Fort Pierce and the Treasure Coast (MM966)...

March 10, 2023

On our way to Fort Pierce, we traveled down the ICW passing Jupiter Island, Hobe Sound, Stuart, and South Hutchinson Island. In addition to many birds- 2 being kingfishers, osprey nests, and dolphins, we saw other interesting sites... giant yachts, golf courses, and putting greens in the backyard.

Our trip to Fort Pierce was nice. The wind provided us with additional speed and our travel time was cut by an hour. The downtown area was very nice with a long riverwalk and stores, restaurants, and a brewery. You could see lots of fish in the water. Not sure if the water color has to do with the water coming in from the ocean but it is more a blue green color. Fort Pierce is part of the Treasure Coast of Florida due to numerous shipwrecks over the years. This area is also noted as being the start of the Florida cracker trail bringing the cattle across the state to Bradenton which I had mentioned previously.

We joined back up with Mary as well as Annabelle and Bev all from our Italy trip last fall. Mary figured with all of us and the 2 missing husbands, we made up a third of the people on the Rick Steves trip of southern Italy! We agreed it was just like we were just together yesterday.

It was a great market with lots of good food. They actually had someone from Baltimore that was making REAL crab cakes. I was hesitant but I watched her and it was the real deal! At the market the Foodbank was doing their yearly fundraiser called empty bowls. Annabelle, who winters down on Hutchinson Island with her husband, told us about it. Kids in the area paint pottery bowls and people select them and purchase them at this fundraiser and you have a bowl of soup. I had 5 bowls picked out and Danny gave me good reasons not to purchase 4 of them. So you can see my purchase of the "wave."

Later in the afternoon, we went to southern Hutchinson Island with old family friends, Angie and John, to the House of Refuge. In the late 1800's, there were 10 House of Refuge along the eastern coast of Florida. Originally there were 5 and another 5 were quickly added. The one we went to is the only one left standing. These houses had a keeper and rooms for refuge after a shipwreck if you could make it to shore. The keeper would walk the beach every day about 15 miles total looking for people who had come ashore. People would be found buried in the sand to avoid sunburn, dehydration, and bug bites. It had been noted the keepers would sometimes have to carry men back to the house over their shoulders. Later in the 1900's, the keepers had a metal boat to assist people out in the water. In World War II, Navy personnel were stationed here to monitor German U boat activity. The museum had records of 13 U boat attacks off the coast. One I found interesting made mention of 24 survivors making it to shore and they were fed Virginia ham.😊

The following morning, I went over to the A.E. Backus Museum. Backus was a self taught artist who painted Florida landscapes and was from Ft Pierce. In addition to his art, he helped artists Harold Newton and Alfred Hair both black artists improve their skills. These 2 men started a group of 25 known as "The Florida Highwaymen." This group would sell their paintings door to door and on the highways of Florida. The paintings on display from Backus and the Highwaymen were stunning.

After touring the art museum, Annabelle picked me up and we toured the Navy Seal Museum. It was very powerful and I learned a lot. The museum stands on the grounds where the Navy Frogmen trained on before it becoming the SEAL (SEa, Air, and Land program) Museum. The Frogmen were part of Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT). Kennedy wanted an unconventional force in the military and in 1962, the people in the UDT were selected to be in either SEAL Team 1 on the west coast or SEAL Team 2 on east coast. Those men who served on the UDT were very important to the NASA program. In addition to teaching the astronauts about diving, they were the people who would secure the space capsule in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo splashdowns on their return to earth. There was a display of the materials the SEALs carry with them which was impressive not to mention situations that require special preparations- jet boots to wear underwater and breathing pure oxygen prior to jumping at 30,000 feet. The dogs they use in the program are Belgian Malinois- looked like a leaner German Shepard to me. The information on display under Mission planning factors, I thought was the best! Seals learn the seven P's- Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance😊. I think this is very well said!

Above is the symbol for the Seals- the Trident

the anchor is for the Navy
the scepter of Neptune as a connection to the sea
the pistol is the connection to the land and the pistol is cocked suggesting ready at all times
the Eagle is the connection to the air, the head is lowered signifying the humility of the SEAL

Another section was about the Medal of Honor. The design for the Medal is different for the Army versus Air Force versus the Navy Marines, and Coast Guard. The SEALs who have been awarded the Medal of Honor were noted on the display in addition to interesting facts about people who have received the award.

Another very well done museum and well worth your time if near Fort Pierce. They also have a 2 hour documentary in addition to the museum which we did not have enough time to enjoy.
There was lots to do here and we enjoyed the food and drinks at Tapas121, Buoy12A, Sailfish Brewing, Tipsy Tiki, Cobbs Landing, and Saunders Landing. At Buoy 12A, there had something unique called Sweet Swine- thick bacon covered in maple syrup and then set on fire with rosemary. It was very good!

There were many loopers in different phases of their trip. I put together a “Docktails” gathering of those in Fort Pierce and we had a good turnout. Next to us at the Marina were Bruce and Cheryl from Nova Scotia. Very neat people who built their own boat for the Loop and beyond in Canada. Bruce was able to help talk me through seeing the places I want to go in Canada. I am very grateful for his help.