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Hundreds of miles of beaches

Southeast Florida, otherwise referred to as the "Gold Coast," includes the Ft. Pierce, Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami area. The Ft. Pierce area includes Vero Beach down towards Port St. Lucie. It is along this part of Florida's coast that you'll find unspoiled beaches and barrier islands together with small quieter towns lined with shops and water sport adventure.

Palm Beach County boasts 47 miles of soft white beaches. This golfing hot-spot offers visitors close to 150 golf courses. The wealthy city of Palm Beach is most noted for it's palm-lined streets, up-scale shopping, 4-star restaurants, and pristine estates. Delray Beach is noted for its wreck diving and Atlantic Dunes Park. Boca Raton Beach is yet another wealthy area with quieter, scenic beaches.

Once the most popular spring break destination for college students, Fort Lauderdale has undergone a complete face-lift, attracting more families and couples to the area. For example, the promenade along Atlantic Boulevard has been renovated, providing scenic and easy access to miles of golden beaches. Nearby Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach are noted for their vast fishing piers that extend hundreds of feet into the ocean.

The Miami area, located to the far southeast just before the keys, is one of Florida's original vacation spots. It is here that you'll find the melding of many different cultures and levels of lifestyles. Miami Beach is where thousands flock to sunbathe by day and enjoy the busy nightlife when the sun sets. The South Beach area is home to hundreds of architectural style buildings and the popular of Ocean Drive.

South Florida earns its reputation in winter as the sunshine state. The region enjoys 66% of the possible sunshine on average in January. January is the second driest month of the year in south Florida. It is the driest month of the year with around 2 inches of rain falling on just 7 days.

Though warm and even humid days are still possible (it has been as warm as 88°F), average temperatures have dropped about a dozen degrees from the summer peak to the comfortable mid 70s. Overnight lows are down nearly 15°F to near 60. On occasion, cold air masses may push down the peninsula from the north and bring nighttime lows into the 30s even to the south. Those cold spells tend to be brief and the sun warms things up even on the coldest days.

Water temperatures stay warm here with January average sea temperatures near Miami averaging in the mid 70s°F - levels never reached in many beach locations further north even in late summer.

Travel and Explore Palm Beach, FL

The palm tree lined city of West Palm Beach/Palm Beach is located in the southern portion of the Florida peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean, bordered in part by Lake Okeechobee. The name originated from the natural abundance of palm trees all over the area. A luxious vacationing winter resort awaits those visitors from the north in the winter months or all year round. Many fabulous houses and first class shops and Boutiques wait to capture and captivate.

Founded by railroad tycoon in 1894 named Henry Flager, it has become known around the United States and around the world as one of the rich and lavish vacation areas to visit. Famous people such as the Trump and Kennedy familiy maintain residences here. Henry Flager made it a commercial and industry rich haven for the lavious and wealthy northern tourists as a first in Florida.

Polo matches are held at the world famous, first class Palm Beach Polo and Country Clubs. Boutique and specialty shops that cater to the rich and famous are found on the famous Worth Avenue that is twelve miles long, This area is widely known for its ritzy mansions and elegant shopping. Famous shops such as Sak's Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Macys, and Burdines are just a few, among this rich and glitzy area. Major crop in the area is sugar and is very important to the growing economy.

Other types of crops include winter vegetables and truck crops. Major types of manufacturing are chemicals, lumber and wood, rubber and plastics, metal products, machinery products, telecommunicatons and electronics, and food products. The area has the largest employers specializing in electronics and research and development industries. High profile companies such as RCA, IBM, United Technologies and Motorola are just to name a few. Tourism remains the #1 industry. Scuba diving is a main attraction in this tropical climate.

The climate here is ideal for those who like it warm all year. It is one of the largest counties in Florida in population and size. Some attractions, aside from the shopping districts, include Henry Flagler's Mansion, which is now "Flagler Musuem." The Norton Gallery, located in West Palm Beach, has one of the finest collections of French Impressionist.

The Dreher Park Zoo is a zoological garden containing over 130 species that includes endagered species as well as reptiles and primates. Up close animal views can been seen here. The Everglades at Sawgrass Recreation Park will take you back in history to Indian times with Indian villages as well as reptile exhibits and the "Bird's of Prey" exhibits.

Undersea life can be seen at the South Florida Science Musuem and for the motor sport fan, we have the Metro-Dade Motorsports Complex featuring some of the world's finest racing, Major events here include the PPG Indy Car World series, the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami presented by Toyota, the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series, the Jiffy Lube Miami 300, and the Florida Dodge Dealers 400 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

One of the most fascinating attractions is the "Lion Country Safari" where you can drive with your car windows closed and view hundreds of safari animals that roam free. For the Spanish history lovers, you can view Spanish- style architecture from the 1920's in the lavious "Boca Raton." The Royal Palm Polo Sports Club includes the International Gold Cup and it is where players can compete for pize money and awards.

For the Art lover, the Cauldwell Theatre Company perfroms comedies, musicals and dramas. Little Palm Theatre performs children's shows. The Boca Raton Musuem of Art has arts and crafts, exhibits, and arts and craft classes and trips. Florida Atlantic University's Ritter Art Gallory has fine-art exhibits, community programs and competitions. The Philharmonic Orchestra of Forida has the Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale symphonies.

In the Palm Beach area we have the Society of the Four Arts which has Art exhibits, musical events, lectures, films and programs for the youtth as well as the Society of the Four Arts Gardens which has different sciences and planetarium programs; The Royal Poinciana Playhouse has national tours of Broadway and off-Broadway hits. The Hibel Musuem of Art has lithographs, drawings, sculptures and tributes to the artist Edna Hibel.

Annual Events held in the area include the South Florida Fair at the Palm Beach Fairgrounds; the Delray Dunes Pro-Am, a charity golf tournament with some PGA professional golf players; The "Great American Love Affair," the Boyton G.A.L.A., is an arts and entertainment fair at the Boynton Beach Civic Center. The Sunfest is a four-day festival celebrating the history of Palm/West Palm Beach; spring events include the Delray Affair with arts, crafts, food and entertainment on the first weekend after Easter.

On Easter Weekend, the Easter Parade and Easter on the Avenue includes Easter Parades and festivals in Lake Worth. The "Roots Festival," is a black heritage festival with food, music and art Indian name meaning grassy water. With all the glitz and glamour, West palm and Palm Beach are a great place to live, work and/or visit.

Palm Beach County

Big Mound City was one of the finest examples of a Calusa ceremony complex (inhabited from 300 B.C. to 1600 A.D.) built in the Everglades. It was a very complex series of mounds, with connecting earthworks making it look like a flower, with crescents connected by rays. It was very impressive, until about 15 years ago when vandals who used bulldozers to search for treasure destroyed it. Part of our ancient Florida heritage was destroyed, and these mounds do not offer anything that treasure hunters and looters would be able to get rich from. Even today, sites of our Florida heritage are being destroyed.

Site of the Battle of Loxahatchee, Loxahatchee Riverbend Park

The same day that Colonel Taylor was battling at the shore of Lake Okeechobee, General Thomas S. Jesup established Fort Christmas only a few miles west of the St. Johns River in Central Florida. Soon Jesup reached Fort Pierce and sent a combined Army & Navy force to search for Indians. This joint force was one of the first times that Army and Navy forces, white soldiers and colored sailors, worked together in a joint operation.

Lieutenant Powell was commanding one of these Army-Navy boat companies when they found a Seminole village on the Loxahatchee River on January 15, 1838. They had captured a Seminole woman and forced her to lead them to her village, but she led them into a well-planned ambush instead. The U.S. force made a quick retreat. Five soldiers and sailors were killed, including their surgeon. 22 were wounded. The body of the surgeon Dr. Leitner was never found; the Indians had conflicting stories on weather he died of his wounds or was killed by Indians.

Jesup now believed that the attack on Lt. Powell's force meant that the main village of renegade Seminoles and Mikasukis had been found. Jesup contacted Taylor's force nearby and continued south. The Army's movement was slow. Many of the soldiers had lost their boots, being cut up by the sawgrass. Everywhere they marched was swampy with only scattered small hammocks for dry land. The land along the coast was drier than usual, and they had to drag the boats over several crossings that were usually open to sea. Sickness also took a heavy toll.

On January 24, 1838, Jesup reached Jupiter Inlet and traveled up the Loxahatchee River to look for the Seminoles that attacked Lt. Powell's force. The Seminoles were known to set traps for the Army, and to lead them into areas that would be difficult for them to cross. Chasing the Indians, the horses and soldiers became bogged down in the swamp and cypress knees.

The Army came upon the Seminole force, and an unorganized melee of fighting ensued. Dragoons charged on foot with bayonets, artillerymen fired their cannon. Even congreve rockets fired, but all they did was make noise and smoke. General Jesup came forward to rally the Tennessee Volunteers and lead them across the stream to attack the Seminole position. In the middle of the river, Jesup turned around and noticed that the Tennessee Volunteers had failed to follow him. At that point, Jesup was hit by a bullet in the cheek, which shattered his glasses, but was not fatal. Jesup fell back for assistance from his surgeon. The Seminoles disappeared into the mangrove swamps and hammocks, leaving a hollow victory for the Army with heavy casualties.

After this battle, Jesup had an extremely low opinion of the volunteer militia forces. The Tennessee forces were not as brave as Andrew Jackson had claimed they were. This was the last battle that General Jesup fought against the Seminoles before resigning his position as commander of the forces in Florida. A few months later he became frustrated with his failed efforts to end the Florida War, and returned to his position as Quartermaster General of the Army; a position that he would hold until the Civil War. Despite Jesup considering his campaign in Florida a failure against the Seminoles, he did much to defeat the Indians. Many of the Florida Indians were captured and sent west, but he would defend his actions for capturing Osceola under a flag of truce for the rest of his life. His constant campaign of harassing the Seminoles and their villages had done more than his predecessors to defeat the Indians.

The location of the battle was found around 1990. Local residents claimed that they had always known it was there; nobody had listened to them before. The site has been heavily disturbed by looters. A convenience store built to the west is probably sitting on top of the site of the soldier's camp. Many people claimed credit for finding the site, and the local newspapers tell about the competition between the archaeologists and local residents fighting over the site and stealing credit from each other for finding it. Hopefully a lesson was learned that people fighting over the few undisturbed battle sites left in Florida makes it hard to preserve them.

The battle site is still threatened. One of the reasons for the recent archaeological survey is to see what is there before the highway is widened and destroys it. It is located at a county park, but the county seems more interested in building a golf course than preserving the site. West Palm Beach is the golf capital of the world, but for unexplained reasons, the county still thinks that it needs another one. This is another instance where money talks louder than the need to preserve an important historical site.