Yikes! I'm living in Stuart over 2 years & this was the first time I was diverted to this crazy…read moreroundabout due to road closures, & yes - was thoroughly confused & highly intimidated by that railroad track being in the heart of it all! My IMAP stopped talking and if matters weren't bad enough, (when I decided which exit to follow after my brain finally unscrambled) some jerk started honking madly as I carefully drove straight ahead to reach US 1..It was unnerving at first but worth the adrenaline rush once I calmed down & laughed it off. Realistically though- future navigators -- please pay close attention to & avoid that RR track and ignore those nasty honkers!

What makes Confusion Corner in historic downtown Stuart Florida so confusing? It is the eight…read moreroads! that come together in one intersection. Hold your breath and say a prayer as you attempt to make it safely through Flagler Avenue, East Ocean, West Ocean Blvd, Colorado Avenue, A1A both North & South, and Dixie Highway where they join in a roundabout, creating a Stuart landmark. If that wasn't enough, throw a train track in there too. How do you know you are at Confusion Corner? Stand in front of the April Daze boutique and watch the show. You will know you are in the right spot as you watch the cars swing around and hear the horns honking. If you have driven in downtown Stuart, you have passed through Confusion Corner. This intersection is so famous that the legendary Charles Kuralt came to Stuart in 1979 to film an episode for his popular "On the Road" series. There is even a song about it on You Tube by Clifford Buckosh & Okeechobee Records and if you survive the drive you can purchase a T Shirt to commemorate it at Harbor Wear. Despite all the confusion, the only deadly accident to happen there took place in the 1940's. So buckle up that seatbelt, as you swing yourself around Stuart's Confusion Corner.

My two brothers and I went out with Captain Bill for the North Fork tour. Bill was absolutely…read moreamazing. From the first minute, we felt like he was an old friend taking us out on his boat. The pontoon boat itself was clean, obviously well-maintained, and the seats were luxuriously comfortable. The tour started by traveling north from Stuart, through the widest part of the St Lucie River. Capt Bill pointed out many points of interest on the shore and had tales to tell about some of the ships. As we neared Port St Lucie, the river narrowed and the scenery changed dramatically to gorgeous mangroves and still waters. Captain was quick to point out and talk about the variety of birds and trees and plants we were witnessing. He was also loaded with stories about the architecture and the people who owned it. It was a 2 hour tour, and it ended far too soon. This trip was the very best part of our week in Florida. And all for less than $100 per person. You can not go wrong. This is a touring company that focuses perfectly on friendly, individualized attention to providing for the customer. A+ experience.

Had our second cruise with captain Bill! Both were magical. Our cruise yesterday was an early…read moremorning (6:30AM) peaceful adventure with glassy waters and plenty of bird and nature watching. Bill is an excellent captain and very knowledgeable on the wildlife in the area. We will definitely cruise with him again.

The Stuart Welcome Arch was commissioned in 1925 by the Stuart Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the…read morecreation of Martin County, with Stuart as the county seat. At the time Stuart envisioned themselves becoming even bigger than Miami. The arch was designed by Nat C. Hogdon of Pfeiffer and O'Reilly Architects, in the ornate Mediterranean Revival style that was typical during Florida's land boom years. The arch was built by A. L. Doenges and completed on February 20, 1926 at a site donated by the development of Stuart Shores. The arch was placed where Stuart's boundary on A1A met the southern limit of Jensen Beach. Businesses and individuals from both towns donated to a campaign that paid for the arch. It was conceived as a way to welcome the many motorists coming to winter in Florida on the main route to Miami. On the Stuart side the arch reads "Atlantic Gateway to the Gulf of Mexico" on the crossbeam which commemorated the 1923 opening of the cross-state Stuart to Ft. Myers canal. Great fishing on the St. Lucie River that was supposed to lure people was ruined when the state started used the canal to flush polluted overflow from Lake Okeechobee out to sea. "Jensen" appears on the south side of the arch's crossbeam. The chamber had originally planned to build gateways at both the northern and southern boundaries of Stuart but the bust of the land boom caused by hurricanes and the Great Depression prevented additional construction. During the Great Depression, the town of Jensen went bankrupt and was dissolved, while Stuart lost most of it's land north of the St. Lucie River resulting in the arch now being located in an unincorporated area of Martin County called Rio. After construction the arch was vandalized in the 1940's during WWII when the brass was stolen. A 1949 hurricane toppled the crossbeam, and a car accident destroyed the east tower in 1976. In 1977 the east tower was rebuilt and in 1994 it was painted hot pink. In 1998 the arch was again struck by a vehicle, this time a garbage truck that took out the replaced crossbeam. The arch was repaired with a new beam featuring "Welcome to Rio" on the south side and "Welcome to Jensen Beach" on the north side. On September 15, 2004 the arch was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Stuart never lived up to the it's 1920's hype and the arch saw less travelers with the building of Route 1 and Interstate 95. Even so, in 2006 Martin County paid an architectural firm in Key West $235,000 to restore the beloved landmark to the way it originally looked. A dedication plaque was installed during this time. Although arches were popular with the advent of motor travel this is one of the last few to still remain. Drive under it and remember when it was the main artery for snowbirds flocking to South Florida for the winter.

Stuart was first settled in 1870. It was recognized as a town in Palm Beach County in 1914. In…read more1925, it was designated a city in the newly created Martin County. Stuart is known as the Sailfish Capital of the World because of the large number of sailfish in the ocean waters off the coast of Stuart. The Stuart Riverwalk located in the historic downtown has cute shops, art galleries, restaurants, and spectacular views of the St. Lucie River and the Roosevelt Bridge. The riverwalk runs along the edge of town on the banks of the St. Lucie River. Take in the boats, fish, birds, and the river. There is a health trail you can follow if you are looking for exercise. At the waters edge on Sundays the city offers the free Rock 'n Riverwalk concert series and the Green Market. You can pick up the $10 Tiki Taxi Cruises behind Mulligan's Restaurant where they pick every hour on the hour Thursday through Sunday. If you visit Stuart, this is an area you will definitely want to check out.

If you find yourself in Stuart, FL, this is a good point of reference spot. It's a nice spot to see…read morethe River view. It's most picturesque to me at night. It can be very windy on those super windy days. It is also a hop skip away from the quaint downtown area with shops to browse. On the weekend, you can find a farmers market on a Saturday morning!

The Maggy of Maggy's Hammock was environmentalist and long time county Martin County commissioner,…read moreMaggy Hurchalla. Before being renamed in Maggy's honor this was known as Rocky Point Hammock. This is a 22 acre natural conservation area consisting of scrub and maritime hammock communities. Scrub habitats are particularly endangered in Florida. They used to cover many miles but have been reduced to small patches since they occur at higher elevations which is exactly where developers like to build. This park is like walking back in time to before Florida was turned into strip malls and subdivisions. There is a paved trail that is ADA accessible and leads to a picnic area and playground. Along the presenter of the hammock is a one mile natural earth loop trail. As you walk along the trails you will see gumbo limbo trees nicknamed the tourist tree because the peeling bark looks like sunburn. Also look for white stopper known for its skunk like smell, the thorny acacia, oak and paradise trees, slash pines, strangler fig, wild coffee, beauty berry, resurrection ferns, hickory, the white blooming marlberry, Florida and scrub rosemary, wild lime, and saw palmetto. The large number of berry producing plants attracts an assortment songbirds. Look for them in the trees. This park is part of the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. On the ground you may be able to spot the state protected gopher tortoises. The destruction of their habitat has dealt a blow to their population. I was excited to see two tortoises walking around the preserve. Although I can form easily spot their burrows I rarely see them walking around as they spend up to 80 percent of their time burrowed under dry sandy ground. I loved my walk through this natural area. Martin County has 93,000 acres parks and preserves to explore and it is always fun to discover a new one. A visit to Twin Rivers Park a half a mile away is also well worth your time. There is a gorgeous view of the St. Lucie River and the chance to spot even more gopher tortoises.

This historical marker in Sewall Point marks where the Sewall home, dock, and pineapple fields once…read morestood. The marker was placed by the town of Sewall's Point which is located on Sewall's Peninsula, named for Henry Sewall who once owned it. Sewall came to the area with his wife Abbie in 1889 after they were awarded land including this peninsula in a land grant from the King of Spain in 1823. Sewall built a home and post office that operated until 1918. He built a dock that everyone who was traveling the Indian River north or south stopped at. He cleared the land and used it to grow pineapples. During the turn of the century settlers came to the area and built homes out of salvaged lumber from shipwrecks. Henry Sewall served as a Dade County commissioner in 1893 and as a state representative from 1894 to 1895. In the 1940's trailer parks started popping up in the area. In response to the development, the Sewall's Point Association was created in the 1950's to control the zoning on the peninsula and keep it a residential community. Efforts were led by Dr. Elvin Killheffer who became the towns first mayor when the town of Sewall Point received it's charter on June 12, 1957. Today the land that was once Sewall's home, dock, and pineapple fields is a luxury housing development.

I shined up my car real well because Diane and I were going to the annual Mercedes car show at the…read moreMariner Sands Country Club. To be honest, I knew I didn't have much of a chance of winning the car contest, but I did my best. I always wash my car with Ice car wash and wax. I periodically have it waxed with Blackfire Midnight Sun, Ivory Carnauba Paste Wax. My friend, Eric is a wash and wax expert, so I pay him to wax it for me. He used to compete in car shows featuring Corvettes. He does a magnificent job of waxing my car for me. I have him do it every few months, but in between I get beautiful results with the Ice Wash and Wax. I have a black 2015 Mercedes E350. I love it. I realize my chances of winning the contest are slim, with the other competing impeccable cars that very rarely leave their garages. But I have a great time going and competing anyway. The Mercedes Club has a wonderful banquet and raffles that are also great fun! I didn't win the contest, but a great time was had by all. Diane won a beautiful Mercedes bag in the raffle, so all was not lost. At least it didn't rain and ruin my beautiful shine.

Florida's best kept secret. They just completed their new resort dining, pool and tennis…read morefacility, which is so awesome. Their new gym is state-of-the-art and the community has beautiful and challenging two golf courses, with no tee times.... take advantage of their stay-and-play program, you will not find a deal as good as this anywhere. Check out some of the real estate here: http://www.nvrealtygroup.com/property/rx-10406823-5280-se-burning-tree-cir-stuart-fl-34997/

This is a boardwalk in historic downtown Stuart on the banks of the St. Lucie River. It is anchored…read moreby Flagler Park which is located at the base of the Flagler bridge at one end and an amphitheater with live music on weekends at the other. You can find free parking at the park or at the city lot next to the amphitheater. The Healthy Trail along the river is part of the larger Sailfish Trail that runs in a roughly triangular shape throughout Stuart. There are markers every quarter mile for a total of 8. if you did the entire Sailfish Trail you would walk two miles. It would take approximately an hour to walk the entire trail at a leisurely pace. Along the water you will have a gorgeous view of the river. I saw a lot of red clawed crabs peeking out of the rocks along the shore. Someone I passed told me about the manatee she had spotted the previous day. As the trail takes you through the downtown you will pass some of the historic landmarks of this charming historic beach front town, called the Sailfish Capital of the World. There are five historic art sailfish markers on the historical trail which highlight significant moments in Stuart's history. Stuart has done a wonderful job combing art, history, and health to make an interesting walk so the community can get out and exercise. The whole trail is paved so it is ADA accessible. There are also restaurants and cafes along the way. I love to stop for caffeine refreshment at Gilbert's Coffee Bar.

I accidentally found this trail and I'm so glad I did. It was nice to take a walk around the border…read moreof town and be able to appreciate the scenery. There's basketball courts, pavilions, public bathrooms and a jungle gym. Kids were playing, people were walking, and somebody was having a birthday party. There were also people fishing and others meeting for lunch. If you're in the area for one reason or anther, don't miss out on this beautiful walk. If you're looking to play ball, have a little get together or let the kids deplete their energy, you can do that too!

As a dog lover I had to stop and check out this moving memorial that caught my eye in front of the…read morepolice station in Stuart. The Stuart Police Department instituted a K-9 Unit in 1998. In 2016 they added two new Belgian Malinois K9 teams. The K-9s live with their assigned officers where they live as a member of the family. The K9 Memorial was installed in 2018 during National Police Week honoring K-9 officers who have passed away. The first dog to have his name engraved was Beny who passed away from cancer after 9 years of service. He was followed by Cody who passed away after 8 years of service. The plaque on the memorial reads "Dedicated to our beloved fallen canine officers in this City of Stuart and throughout Martin County. Exemplars of loyalty, dependability, and service these canines by our side, defending and protecting us with an unbreakable bond of mutual love and respect. The unique qualifications and skills of the canine officers are an invaluable asset in our police work. We are immensely grateful to them for their heroic sacrifices in the line of duty." I love that Stuart has chosen to honor their K9 teams in this loving way.

I remember the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center fondly from my childhood, and it's good to see…read morethat they've expanded on their property for a nice little afternoon outing. Admission is $20 for adults, with child and military discounting. There's a lot of outdoor walking space around the main lake/lagoon where you can see the nurse sharks and sea turtles amongst the many other fish there. The weather was really nice the day we went, so we took a stroll through the nature trails. They are mostly boardwalk trails with a few covered stops with benches. The main trail is a 1 mile loop but there is also a 1/3 mile loop that is good for kids. The main trail will take you to the Indian River Lagoon for some nice storefront views! The main building has some cool artwork made of reclaimed beach litter that makes you really think about proper waste disposal. There's also a few tanks with cool fish and such to see. The entire center has a few different spaces for bathrooms that are easy to access. I'd recommend coming here for a nice day in the fresh air and sunshine to enjoy the flora and fauna of Florida!

Wonderful exhibits. Knowledgeable volunteers. Animals are very healthy. Great value.read more