Jan 21

Spent the day taking old parts off the boat and shopping for replacement parts and more boat stuff.

We drive back through Palm Beach County, where I grew up. I have to drive up A-1-A by my favorite spot — Juno Beach. I spent many mornings running barefoot from Carlin Park to the old Jupiter Ocean and Racquet club. The sand is nice and hard packed after the tide goes out. I spent many afternoons with my pals crashing into the surf that the sea breezes would whip up. You could do Lynn Swann dives out over the waves to catch Frisbees or footballs. You could do Mean Joe Green blasts through the waves like they were some ineffectual offensive line. There were no life guards, so you could swim out as far as you wanted without being called back by a whistle. If the tide was coming in you could go up to Jupiter inlet, don a mask and snorkel, dive in near the jetty, and ride the current back past Du Bois beach. Yep. Our beach was the best ever.

Now the tall unruly sea grapes have been trimmed low. The limestone roadside has been paved with a parking lane. What was once a lonely stretch of beach is lined with cars now. I hope all those folks are enjoying it as much as I used to, but I doubt they are.