Palm Beach Cheese Puffs

One of the most delicous and delightful tastes I've discovered living in Palm Beach for the past year and a half: The appetizer affectionately known as Palm Beach Cheese Puffs!

Seriously! These little dollar coin-sized toasts topped with a magical mixture of cheese and who knows what else is one of the most delicious things I have ever "appetized." Is that a word? Probably not.

The taste is strong yet smooth, toasty and warm, savory and rich! and as far as I know, you can only get them in the Palm Beaches...so come on down and we'll get some!

Before

After (After that is a plate with crumbs)

Build a Bridge and...

December 5, 2011, 10:30am, begins the reconstruction of the Flagler Memorial Bridge, affectionately called as the North Bridge.

It is one of three bridge that link Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, over the Intercoastal Water Way.

From December 5 through 16, the bridge will have one lane closed from 10:30am to 3:30pm. You'll want to plan extra time to cross and remember to factor in extra time for draw bridge openings which can happen any hour, at quarter past and quarter til.

I thought I'd share some photos of the North Bridge's current beauty. What will happen to these lovely accessories once the new bridge is built?

One interesting bit is that the old bridge, after being completely removed, will be recycled as "a structure within an existing artificial reef site in the ocean just to the southeast of Lake Worth Inlet." (source)

So enjoy; tomorrow they may be gone...

 

Can you see a small, yellow "heart"?

 Thanks for joining me today. Until next time, Eli

Color-fall Palm Beach

Being from Colorado and living on old city streets full of rugged deciduous trees and near hillsides packed with a banquet hall of quaking aspen trees, I delight in the colors of fall and the cooler weather that goes with it.

In the Rocky Mounatins, it brings with it their "Season", Ski Season!

Believe it or not, several ski areas are already open: Wolf Creek, Arapaho Basin, Loveland, Copper Mountain and Winter Park {30 minutes from where I grew up}. If you want to know how good the snow is, check out the Snow Report.

Living in Florida, as you might imagine, is a little different. I just shared a post about The Season in Palm Beach but what about the signs of fall here. I can tell you...they are everywhere, you just have to pay attention to see its beauty. Let me help you, below are a number of "Color-fall" images from Palm Beach.

 

Thanks for visiting today and Happy Fall!
Until next time, Eli

Happy Halloween, Snow or Shine

Happy Halloween to my new island friends
and my old mountain friends!

We are super excited to be here on the Island of Palm Beach this year for Halloween because for the first time in a long time, we expect not to have snow. (Apparently, it's not that common here.) Denver, on the other hand, plays host to many bundled-up super heroes, princesses and the like as nearly every year, it snows! Want to check out the forecast for Denver? Palm Beach?

In 1993, HB, as Pink Tinkerbell, looked darling at the charming school parade. Later it seemed that Tink was having a little problem with steroids. (but at least she was warm)

This year, HB is the mad hatter and can't wait to Trick-or-Treat on Palm Beach's "Sea" streets... Seaview, Seaspray and Seabreeze.

Apparently, these neighbors hoard candy for months to try to have enough candy to make it through a few hours of passing out "sugar comas."

I was unable to find any confirmation of this online, so I guess it's not an official island event but many locals assured me this was the place to be for costumed, candy-collecting youngsters. As in most cities, going early will help stave off a late, hyper-inducing sugar buzz and might help with avoiding older kids...who should be at home passing out candy.

Anyway...

Here's my treat to you. Some town images I  photographed and "doctored up" a bit...

BOO!

 

{All pics by me}

One last little treat, a favorite hymn: I sing a song of the Saints of God...

Again, Happy Halloween and All Saint's Day.

Until next time, Eli

Interpreting the Signs

Not being a girl who grew up near the water, I find it disconcerting when trouping off to the beach and I see a flag or two flapping in the breeze. A feeling creaps over me, similar to the moment the eerie music comes on  and you think, "Don't open that door." Cause you know it can't be good.

So what do those flags mean? And what do I do about the meaning? Are they as predictable as a low-budget horror flick, traveling from beach to beach, seeing the same thing?

Well, grab another helping of  popcorn 'cause as it turns out, it is not complicated.

The Florida Coastal Management Program along with several other government organizations (Florida Beach Patrol Chiefs Association, the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA), and the International Life Saving Federation) has created a "uniform waving flag program for use by Florida’s beachfront communities." 

Thank goodness for that!

Seriously, imagine grabbing your board and showing up at one beach with red flags while your bud 10 minutes away flies orange flags...and the same conditionse? Hey, Don't open THAT door...confusing to say the least.

This beauty needs no warning system

According to FCMP, beaches now have "flags in four colors accompanied by interpretive signs along the beach to explain the meaning of each color."

Using the small key below, see if you can interpret the signs.

• Red flags with a no swimming symbol indicate that the water is closed to the public.
• Red flags without a symbol indicate a high hazard from surf and/or currents.
• Yellow flags indicate a medium hazard from moderate surf and/or currents.
• Green flags indicate a low hazard with calm conditions. Beachgoers should still exercise caution.
• Purple flags indicate a hazard from dangerous marine life. These flags are used in conjunction with another colored flag indicating the current surf/current conditions.

The flag pic above coordintates with this interpretive sign. So the purple sign for "dangerous marine life" warns of Jelly Fish. The green flag heralds a "low hazard." Look beyond the guard post or the sign and see the sea is pretty much flat. Now check out this one:

Not only are the waves much bigger but you can see that the flags are straight out due to plenty of wind. In this case, an inexperienced beach goer, like me, might want to stick to the sand and stay out of the water.

My final thought, imagine a stop light: green is go, yellow is caution, red is stop. That is pretty good advice for the beach...purple, you say? Check the interpretive signs to see what it refers to before splashing about. Above

Finally, always be alert, never go alone and just plain be smart when taking to the beach. Mother Nature can always throw a curve ball.

Until next time, Eli

No Yawning Awnings

The sun is strong here. Everyone tells me so.

The latitude, being on the near side of the equator, actually makes it so. Check out my blog post on the Sun's rays at sea-level beach vs. high altitude mountains.

Any way you slice it, clipping around town for some jaunty fun is a bummer when you stop at a cafe or diner and have to wait outside in the sun for a table or for your valeted car.

Chic stores in Palm Beach use awnings. These aren't your run-of-the-mill, boring awnings. But just like the fashion of hip Palm Beachers, they wear the latest styles with graphic patterns, bright colors and fun shapes.

Graceful shape and dynamic colors

 Let's take a little tour around Palm Beach Island and view some of what the best looking doors wear.

Bold Stripes and scallops

Triplets and Twins

Classic white with scallops

Elegant cloth and metal

Form and color

Here's an activity for you, as you drive or walk around town, see if you spy any of these, or maybe some that I missed. Just enjoy the hunt!

Until next time, Eli

Hurricane Irene's Gift

SURF!!!

I really have so much to learn about the ocean, its beauty and its power. For several days here in Palm Beach, we watched as weather forecasters anticipated Hurricane Irene would be a nasty visitor here. Slowly, however, those same weather Joe's discovered her true path would be farther north. Check out the National Hurricane Center for current news of Tropical disturbances.

I asked a number of locals about their ideas of what this storm would bring here, and several said that the waves would be huge and the surfers would respond.

See the layers...impressive.

I had to see for myself just what it was like: to watch, to listen and to stand in awe of Mother Nature's "gift".

I chatted with a young man named Arturo, and I asked him, "As a surfer, how do you know when it's time to get up on your board?"

He responded, "There is a fine line between getting up and disaster. It's so quick and you have to lean in to the wave."

Ryan, a confident surfer, found that fine line in these shots.

Anyone out there today must be confident in their abilities and hopefully they have a buddy to watch out for them. Just getting beyond the break looks brutal to this mountain mom.

Until next time, Eli

{all images in this post were photographed by moi!}

Damsels, Dragons and Duplication

They don't seem to be following the traffic rules.

Who's a Damsel?
What's a Dragon?
I don't know...third base!! {if you don't know what I'm talking about, ask a parent}

I have never seen anything like it! Swarms of dragonflies and/or damselflies nearly everywhere you turn on the Island of Palm Beach.

What. is. going. on?

A small section of roof showing nine dragonflies.

According to several locals, it is mating season. According to several articles, that means that the youth flies, who have lived in the water for 2-3 years, have just emerged and are ready to "par--tay!!" There is plenty of information about how this happens (here is a simple but engaging article) but for now, enjoy a few photos and imagine standing below this frenzy...all. over. town!

"Being predatory, (dragonflies) are important in keeping the numbers of pest insects in check. Their ability to dart here and there, check their flight in mid beat, and turn to capture insects is unparallelled in the animal kindgom" According to an article on suite101.com, Mmmmm, mosquitoes!!!

"The most noticeable difference is their wings. Damselflies, also usually smaller, fold their wings back close to the body at rest whereas dragonflies keep their wings spread out at about 180 degrees."COOL!

Well, if I don't stop writing and filling your head with useless, yet entertaining info, I might never get to the rest of my day. Have a fabulous one...

Until Next time, Eli (Feel free to click on a pic to make it larger, you really can see it better.)

And to top that off...

a finial, or two, or three...


Since I have been here, I've noticed a variety of stunning architectural styles and treatments. The ocean, the beach and the lifestyle here, clearly impact home styles. As I keep my eyes opened while discovering this new place, I am especially fascinated by finials. According to dictionary.com, it is a relatively small, ornamental, terminal feature at the top of a gable, pinnacle, etc.

Once I give myself a focus, I get out there and shoot, shoot, shoot.

The crazy thing? Every time I went out on this specific shoot, it rained.** So lots of these images were shot from my car, with a window rolled down, while the door and my arm got soggy and the dog dozed in the back... I LOVE discovering this place.

Please enjoy these images and then, maybe have a little treasure hunt to see if you can find them.

 

Until next time, Eli
**Look at the very first photo again and see if you can see the raindrops...cool, hugh!