Palm Beach

Palm Beach is an upscale town in Palm Beach County, South Florida. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring city of West Palm Beach. Palm Beach was established as a resort by Henry Flagler, a founder of Standard Oil, who made the Atlantic coast barrier island accessible via his Florida East Coast Railroad. The nucleus of Palm Beach was established by Flagler's two luxury resort hotels, the Royal Poinciana Hotel and The Breakers Hotel. The Atlantic Gulf Stream approaches the Palm Beach County closer than anywhere in the nation, bringing warm waters from the south. Palm Beach County's moderate climate (February average high of 75F) allows for outdoor activities throughout the year, so at least state the tourist brochures!

On a cooooold evening on February 3, 2009, (it was in the 50's) retirees gathered in Palm Beach for their annual reunion. We had dinner at Testas' in Palm Beach and got to see old friends and meet new ones.

The next morning we did the required outdoor activity, we met at the Sailfish Marina on Singer Island and took a cruise on the Inland Waterways. We saw mansions (including the one Madoff owns!) and heard about the history of Palm Beach. When we reached an inlet where we could see the ocean, the captain highlighted the white caps on the water, caused by the fierce winds ... but as Michal Arnett commented: "the company was great but I think I saw icebergs on the intracoastal!" On our return, the captain was advised that afternoon cruises had been canceled because of the winds and the cold! So much for "moderate climate!" Enjoy the pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/knordlander/PalmBeachReunion#

We had lunch at the Marina and then drove back to Palm Beach where we visited Henry Flagler's winter home, Whitehall, where he used to spend six weeks in the winter. Whitehall is a 55-room mansion!

In the evening, Fotini Troupos opened her home to us for a delicious dinner by the bite.

Thursday morning, again all bundled up, we met in West Palm Beach to tour the recently opened Palm Beach County History Museum located in an old courthouse. The docent took us on a tour of the exhibits, including the infamous hanging chads voting machines of 2000! After the visit to the museum, it was time to tour the Four Arts Gardens in Palm Beach.

The farewell dinner was held at Maison Carlos on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach. Thursday nights Clematis Street comes alive with live music and so, after dinner, we walked to listen to the live music. Very few people had decided to brave the cold!!!

At the dinner it was agreed that our next reunion would be held in Sarasota, and preferably in March or April to avoid surprise cold weather!