Palm Beach County - Dog (and cat) Friendly and Beautiful Beaches

"foo-foo" dog bowl on Worth Ave, Palm Beach

In spite of what you may think, our 4th of July weekend did not just consist of sashaying about "foo-foo" places and gawking.  Well, we did gawk, but it was at some of nature's finest work.

First we had to survive the car drive there with two dogs and - yes, Darcy. 

No problem for Miss D and Panda, but for Sadie, oh no, thunderstorms.

She does not like her thunderstorms....

No problem for Darcy!  Relax Sadie!

What a trooper!  I have never had such a relaxed traveling cat.  Darcy is game for anything.

Car ride - no problem.

Hotel?  Let's just kick back with Mr. Tennis.

The Bostons had a great time at the beach.  Palm Beach County welcomes them in many areas. 

Didn't take many pictures because it was too much to juggle chairs, the dogs and keep a camera sand-free, but trust me, Sadie and Panda held their own with the big boys (labs! You know those water dog-types).  Can you say " body-surfing "?- they did it!

Of course we had to eat here! Bye-bye Atkins...

Delicious!

Look at that cool guy..

One of the most beautiful places we visited during our stay was a portion of this area's beach that is preserved by The Nature Conservancy -  Blowing Rocks.

 

What a find this was.  I have never seen a beach like this in Florida. 

Who knew we had cliffs!  (okay, they are mini-but they were impressive!)

During low tide there are tide pools to explore.

And during high tide the fun starts with watching the ocean spray!

We were on foot that day and didn't hang around, but next time we will pack the chairs and stay several hours to see all aspects of this part of coastal Florida.

The beach area is accessed through a lovely walk through overhanging Sea Grape plants. 

The dunes are supported by them as well.

Any Floridian worth their salt knows that the intercoastal waterways of our peninsula are bordered and protected by the almost unimpenitrable Mangrove.  On that side of Blowing Rocks Park, The Nature Conservancy is encouranging new growth and is protective of this important part of our eco-system.  I had not seen Mangroves in their infancy before.

A fun weekend to kick off a busy month for our family.  We are expecting The Writer and his fiancee, Sammy here towards the end of the month for some pre-wedding activities.  Next weekend The Maven and I will attend a baby shower for my neice and then we look towards August when we have some vacation plans.

The Boston Family Lives It Up!

We are fortunate to live in a beautiful state with beautiful beaches. 

This 4th of July weekend was spent in Palm Beach County.

We rubbed elbows with the rich and famous (okay, I have no idea who those people were that The Maven and I saw during our undercover visit to "The Breakers", but they had a lot more $$$$ than the Boston Family.)  Room rates run anyhere from $300 a night to several thousand dollars a night.

Why were we even there?   
The Maven is a hospitality major and her latest assignment was to get certain information and pictures from a "full service" hotel. 

Where people with cars like this hang out...

Hey, since we were in "the area" why not check out The Breakers, a beautiful hotel that is a South Florida institution?

  And The Maven's and my sanctioned foray into "that" world was an experience of awe and yes, we will admit it: a little envy...

Evidence:

The welcoming fountain and lobby

For her project The Maven was required to photograph or document many areas, too many to put on here, but I am posting a sampling.

The Lounge

Outside Environment

Comfort to guests in all aspects (let's face it, the Ladies Room is IMPORTANT!)

 And our experience in "the loo" was exceptional:

The Breakers' level of quality is certainly reflected in this beautiful restroom area.

I enjoyed my paparazzi-styled visit to this beautiful, historic hotel.

Just, beautiful..

As I said, simply beautiful....

And, you may be asking where did we stay?  At one of our favorite dog-friendly hotels (not on the beach).

And what do I drive?

Hah! fooled you! 

 This is really what the Boston Lady gets around town in - and I love it!

Later this week I will post about the lovely parks and beaches they have in Palm Beach County.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!

The End of An Era

It brought a lump to my throat when Mr. Tennis and I took down something that has been a fixture in our driveway for 20 years. 

It looked it's age and still bore a scar from the hurricanes of 2004.

Air plants were beginning to take over. Time to retire with dignity.

Both kids played recreational and school basketball and a good bit of our lives at one point were spent in gyms.  Some of us were coaches, others sat in the stands cheering until we were hoarse.

Of course, the most fun were the neighborhood games that came together in our driveway almost every afternoon at one point.  Here's an old picture of the first day we had the hoop installed. The Writer, The Maven, Catie (a neighbor) and Mr. T try it out.

We had the one shaded driveway with a hoop on the street.  Plus Mr. T could always be counted on to go out an play too.

The end of an era...

Now, what do I do with this pole?

Everyone have a wonderful 4th of July weekend.  We are headed to the beach with The Maven, The Bostons and Darcy!! (She can't be trusted to stay home with all the glass stuff for the wedding in the house - Bumby will be guarding the fortress for us) So, hopefully we will have some fun beach pictures and dog beach pictures to share.

No Darcy, they don't have cat beaches....

...or do they?

White Wednesday (with a hint of blue)

I, along with some friends, CG, Suebee, Kathy and Country Mouse have been hunting for and collecting white vases and pitchers for the upcoming wedding in our family.

Today I decided to take inventory and was surprised to see all that we have accumulated!

(Table on loan from Suebee!)

Mostly white, but a little blue here and there to go along will all the lovely Ball Mason Jars we have also collected for The Writer and Sammy's wedding.

Gals, I think we've done good!

Sammy, what do you think?  Should we keep looking?

Such fun looking for such prettiness!

My first White Wednesday! Don't know how to link to it though - can someone please assist?

Thanks Suebee! Linking to

Click here to check out all the other White Wednesday participants! Thanks Kathleen

Sun + Rain = Flowers

We've been getting a good bit of rain lately and this is rewarding us with good flower and plant growth around Boston Manor.

I'm not much of a gardener, so when things grow well, they grow because they happened to be placed in the right spot or it rains just the right amount.

Anyway, here are a few of the pretty things we are seeing lately:

This is a gorgeous blossom that shows up once a year on the varigated ginger plants we have in the backyard.  They have suffered in the last year, but still valiantly produced these beautiful orchid-like blossoms.

I thought the Plumbgo would never blossom!  Everyone else it the neighborhood has huge beautiful bushes and mine have been pitiful, but since I only planted them last year I suppose I should be proud they are still alive.

I thought they would have filled this whole space by now!

I never knew clover could have blooms like this!  This plant is a warrior and survives no matter what it's put through.

The usual favorite, impatiens...

From a hanging basket above my problem children, the bromeliads.  What started out as a medium sized potted bromeliad has turned into land of the bromeliads.  I have given tons of these away - anyone else want them? Love shade and water, but are practically indestructible!

It's time to thin these babies out - it's a prickly job.  I deliver!

Take a look at this little air plant that has fallen from the oak trees.  These are all over the place.

You can see the bud shoots spraying out from the center.  So pretty.

My crape myrtle are bowing with the weight of the rain today - they will need a trim away from the house this week.

Here are a couple more problem children.

No, not the BTs (altho they can be brats at times). I'm talking about my massive hedges behind the bromeliads.  They are a huge challenge to trim, but that will be happening soon too.  If they get too tall, then it is an even bigger job.

Take a look at the jungle that is behind us.

Which part? You may ask. Well where all the tall trees are.  We are so fortunate to have this lovely wooded area up against our backyard, but it is literally like fighting an encroaching jungle in the middle of summer.  Those trees will eventually be heavy with vines and kudzu and they end up looking like huge dinosaurs by September.  I will have to remember to take a picture of that area when it's at it's peak.

Speaking of a peak, here's a pee at my sweet little rose bloom on my rose plant out front.  It's the only rose bush I've managed not to, ahem, kill.  I've stopped doing "rose" things to it and it just does fine on it's own.  I get many blossoms from this little bush.

Are you still awake?  One last shot of my super-huge staghorn fern, Bananas.  It started out as one small "horn" and in seven years has grown into one big Banana.  Why the name Bananas?  That's what they like to eat - the skins anyway.

I hope everyone had a good weekend!  We are having a rainy one, but we are happy with that!



My Mother's Birthday....

I couldn't resist putting this picture of my then 17 year old mother in one of the frames I've painted for the upcoming wedding.  I think it suits her beautiful young self very much. As does the garden setting, since she loved flowers and to work in her garden.

How she would have loved to know that The Writer is getting married and to such a wonderful young woman.  And how I wish she could be here to meet Sammy and share in the excitement.

Something tells me that both she and my dad are watching all the preparations and rejoicing in their grandson's happiness and our family's good fortune.

Yes, she was beautiful. But her real beauty was inside and shown everyday to her family through her grace, good nature and loving care for us all.

Maude Anderson Hughes

June 21, 1918 - March 11, 2002