Disc Golf on Key Biscayne

My friend Dan from Canada and I went down to Key Biscayne Saturday morning to play what could be the next new disc golf course in south Florida – Crandon Park on Key Biscayne. Key Biscayne is one of my favorite spots to go and bike around, so I was particularly excited at the prospect of playing disc golf down there too. Since the park is still in the early stages of planning the course, a fundraiser was set up to promote the sport and show the park officials how the course would be set up. 18 temporary baskets were brought in by the 20 or so golfers who showed up, and a fun short course was set up, with about half the holes right on the beach. I didn’t play too well, but I didn’t really care. I always enjoy playing a new course, and it was great see some old disc golf buddies I haven’t seen in a while.

After the mini-tournament, I showed Dan the rest of Key Biscayne, including Bill Baggs Park and the Cape Florida lighthouse. We got there right before they closed up the lighthouse so we got to enjoy the beautiful view from up top. I also showed him the cool view of downtown Miami from the Key Biscayne side as we headed off the key. As we drove back up north, we stopped in downtown Hollywood for some great people-watching and good live music. This was Dan’s first time in Hollywood, so I took him to Hollywood Beach next, where we had dinner and walked along the boardwalk. I always enjoy playing tour guide, especially when its around some of my favorite stomping grounds.

Biking in South Beach

I had so much fun in South Beach in Miami a couple months ago, I couldn’t wait to go back again. And that’s exactly where I ended up this past Saturday. But this time, I brought my bike, for there were a few places I wanted to check out last time but couldn’t find any parking. And with my bike, parking problem solved. After I arrived in South Beach and parked my car, I made a b(ike)-line north to the Holocaust Memorial. I was amazed by it the first time I drove by it a few months back, and it’s even more stunning up close. I first learned of the Holocaust when I was a junior in high school and couldn’t believe such an event ever took place. Then my father told me all his stories of growing up in Hungary during that time and how the German soldiers would bust through his front door, accusing his family of hiding Jews. And those stories came back to me as I walked around the incredible moving statue. As I spent a good hour walking around the memorial and reading the memorial walls about the events that took place back then, I noticed more and more people arriving, and quite a few were in tears. I left there feeling very somber but also very fortunate to visit such a powerful place, as I felt the exact same way when I first visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC back in the 90’s.

Right next to the memorial was the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, which I also did not get to see back in November.  A small but very nice garden, it helped pick up my mood, and it reminded me a lot of the botanical garden in the middle of downtown Honolulu. I particularly liked the Oriental garden area with the quaint red bridge and the Oriental statues. There were also some interesting art pieces that seem to fit in nicely with the colorful flowers blooming within the garden.

I then biked over the Venetian Causeway that go through the Venetain Islands. It took a while to cross, though, as I kept stopping to take pictures of the beautiful waterway and the great views of the downtown Miami Beach skyline. I then headed back towards the beach and biked all around South Pointe Park. As I drove away up north along the beach, I was hoping to stop here and there to do some more exploring and take more pictures, but the day turned from warm and sunny to windy and cloudy and I ended up driving all the way back home without stopping again. At least I had great weather in South Beach and got to check out some incredible hidden gems that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from one of the most popular beach spots in the world. 

Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse

After telling a good friend about the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse tour that I did for the first time last November, he asked me to let him know when the next tour was so he could go check it out. The Coast Guard opens up the lighthouse 6 times a year for visitors to tour, and the first tour of 2010 was this past Saturday.  And that’s where Leo and I ended up on a very windy and somewhat cloudy day. Completely different conditions from the first time I went, when it was an absolutely beauitful and calm day, the gray sky and gusting winds made for a unique experience at the top of the lighthouse, not only with holding your camera still but also with breathing, as the wind would literally take your breath away. It still made for a fun time, and Leo thoroughly enjoyed his first lighthouse and all the pictures he took with his brand new camera.

Sanibel, seashells, woods and trees

After a fun couple of days down in the Keys, C-Lo and I spent Christmas Day with some good friends. We then did some more adventuring on Saturday, driving out to the west coast of Florida. Our first stop was in north Naples at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. One of my favorite hikes in Florida, I knew C-Lo would love it there because of all the cool birds, which she loves to watch. And it did not disappoint this time either, despite the cool temperatures and cloudy skies. The birds were more than happy to show off to all the birdwatchers along the 2-mile boardwalk. After a couple hours there, we made our way farther west to Sanibel Island.

I wish I could say I’ve been there more often, but this is only the fourth time I’ve ever been to Sanibel, with the last time being about 6 years ago. So I was pretty excited to go back, and not only for its great sea-shell collecting but also the cool lighthouse. And even though it was a bit chilly, we still enjoyed a beautiful sunset. We then had dinner on the island at Timbers, a popular local seafood restaurant.

We then spent Sunday back in the Ft. Lauderdale area going to a few of my favorite local parks. We first hit Secret Woods Nature Center, which offers some great hiking along a couple nice boardwalks that go along the New River. They also have a small but pretty butterfly garden with many differents types of plants and herbs. Since C-Lo was up for some more hiking, we then drove southwest to Tree Tops Park. Highlighted by a 40-foot observation tower, this park is full of fun hiking trails that meander through the woods, and includes a 1,000 foot boardwalk above a freshwater marsh. The park also features a natural area with more hiking trails called Pine Island Ridge. It was a great end to a fun week of touring around Florida with C-Lo, who flew back to Virginia on Monday.

Key West and the Dry Tortugas

My friend C-Lo flew in from snowy Virginia on Tuesday afternoon for a week of fun and sun down here in Florida. We had discussed going down to Key West for a few days, so after getting everything together Tuesday night, we headed out on the 4-hour drive down on Wednesday morning. I usually like to stop here and there along the way at the different Keys, but we drove straight through this time to get in as much time in Key West as possible, especially since we had a day-long boat cruise on Thursday. After arriving and checking into our hotel room at the Southernmost Hotel, we took a walk towards downtown and visited the Key West Lighthouse. C-Lo wasn’t up for going inside it so I went up instead and got some great photos and video from the top of the city and ocean. We then made our way to the historic downtown district and Mallory Square to enjoy the daily ritual of the sunset. After another gorgeous Key West sunset, we enjoyed the various entertainment in the square and then enjoyed a nice seafood dinner on the harbor. Since we had to get up early for the next morning’s boat ride, we retired for the night.

There’s one place in Florida I’ve always wanted to go to, and you have to be in Key West to get there. So since we happened to be down that way, I made us reservations for a boat ride out to the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson. I was pretty excited about this trip, but C-Lo wasn’t too crazy about getting up at 6 am to catch the boat. We set sail for the 70-mile, 2-and-a-half-hour venture towards the largest fort in the United States around 8 am. The winds were whipping up a bit and we were warned that it could be a bumpy ride. But luckily, it wasn’t too bad and we made it to Garden Key with no problem. This area is known for its pristine waters and the gorgeous torquoise ocean definitely lived up to its billing.

The fort itself was also quite a marvel to behold. Big enough to put Yankee Stadium inside of it, it was rich with history, including being a prison during the Civil War, Matter of fact, its most famous prisoner was Samuel Mudd, who was the doctor who fixed John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg after he shot and killed President Lincoln. For doing so, he was sent out here to suffer, but because he did such a good job of taking care of the Yellow Fever victims of the late 1860’s, he was set free in 1869, 4 years after he arrived. Lately, Cubans seeking freedom in the states have been landing on the fort grounds, where they are then taken to Key West.

Another impressive feature of the fort is the lighthouse, which sits atop the fort. Originally built in 1825, it was eventually replaced in 1876. The 65-foot-tall lighthouse still shines but is no longer used as a navigational aid. Several types of rare birds also inhabit the Dry Tortugas, including the Brown Noddies and the Sooty Terns. Many people on the boat went snorkeling, as this is a great place for it but the winds were churning up the water, which did not make for good fish-spotting opportunities.

After about 4 hours at the fort, it was time to head back to Key West. Unfortunately, the ocean had gotten rougher, and it was a LONG boat ride back that caused at least half the boat to get sick. Luckily, I didn’t get sick but I definitely got wet from hanging out on the bow. I also got airborne a few times as we went over a couple good size waves. C-Lo couldn’t wait to get back on land as she didn’t fair as well as I did. We thought about staying another night down in Key West instead of driving back the four hours, but after some deliberation, we made it back to my house around midnight. A long rough day indeed, but I felt it was well worth it to mark off the top spot on my Florida to-do list.

Key Largo – Boca Chita Key

This past weekend went a little differently than I had planned for. Originally, I was going to spend all Saturday up north in Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island and then all day Sunday down in Key Largo. But when I checked the weather report on Saturday morning and saw that it was 40 degrees in Cocoa, I decided to switch days and go south on Saturday and north on Sunday, as Sunday was going to be warmer up north. I was also going to check out a couple more lighthouses within these areas, including the one at Cape Canaveral.

I headed the hour-and-a-half drive down to the Florida Keys, where I was first going to check out the northern part of the Upper Keys. I took Card Sound Road, an alternate route to the Keys that I’ve never taken before, and made a quick stop at Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any crocs or gators, but I did enjoy the beautiful scenery. I then turned north towards the top part of the Keys, but had to turn around after a mile or so when I hit the private Ocean Reef Club community. As I made my way south towards Key Largo, I stopped at the Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park. I was hoping there would be more to this park, as I was a bit disappointed by the trails. I then continued south til I hit Key Largo. I heard there was a lighthouse here, so I wanted to check it out. Not quite sure where it was, though, I decided to park my car at the Key Largo Community Park and bike up and down the waterfront streets. As I reached the street where the lighthouse was, I found the house and property it is located on but a slew of ‘No Trespassing’ signs covered the gate and I wasn’t able to see the lighthouse. I was a bit let down by this, but I made up for it by going to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park next, where I enjoyed some fun hiking and a nice canoe ride.

With a couple hours of daylight left, I started to head back north, venturing over to Biscayne National Park in Homestead. I usually stop by here on my way back from my several Everglades trips but hadn’t been back in a few years. There’s a nice boardwalk that runs along Biscayne Bay, and they also have glass bottom boat rides and snorkeling trips. As I was looking through the gift shop, I saw a number of paintings of a lighthouse called Boca Chita. Curious, I asked the park ranger where Boca Chita was, and he told me there is a boat cruise twice a day to this key that features a lighthouse. As day turned to night, I drove back home, and decided to go back down to Biscayne Park Sunday morning and do the Boca Chita boat ride instead of heading up north to Melbourne and Cocoa.

Knowing there was a minimum number of people needed for the boat to set sail, I took my chances and left early in the morning for the hour drive south back down to Biscayne Park. As I had feared, not enough people signed up for the morning outing but there was to be plenty for the afternoon trip. So instead of hanging out at the park for the next 4 hours, I headed back a bit up north to south Miami to the Charles Deering Estate at Cutler. This was my third time here, and each time has been a new experience, as I went on a moonlight hike to an ancient Indian burial ground my first time a few years back. And then, a year ago, I got to see a manatee hanging out in the bay. This time, I took a tour of the two historic houses, dating back to the early 1900’s. I also learned that his brother, James, built Vizcaya, a famous Miami landmark that I’ve been to several times.

I then went back down to Biscayne Park, where I was able to board the afternoon cruise to Boca Chita Key. Owned by Mark Honeywell (yes, that’s his name on thermostats) in the late 30’s and early 40’s, he built a 65-foot lighthouse made of coral, and although not recognized as a real lighthouse because it does not have a light and it is on the wrong side of the island to be used as a navigational light, it’s still very impressive to look at. Since a park ranger came along on the cruise, she opened the lighthouse for a bit, where I not only got some great overlook views of the key and the beautiful bay, I also happened to see a black-tip shark swimming in the water below, which I’ve never seen in the wild before.

I can truly say, this weekend went better than I had planned, and I got to see a new lighthouse too, just not the one I was expecting. I’ll just have to save the Cocoa/Merritt Island trip for a warmer day.

A Tale Of Two Lighthouses – Part 3

Welcome to Part 3 of my Florida lighthouse travels, where I actually explored 3 lighthouses over the weekend, one on the east coast and two on the west coast. Part 1 in March covered Jupiter and Key Biscayne and Part 2 in August was at St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. This time, it was the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse in Pompano Beach and the two on Gasparilla Island in Boca Grande. This was the most unique of the three trips, and included a lighthouse I had no idea was even open to the public.
A couple weeks ago, while walking along Pompano Beach, I had the rare opportunity to get some great water shots of the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse. After a little research online, I found out that it also open to the public, and the next tour was this past weekend. Situated on a private Coast Guard base, they allow access to the lighthouse six times a year through the Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society. After boarding the tour boat along the Intracoastal Waterway, we made our 25-minute trek up north to the inlet and onto the lighthouse grounds. Built in 1907 and reaching 136 feet high, the 175 steps lead you up the narrow spiraling staircase to a gorgeous view of south Florida’s coastline. I felt very lucky to have this chance to actually go in it as I’ve seen it many times along my walks on Pompano Beach, but never thought it’d be open.
After the lighthouse tour, I made my way to Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, where I played the 3 o’clock disc golf league there. It was the first round of golf I’ve played there since January, and it was great to catch up with some golf buddies I haven’t seen in a while.

Early Sunday morning, I headed across the state to the west coast, where I made a brief stop in the historic area of Punta Gorda. It started to rain lightly so I then continued on til I got to the Charlotte Harbor, which is about 2 and a half hours away from home. With the rain easing up, I got out my bike and rode a couple miles along the Cape Haze Pioneer Trail and then headed across the causeway and onto Gasparilla Island. This was the second time I’ve been here (the first time was a year ago), so I was a little familiar with the area. But I wanted to explore it more. So I parked my car at the north end of Boca Grande and biked along the paved trail that runs parallel to the main road. I got to the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse a hour before it opened, so I walked around the surrounding beach area, taking in the views and snapping pictures. Although you can go inside the lighthouse, you can only stay on the first floor, which is now a museum dedicated to the house and the island. They don’t allow any visitors up to the actual light or lookout deck. At a mere 44 feet tall, though, the 1890 lighthouse wouldn’t have nearly the impressive view as the one in Pompano Beach.
As I biked my way back north, I stopped for lunch at the South Beach Bar & Grille, where I had a delicious Key Lime Shrimp Wrap. I then checked out the other lighthouse on the island, known as the Boca Grande Rear Range Lighthouse. Built in 1932 and standing at 105 feet high, this run-down non-accessible lighthouse is full of rust and pales in comparison to the look of the first two lighthouses of the weekend. It also didn’t help that the sun wasn’t making much of an effort to show its bright face. But I did enjoy biking around the quaint town of Boca Grande, with its many colorful shops and boutiques.
With just a few hours of daylight left, I next headed south to Fort Myers Beach, where I ended my weekend with a nice stroll along the light sands and a nice but cloudy sunset.

Life’s a beach…in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami

Living in south Florida for 10 years now, I’ve spent quite alot of time on the beach, but the majority of it is at night since I go so often after work. So I decided to spend this past weekend at two of the most famous beaches in the world – Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. You used to be able to park for free on the streets along Ft. Lauderdale beach, but now it seems more economical to park at Hugh Taylor Birch Park and walk across the street to the beach. So after getting to the park just 10 minutes down the road on Saturday morning, I hiked around the park a bit and then headed over to the infamous beach. I’ve been to this beach many many times, but this was the first time equipped with my camera. Since I didn’t want to risk getting my camera wet from the salt water, I didn’t go in the water but it was very hard to resist. I walked south all the way down to the Port Everglades Inlet, which is a main port for cruise ships to pull out of and a great place to see these mammoth vessels. After a nice long stroll, I headed back north towards the park, walking along the street and checking out the several shops along the way. I also made a stop at Beach Place, which is a nice little shopping plaza right across the street from the beach.
As I got closer to the park, I headed over to the Bonnet House, a historic house and gardens. I’ve passed by here several times but had never checked it out, so I decided to investigate. Named after the bonnet lillies that are predominant in the surrounding waters, this beach cottage was built back in the 1920’s when Hugh Taylor Birch gave this area of land as a wedding gift to his daughter. who had just married famed Chicago artist Frederic Clay Bartlett. As I took the tour of this stylish house, I learned that Frederic’s third wife lived here until 1995, when she was 107 years old. The gardens were a treat to meander around, but I didn’t see any monkeys, which supposedly also hang out here up in the trees. I guess I was the only monkey around this day. Afterwards, I walked back on the beach for a while longer and then some more at Birch Park before driving over to downtown Lauderdale.
Another favorite local area of mine to hang out at, this historic area is full of many old houses from back in the early 1900’s, and is situated along the New River. This area is known as Las Olas Riverfront and features the fun Riverwalk. I also went over to the shopping district along Las Olas Boulevard that features many cool shops and restaurants.

After a fun Saturday at Ft. Lauderdale Beach, it was now time to explore Miami’s famous South Beach. Amazingly, this was the only fourth time I’ve ever been here, and the last time was eight years ago. I didn’t have too good of a memory from back then (the smell around the city was less than fragrant and the parking was horrendous), and really had no desire to go back. But I figured I’d give it another try, and did some research online on exactly where to go and what to check out. And I’m so glad I did, as I was not only able to find parking with no problem (and a much cheaper rate than last time), I went to a great park on the south side of town called South Pointe Park. With a beautiful view of the inlet and the skyline of downtown Miami, this park is ideal for biking and blading around and really made me wish I had brought my bike. I then walked north along Lummus Park, which runs parallel with the beach and includes a long wooden boardwalk. Not able to take it anymore, I headed off the boardwalk and onto the sand, where I enjoyed the beautiful waters and the bright sunshine.
I then spent some time walking around the popular Collins Avenue and the Lincoln Road Mall. I also explored more of the inland areas around Miami Beach, first going to Flamingo Park and then the Holocaust Memorial. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any parking near the memorial and after driving around for 15 minutes, I decided to head on. As I drove out of Miami Beach, I took the Venetian Causeway. Again wishing I had my bike with me, I wasn’t able to stop and get any pictures of this beautiful area that has more great views of Miami. But it was a great way to end my weekend tour of south Florida’s hottest spots, and I will definitely be returning to South Beach soon…with bike in tow!

Disc golfin’ in Kentucky and Indiana

One thing I’ve always wanted to do was to fly to a city I’ve never been to before for just a weekend, rent a car and play all the disc golf courses within that area. So after looking into different cities and states to pull this off, I decided that Louisville, Kentucky was the perfect spot. And that’s exactly where I went this past weekend. My friend, Steve and I flew out early Friday morning, landing in Louisville around noon, and getting out to our first course at Iroquois Park, which is just ten minutes west of the airport. It took us a little while to get used to the elevation and the searching for our discs under the tons of fallen leaves. But we were definitely enjoying the cool weather and the first of many new courses on our trip. We then drove about 15 miles east to the other Louisville course at Charlie Vettiner Park. We had heard alot of good things about this course, and it did not disappoint, as we were digging the up and downhill shots interspersed through the course. After the first round, we had just enough time for at least another 9 holes. As we arrived at the tough 12th hole, which is a straight shot down a gully and then a bit of an uphill ending, I pulled out a disc I had found earlier on the course to throw as my final shot. Steve told me that if I get a hole-in-one with this disc, he will puke. Unbelievably, my shot went straight down the fairway and slammed into the basket 271 feet away, sticking for a day-ending ace. Luckily, Steve didn’t throw up either. We then drove south 30 minutes to Elizabethtown, where we got a hotel room and prepared for our next-morning round.

We started off Saturday morning at Freeman Lake Park, which we both could not get enough of. Absolutely picturesque park and a champion-caliber course, we were sorry we only had enough time for one round. We then went a bit up north to Radcliff, where we played the fun and hilly city park course. After a quick round at this short course, our next stop was right up the road at the Muldraugh course. The first hole was one of the most unique holes we’ve ever played – you had to throw through a small tunnel under the road (see video below). I’m proud to say we both made it through cleanly. This course was like a bigger and meaner version of the Radcliff course we just played. Another enjoyable course down, the next course in Brandenburg was right around the corner. Unfortunately, though, we didn’t see that corner and drove 20 minutes north the wrong way. Once we fugured out our error, we headed back south and finally found the course. Normally, we still would of had enough time for a round or even two at Meade Olin Park, but we had plans to play a glow-in-the-dark tournament at a course about two hours due west. So after only playing 10 holes at Olin Park, we made our way into Indiana to Mesker Park in Evansille. Thinking we were going to be late, we crossed a time zone and ended up arriving right on time with the time change. Steve’s friend hipped us to this night tournament, which was a doubles format. The course was covered in over 150 lit pumpkins, including a lit pumpkin on the top of each basket. Playing a first round at a new course is always interesting, but this was the first time I ever played a course for the first time at night…in the dark…where you could hardly see anything. Luckily, my doubles partner was a local and knew the course inside and out. And after a slow start, we finally started to hit on all cylinders and birdied our last 8 holes, which earned us a second place finish out of 28 teams and $30 each.

We had originally planned to drive back the 2 hours towards Louisville after the tournament, but we were both too tired and wanted to play a few of the other courses in and around the Evansville area. So after staying the night there, we hit our first course on Sunday morning at the University of Southern Indiana. Yet another scenic and hilly course, with many fun and challenging holes. We weren’t sure which course we were going to hit next, but ended up back across the Ohio River in Kentucky about 15 minutes away in Henderson, where we enjoyed the new Atkinson Park course. We then got back on the road as we headed east towards the airport but staying in Indiana to our next course in Corydon at the Fun Farm – a recreational complex that has go-cart racing, paintball, and…oh yeah, disc golf too! We both agreed this was our second favorite course after Freeman Lake, and it lived up to its name – fun! With just enough time for one more round before we flew back to Florida, we stopped by Garry Cavan Park in Georgetown. A bit disappointing, as the layout of the course wasn’t as nice as the previous courses we had played, but we still enjoyed our last round of our trip. And just for good measure, I almost got another hole-in-one on my last throw, as my drive bounced off the basket. Overall, the trip went very smoothly. We couldn’t say the same about the flight home, as we barely made our connection in Atlanta. Due to a late start in Louisville, we got to the gate in Atlanta right as the plane was supposed to take off. Thinking for sure they were going to give away our seats (happened to me when I flew back from Virginia a few months ago), we were both shocked we actually got on our flight, but very thankful at the same time. And now that I’ve finally done a weekend disc golf trip in another state, I’ve already planned the next one – Memphis in May – look out, Elvis, here I come!

Hole 1 at the Muldraugh Disc Golf Course in Muldraugh, Kentucky:

Lantana-Greenacres-Pompano-Miramar-Miami

After taking a couple weekends off to recover from my Hawaii trip and catch up on things at home, I was ready to start exploring more of Florida again. And what better way than my typical North-South weekend. My first adventure on Saturday was at John Prince Park in Lantana, which is about half an hour north of home. I’ve been to this park many many times before, but have yet to blog about it. So here ya go – one of my favorite places in south Florida to go biking, where I once again enjoyed another fun ride along the 4.5 mile paved trail that goes around the beautiful Lake Osborne. I used to go to this park on a more frequent basis, where I would pretty much spend all day biking and hiking around and even camp out at the campground, usually getting a site right near the water. I’d usually then drive about 20 minutes northwest to Okeeheelee Park in Greenacres.

So why make this Saturday any different – bet you can’t guess where my next stop was. Okeeheelee Park also boasts a fun 5-mile paved bike trail that meanders around several lakes that are full of fishermen, boaters and water-skiers. After another bike ride, I rented a kayak and paddled around one of the lakes for an hour, stopping for a few minutes at an island in the middle of the lake. Unfortunately, the island’s ground is too full of sand burrs to walk around on it barefooted, but I have explored this island before…with shoes on, of course. I then checked out the nature center there, where you’re greeted by a barred owl, who seems to watch your every move. They also have a cute little burrowing owl, who is just as attentive but much more elusive, usually ducking down into his little cubbyhole as soon as you make eye contact with him. I then enjoyed the serene nature trail that leads to a lookout where you used to always see deer hanging out before poachers killed them last year. It’s just not the same without the deer.

I had originally planned to spend more time up north but since I had plans to play some glow-in-the-dark Halloween disc golf back near my neck of the woods, I drove back down to Pompano Beach, where I took a nice long walk along the beach to the Hillsboro Inlet, where the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse shines right across the water. I did the exact same walk on Friday night, but it was just too dark to get any really good pictures, so this time, I made sure I went with plenty of daylight to spare. As I was taking photos of the lighthouse, I asked a jet-skier if the beach where the lighthouse was was public. He said that it was a private beach, but if I wanted to hop onto his Sea-Doo, he’d take me across the inlet to get some closer pictures. So we drove across the way, where I was able to get some nice up-close shots of the lighthouse. I told him about my blog and to check it out, so Mitch, thanks again for the ‘water-taxi’ ride – the pictures came out great! I ended the evening by meeting up with a couple disc golf buddies and playing a quick round of night disc golf.

Since I hit some old stomping grounds on Saturday, I ventured out to some new parks on Sunday in the Miami area. First up was Snake Warrior’s Island, a natural area in Miramar, which is just north of Miami. I’ve known about this place for a while, but had yet to check it out til now. And I was very impressed with how nice and pretty it was, as I walked around the surrounding lakes along the paved path. I was also amazed at all the history of this area, as it was known as an Indian village back in the early to mid 1800’s.

I then headed south into Miami, where my next new park was A.D. Barnes Park. I first heard about this park only 6 months ago, and I enjoyed another nice hike around the park and the lake within it. It also has a nature center, but it was closed, so I wasn’t able to check it out. After an hour or so there, I drove about 5 minutes west to Tropical Park, which I’ve been to twice before, but never really spent alot of time at. More fun hiking trails and lakes to meander around, this park also features a very nice memorial to all the fallen police officers in Miami-Dade County. Since I was so close to the disc golf course at Indian Hammocks Park, I met a good friend at the course, where we played a couple rounds.