Palm Beach

We were meeting my brother Andre at his condo in Palm Beach.  He texted us to say we could not park Roadie anywhere in the area he lives in.  Andre found us a campground nearby to leave Roadie while we stayed in his condo on the beach. As I checked into the campground, I asked Leon for his license and registration.  He came out of Roadie holding up the ignition key which was broken in half.  He had no idea where the other half was.  Thankfully, my key worked, so we were able to park and get to Andre’s.

The first evening was windy but not too bad as we sat on the balcony overlooking the ocean.  Andre and Pam took us out for dinner at one of their favourite fish restaurants where we feasted on some delicious blackened fish!

The next day, we decided to take a drive up the island to see the luxurious residences on the beach, one of which is Mar-a-Lago.  Look it up if you don’t know who the owner of that is.  Traffic along the road was slow, so we got a chance to just enjoy the view.

We parked in a residential area so we could take a walk along Lake Worth, really the intercoastal waterway.  As usual, I had to pee and there seemed to be no place except the Yacht Club.  The others told me to try, even though it had all kinds of signs about being for members only.  I walked up the stairs, opened the gate to the pool area where people were enjoying lunch and found the ladies’ room immediately.  No one looked at me or asked me any questions.  When I returned to join my family, I told them I was wearing the secret yacht club uniform, a striped shirt and white shorts. It gets me in to all these very exclusive places.

The skies were threatening and within minutes of starting our walk, it started to pour, and I mean pour, as in a tropical downpour.  We tried standing under some trees but decided to make a run for it.  That’s when the rain got even worse.  Drenched, we got back into the car and made a stop at the nearby grocery store before stopping for lunch at Green’s Pharmacy and lunch counter.

Green’s lunch counter is an old style lunch place like I remember going to as a child.  We each ordered huge salad plates and ate as we dried off some more.

The weather just got windier and rainier as the afternoon went.  Thunder rolled and the waves got huge!  There was no point in trying to go out for a while but Leon and I did manage a walk down to the Lake Worth Pier.

Dinner was a great steak that Andre and Leon barbequed while Pam and I took care of the accompaniments.  I don’t know how they even managed to light the bbq with all the wind and rain, but it all turned out great!

The next day was much sunnier.  The winds were still high and the waves were crazy.  Leon and I managed a few hours by the pool swimming.  Then we walked down to the pier again and had drinks and shrimp at Benny’s.  The scene was iconic.  Turquoise seas, surfers, lots of teens in bikinis and a great table on the pier with a view.

That evening we had one last meal with Andre and Pam, Andre’s spaghetti sauce, a version of our dad’s sauce.  The wine flowed once again as did the conversation.

We said our goodbyes early in the day as Andre drove us back to the park where Roadie was waiting. Oh and don’t worry.  We had another key made, just in case.