Sweet Little Jupiter

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I went to visit my parents in Jupiter, Florida over Christmas. For those that don't know, Jupiter is an up-and-coming coastal city just 20 minutes outside of West Palm Beach.  Having just had surgery, I needed to just rest over the holidays and recover. What better place to convalesce?

Like so many of residents here, my parents are now ‘snowbirds,’ people from wintery regions with the need to get away from the snow. Actually, my parents love the Jupiter so much they stay there for most of the year, just going back to upstate New York to take care of business and for the pleasantly mild brief summer months. And in the next year or two they’ll be Florida residents full time.

I’ve been to a handful of cities in Florida, but I find Jupiter the most charming. Small in size, clean, well-landscaped, and uncrowded, this little town near West Palm Beach is perfect for a relaxing escape from the world. Compared with places like Fort Lauderdale, the beaches here are downright deserted, and the community puts a priority on conservation. There’s even a cool turtle sanctuary right by my parents house that I’ve visited on other trips.

Being post-surgery I wasn’t able to do much while I was in Florida except rest and follow the doctor’s directions for healing...after the long cross-country flight I was in more pain than I’d anticipated. Worst of all, I wasn’t able to go swimming, as the surgical wounds weren’t quite healed yet. My parents live a short (10 minute) walk to the beach, or 3 minutes by car, and swimming through the gentle waves of the warm Atlantic Ocean is one of my favorite things to do while I’m visiting. But we did go over to the beach several times to walk around and sit. Many sections of sand at the Jupiter beachfront are a foot deep with shells during low-tide, good for searching for pretty shells and sand-dollars.

One day we had a picnic at the "intercoastal," an inlet to the ocean with a great park, a swimming hole that's popular with little kids, and a notable area landmark: the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, which dates back to 1860.

So mostly I rested and tried to recuperate, grateful that I had my mom to take care of me.  There were a couple days we were debating whether or not to go to the emergency room because my pain level was disproportionately high, but I ended up getting some advice from my doctor over the phone and decided to wait until I was back home in San Francisco.  In general, I was feeling a bit sorry for myself since it was perfect weather for swimming, tennis, and so much more, and I wasn’t able to do much on this trip. Oh well, another time. The important thing was that I got to spend time with my parents, sister, and our dog.

Oh, I should mention for all the baseball fans out there that one of the main reasons my parents chose Jupiter is that it’s a hub for major (and minor) league baseball spring training, most importantly (for my dad, anyway), the St. Louis Cardinals. Come March he spends whatever time he's not working seeing the practice games and getting baseballs autographed. For a total sports fantatic, it's not a bad way to live!