Feb 22

We had a wonderful day in ritzy Palm Beach. Henry Flagler (1830-1913) is said to be responsible for the growth of tourism in Florida. He made his money as one of the founding fathers of Standard Oil and had fun building a railroad linking Jacksonville at the northern border to Key West before the turn of the century. Along with the railroad, he built beautiful hotels along the coast. Mom first told us about him when we were down in Miami and Key West a couple of years ago at Christmas time. We had a very special Christmas dinner at the Flagler Hotel in Key West. I read that a ship bound from the west Indies to Spain went aground along the barrier island that is now Palm Beach spilling coconuts on the shore. Seeing the palms, Flagler decided the area would be his next project and laid out a fashionable resort. In 1902, the Gilded Age, Henry built a mansion for his bride as a wedding present. The deed was even in her name. With more than 75 rooms, the house was hailed as “grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world.” It is now a museum with a fabulous tour. I like this quote from Andrew Carnegie. “It is well, nay essential, for the progress of the race that the houses of some should be homes for all that is highest and best in literature and the arts.” Building the kind of house described by Carnegie was one way that Gilded Age leaders sought to inspire and educate the public. They made their homes literally museums. Museums like we have today were not common then. The tour pointed out that Flagler was interested in providing a better life for the people of Florida by providing jobs by building up tourism. It worked. The house is really amazing. The entrance Hall is 5,000 square feet. It was very modern for its time with a bathroom in every bedroom. The huge master suite even had a shower. Electric lights were throughout, a telephone and thermostat in every room was unusual for the time, even for the wealthy. Each guest could set the temperature in their guest room! All this and they only stayed in the home for two months of the year! There was a guest exhibit titled “A new Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls” that was excellent. We learned so much about Clara who played a crucial role in the design and creation of Tiffany masterpieces. The lamps they had on display were so beautiful. They also had Flagler’s personal Pullman train car on display. What a beauty. It was 1,000 square feet and all done with hard woods. It included a bathroom and kitchen with a wood burning stove.

Henry Flagler's Mansion in Palm Beach

Flagler's Amazing Private Rail Car

Taxi's for Tourists

Another great stop was The Norton Museum of Art. They had two special exhibits that we really enjoyed. The first exhibit we took in was the Corning Hot Glass Roadshow. Three glass blowing artists gave a great demonstration in just 30 minutes with interesting and down to earth explanations of the process. They have a travel trailer that goes right down the freeway with their ovens etc. I always enjoy going to the Tacoma Museum of Glass and watching the glass blowers but have never had any commentary on the process. The second exhibit was called “Cocktail Culture” and was described as an exploration of the cocktail party from the 1920’s to today through the lens of fashion and design. I loved it. It went decade by decade with gowns, jewelry, and cocktail ware from famous designers. It was so well done. The private collection had some wonderful pieces. My favorite was a Monet different from any I had seen before.

Glass Blowing Exhibit at Norton Museum of Art

A Lightful Renior

We had a late lunch outside enjoying a view of the water and the balmy air at E.R. Bradley’s Saloon before walking out on a pier to see some amazing and long, maybe 100 feet, and beautiful boats in the harbor. We drove along the coast gasping at one gorgeous stately home after another! We stopped and walked through the peaceful gardens at the Bethesda By the Sea church. What a day…

Surfers in the Distance at Palm Beach

More than One of these in the Harbor!

Bethesda By the Sea Gardens

Feb. 23

With an extra day before getting ready to head to Orlando and our time share, we decided to take a drive out to Lake Okeechobee. It is the second largest lake in the continental U.S. but at it’s deepest, it is only 14 feet. It was surrounded by levy with a number of canals coming out of it and is used for flood control. We have seen canals everywhere and in this part of Florida, they all drain from the lake to the ocean. It works out great for the farmers. It wasn’t pretty at all but we stopped at the north end and walked out on a fishing pier to do some bird watching. We saw a pair of limpkin and black moorhens with a red, red forehead and bill along with a turtle basking in the sun. I’m sure there were alligators out there but we didn’t see any. We plenty of time in the afternoon, we decided to drive north to Melbourne back at the coast looking for sporting goods stores for shirts for Norm plus a couple of new things for the girls before going to Disneyworld. Not much luck. We had a stop at Sebastian Inlet State Park to do a little bird watching and see the beach once again before sunset. The ranger told us it is one of the premier fishing places in the world. We are thinking maybe in Florida, but they had four really nice fishing piers with lots of fishermen. A surfer and boogey boarder were trying to catch some waves. The beaches are so pretty! We saw a large number of pelicans roosting in trees back in Fort Pierce along the inlet. I sure didn’t know the did that.

Flat Lake Okeechobee - Second Largest Lake in Continental U.S.

Sebastian Inlet State Park

Feb. 24

Today got up to 90 degrees and broke a record! We got ready for our week in Orlando. It was a little hot for chores! We will shut down the Manor tomorrow for a week and enjoy a time share condo! We have a seven day pass to Disneyworld so we should be able to see it all!