Inlet State Park has a beautiful stretch of natural beach, and a protected wilderness area that includes Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. 

Stay on Island-side Route A1A, where beaches are well maintained, with playgrounds and facilities.  Stop and enjoy a swim and a picnic.

As you continue south you’ll enjoy the Vero Beach area, with shops, art galleries, restaurants and a boardwalk to the dunes.

There are several protected sea turtle areas South of Vero Beach, thick with mangroves. 

Ft. Pierce is home to the Navy Seal Museum.  This is where the first frogmen trained for D-Day.   And be sure and see the manatee attraction downtown.

The Treasure Coast ends at Stuart, with its trademark pink sidewalks.  Bathtub Beach has a small reef 100 feet offshore that creates a lagoon-like area with calm shallow waters which are great for kids.

There are plenty of nice resorts, hotels, and mom and pop type motels for your over-night convenience. 

Tighten your seatbelt and be ready to gasp, ooh and aah.  We’re entering the Gold Coast.

Henry Flagler (of Standard Oil Company) built the railroads that opened up the east coast of Florida.  He is considered to be largely responsible for the establishment of tourism and agriculture as the mainstays of the Florida economy.   

In 1894 Flagler built his first hotel at Lake Worth, then in 1896 his second at Palm Beach.  Guests requested rooms over by the dunes, so he soon doubled its size, and renamed it “The Breakers”.  The guest registry is a “who’s who” of 20th century America--Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Astor, Carnegie, Morgan--not to mention European nobility and US Presidents. 

When it burned in 1925, seventy-five artisans were brought from Italy to complete the magnificent paintings on the ceilings of the 200 foot-long main lobby.  Today it is far grander than its predecessor, and is an unrivaled masterpiece.  Go in and see “The Breakers”, and tour the Flagler museum as well.

Palm Beach is now a world-renowned community, known for its extraordinary natural beauty and the Mediterranean-style architecture, fabulous upscale shopping, world class hotels and restaurants, and very cosmopolitan culture.

Palm Beach has lush gardens, 47 miles of palm lined beaches, and an outstanding marine environment.  It is often called the Gold Coast due to the exclusivity of the population, and the condensation of wealth and culture.  Look through the iron gates at the historic mansions, set well off the road. When you think Palm Beach, think luxury.