Florida Panama 2025: West Palm Beach

Monday 03.03.2025 West Palm Beach and Palm Beach, nice warm 25ºC

After a good breakfast, we drove to West Palm Beach's Clematis Street, but everything was still closed, so we continued to Palm Beach. First, we drove along S Ocean Blvd/Jimmy Buffett Memorial Hwy, where all the mansions and palaces are— including the Mar-a-Lago Club, where Trump has his estate.

Then, we parked on Worth Avenue, and once again, you just don’t see this kind of shops, galleries, and patio restaurants anywhere else. So beautiful and varied! There’s an antique bookshop, boutiques with brands I had never heard of, and even a Custom Canine Couturier!

Craving a good salad, we were lucky to find a nice place, Delamar, which had a great selection at very reasonable prices. We only managed to explore half of Worth Avenue—parking is pretty expensive ($5/hour)—so after 2.5 hours, we decided to move on and drove to Manatee Lagoon. Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach is an eco-discovery center dedicated to manatee observation and marine conservation, operated by Florida Power & Light Company (FPL). We were lucky to spot a large manatee in the basin right away! At 2 PM, we attended the indoor tour, where a manatee specialist gave a fascinating presentation about these gentle giants.

Afterward, we drove back to Clematis Street for a drink, but nothing really caught our interest, so we ended up at E.R. Bradley Saloon, a fantastic outdoor spot overlooking the marina. We shared a huge plate of nachos loaded with jalapeños, corn, avocado sauce, sour cream, and more—paired with a piña colada, of course! I also had a delicious ceviche.

No, our day wasn’t over yet! We made one last stop at Tanger Outlets, did some shopping, and finally called it a day. A full, fun-packed adventure!

And the biggest news of the day? Our third grandchild was born today! A beautiful baby boy, the son of our daughter Isabel and our future son-in-law Felix. We are overjoyed! ❤️

Tuesday 04.03.2025 West Palm Beach - Jupiter - West Palm Beach, cloudy 23ºC with little rain in the afternoon

Our day began with a scenic drive to Blowing Rocks Preserve, where we strolled through a lush green tunnel of vegetation before making our way back along the beach.

Next, we headed to the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse that is still in operation today. We admired the massive banyan tree nearby and climbed the 105 steps to the top, where we were rewarded with stunning views of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. The site also has a fascinating museum, where we learned about the Trapper Nelson, whose story intrigued us (read more about him here). This discovery later led us to the Jonathan Dickinson State Park, but first, it was time for lunch! We stopped at the Jersey Diner in Tequesta, where we had a "Polish sampler"

At theJonathan Dickinson State Park, we explored two self-guided interpretive walks, taking in the park’s natural beauty. Before heading back to our hotel, we made one last stop—at the Dunkin' Donuts we had spotted next to the diner. Volker couldn’t resist and ordered six!