Palm Beach (and finally some golf!)

NOTE: For all you "non-golf fans", you can skip to the third paragraph.

Well, we waited until we got to one of the swankiest, most exclusive areas in Florida to finally pull the clubs out of the trunk and try to play some golf. On our first day, when we told the bartender at our hotel that we planned to play some golf he commented that since the Palm Beach area has more golf courses than almost any place else in Florida, we were in the right location. He also mentioned, however, that most of the courses were private. We did find a couple that were both accessible and reasonably priced.

One worth mentioning was the North Palm Beach Country Club. This is a municipal course owned by the city, but renovated and redesigned by Jack Nicklaus in 2006 as a gift to his adopted home town. After playing this very links-style course, we tend to think old Jack had some kind of grudge against the town and was trying to give some payback. The bunkers were pot-style with sand so soft that you thought it might be quick-sand; a few were so deep they actually had steps so you could get in and out! The greens, however, were his crowning "gotcha." While large and very well maintained, most had so many undulations that it was difficult to find any flat spot larger than a card table. In all fairness, it was a stern test of golf and we really enjoyed the experience -- despite the numerous three-putts.

OK, we'll put away the golf clubs for a while so all those who don't enjoy the frustration, er, uh, pleasure of golf can re-join us.

Within walking distance of our hotel was a very casual, open-air bar/restaurant called Johnny Longboat's. It was a fun place for a drink, quick bite or full meal, and we ate there a couple of times. They served a lot of fresh fish and local specialties. It had a fun, festive atmosphere with live music (usually Caribbean / steel drum) in the afternoons. The decor is hard to describe -- a little bit beach bum, a little bit nautical and with just enough tropical island "kitchy-ness" to pull it all together. It had only reopened recently, having been destroyed by a hurricane a few years ago.

We visited the Henry Morrison Flagler museum in Palm Beach, FL. If you remember from our St. Augustine posting, Flagler was the railroad magnet who built the Ponce de Leon hotel which was later transformed into Flagler college. However, Flagler's initial financial success was in teaming with John D. Rockefeller in the founding of Standard Oil. With money from that venture, he was able to build an empire of railroads and hotels for the then, non-existent Florida tourism industry. He built a 60,000 square foot, 55-room, winter retreat house in Palm Beach as a wedding gift for his third wife. This was the beginning of Palm Beach as a seasonal destination for the wealthy. The mansion has been restored to nearly the state when it was occupied by Flagler. Docent tours are given on the ground floor and the upper floors are self-guided. Also on the property is a pavilion which houses Flagler's private railcar. More information can be found at the website: http://flaglermuseum.us/

On our way to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, we drove along Florida SR A1A. It follows within sight of the Atlantic for most of the way. The most impressive part, however, was through some of Palm Beach's most exclusive neighborhoods. Beyond the lavishly landscaped entrances were massive security gates guarding enormous opulent mansions. It was as if they took Beverly Hills, multiplied it by 100 and stretched it out along the Florida coast. Every curve in the road revealed more extravagance; we were in awe as we drove through the area with our jaws in our laps.