I actually did some things in Palm Beach County other than hiking and bird watching, believe it or not!
Hit the beach:
Ocean Reef Park, 3860 N Ocean Dr, Riviera Beach, FL 33404
Free and spacious parking lot with a little boardwalk leading to a lovely beach and a cool little reef.
John MacArthur Beach State Park
A gorgeous expansive beach, you do have to pay for parking, but you have access to hiking trails and can rent a kayak.
Wildlife viewing:
Manatee Lagoon, 6000 N Flagler Dr, West Palm Beach, FL 33407
No winter trip to Florida is complete without spotting the sea-sweetheart of the state, the Manatee! They gravitate towards warm water, so power plants often have large gatherings these sea cows. There is a wonderful visitors center filled with interesting facts, did you know that the manatee is the largest mammal in Florida?
And that they use their flippers to HUG? There is so much to learn, and to see! Walk along the strip outside, or head up to the roof for a different angle of viewing. We caught a mother and a calf coming up for a breath of air.
Other wildlife was attracted to the warm waters such as groups of huge fish and a skate. This attraction is completely free.
Play Pinball!
Silverball Museum, 19 NE 3rd Ave, Delray Beach, FL 33483
Town of Delray Beach is really popping, but I skipped by the beach and all the trendy restaurants to get to the museum loaded with pinball machines. This is the type of place where you pay admission and play as many games as you want. On two floors they have almost 100 machines some from way back in the 1930s all the way up to the newest games.
I love the shiny new Wizard of Oz and Hobbit games, I even got the high score of the day, wahoo!
There is a bar to hang out and reflect upon your games. I have also visited the sister museum is in Asbury Park, New Jersey, equally as awesome.
Fun Depot, 2003 10th Ave N, Lake Worth, FL 33461
This is a whole amusement center with batting cages, go-karts, laser tag, and a big game room. Inside there are a handful of pinballs including some of my favorites – Star Wars and Monopoly – and some classics Twilight Zone and Theatre Magic!
Great place to please pinball players and all sorts of arcade goers.
Where to eat?
Leftovers Café, 451 University Blvd, Jupiter, FL 33458
Laid back surfer kind of vibe, casual, and fantastic inspired seafood. I had the sweet potato encrusted fish – you can choose from any catch of the day.
I have never even heard of a dish like this, it was really delicious, like a hash caked onto the fish. Fresh and cooked perfectly, plus the salad came with a killer key-lime garlic salad dressing. Jeff went for a blackened fish wrap with grilled street corn, salsa, cojita cheese, avocado, tomato, and greens. He said it was perfect! We split the raspberry key lime pie for dessert and it was solid and refreshing.
A good couple of thousand dollars, and they need to be repaired fairly often to boot!
I wanted to buy a pinball machine for our basement. Do you know how much they cost? OUCH!