Biking, Bathtub Beach, and Burning Baked Buns

Gary made plans for the family to bike out to Bathtub Beach.  He estimated that it should take only about 45 minutes or so each way.  Sounded doable to me, but of course, I was not thinking about the route we would be taking to get there.

As we were preparing to head off, an older couple heard our plans about Bathtub Beach and told us that it was closed because of severe erosion.  The dunes were being built back up, but they had sustained a lot of damage.  Oh, that was too bad.  We'd have to go to the closer beach?  Aw.  Well, they don't know Gary.  Throw a wrench in his way and he will become even more hard-nosed about the task (or plans) at hand.

Me lagging behind again!

We cycled out of the marina and into downtown Stuart (through a crazy roundabout and over railroad tracks) and got onto a nice flat bike trail.  Well, that was until we got to the first BRIDGE.  I had forgotten that we'd be crossing BRIDGES!!!!!  Ugh!

First of all, I'm not a real strong bicyclist; I've had a spill or two in years past that have made me a little scaredy cat.  And this was one of those old-fashioned bikes with no gear and coaster brakes (which, of course, I ended up loving), so I was grumbling a bit.  But the angle of the bridge was too much for me; when the thighs start burning, I start walking.  So we lost a bit of time there because while the guys just sailed up the bridge, I trudged along, slowly, but surely.  It was a good view, though, and walking helped me appreciate that.  No sooner than we had done one bridge, then the other loomed in the distance.  It was an ordeal, I tell you.  Ha.

Then I realized that these were the same bridges we had to get under to get over to Stuart on our way in.  Well, now that I've traversed them over and under, I really can't say which is worse.  Hot and sweaty trudging up or cold and nervous sailing under.

We stayed on the bike path for quite a ways, until we got to an array of beaches leading out to North Point; they all looked great, but you know which beach Gary wanted to get to, don't you?  Yes, Bathtub Beach, the one that was closed.

We biked on.

Bathtub Beach

"Whatchu got there, lady?"

Bathtub Beach is called that because there is a reef surrounding it that provides a great place for people of all ages to swim and enjoy the aquaculture.  This reef is different, though, because it is built by worms rather than being a coral reef.  When we arrived, there was a closed gate.  We parked our bikes and walked in through an opening by the picnic area so that we'd stay off the rebuilt dunes.  It really had been ravaged; we also noticed that a house down the way had maybe a season or two more before falling into the sea.

Crack Coconut Cracker

But it was beautiful, the water a bright blue, easy waves coming to shore.  We didn't stay long, just enough to have some water and snacks, and then headed back in the direction we came to visit another beach.  We stopped at Santa Lucea beach and found a spot to sit, watch the seabirds (and occasionally sneak them a piece of cracker), and Elliott worked on opening a coconut he had found.  He used a shell to cut strips out of the husk and got it down to the nut quickly; I was surprised.  Good ingenuity.

For cracking the nut, the guys walked down to an old coral shelf that was very solid and provided just the right umph to bust open the nut.  They saved the coconut water to share when we got back and we feasted on the fresh meat.  Just the best.

Deliciousness straight from the tree.

Since the movie night when Elliott had discovered Papi's Pizza Restaurant, he had wanted to go back, so we stopped by for dinner on the way home.  We sat outside and enjoyed good food, a funny server who remembered Elliott from the other night, and finally, some sweet tea, though I have to say, sweet tea is not that easy to find and it's not as sweet as I like it, but a parched body will take whatever it can.  I had already had coconut milk and a whole bottle of water.  Felt good to sit, too, though my buttocks were already sore and my thighs were burning from those attempts at the bridges.

We got the bikes back on time and back on the boat in time to crash.  My legs burned all night, though, so sleep was hard to come by.  Just getting comfortable was almost impossible.

And while this is a nice marina by itself, the noise from the traffic on the bridges, the constant alarms that go off when a train is coming to the train itself honking during the whole trip through town and over the railroad bridge (this is 24/7), and being in the flight path of the local airport, sleep is late in coming, for sure.