Ok so we have been in Florida for 1 week now, and it has gone amazingly fast!
I will mention a few things about Hutchinson Island because we had such a great few days!
Hotel we stayed at was the Vistana's Beach club which I think is similar to Bonnet Creek as it seems to be a timeshare place, but we booked through Bookings.com. Not as big as OKW rooms, but fine for us. Clean, and I think it has recently had a refurb. The big plus is the location which is inbetween the Indian River and on the beach!
This is completely different from Orlando. There is a diner a few minutes down the road, so you can walk there and have a couple of bevy's, and walk back! The only down side is that it shuts at 9pm, but the food is really good!
So, first full day we drove 5 mins into Jensen Beach and had breakfast in a cafe. It was DH's birthday, so we then had a wander around. We found a little antique place where we found a few bargains, and then we went to the local Publix and picked up some bits (birthday cake and champagne
) and headed back to the pool. ( They provide balls, noodles etc)
Evening we went to the diner and then came back for birthday cake and champagne. Well, he was 60!!
Day 3 we went back to Jensen Beach and tried a bar for breakfast called Mulligans. DD was well impressed they had jeigermeister on tap!! (at 20 she wasn't able to sample it!!) Really good food again, and then we walked to the jetty to watch the boats on the Indian River. Had a look in another antique place and spent some more money! DH was really pleased to buy a couple of rare Beatles LP's; then back to the pool again.
Evening, we went back to Jensen Beach as they have a party night on Thursday, so had a look around and then headed back to the diner for pizza night!
Friday we were up early and had breakfast in the room as the kids were booked on a kayaking tour at 9.30. They said they had an amazing time, and the tour guide was so friendly. He stayed and chatted a while with us when we collected them. Hutchinson Island is very eco friendly. There is a lot of wild life which is protected. The beach is also a place where the turtles come and lay their eggs so people aren't allowed on the dunes, and volunteers are out at night to help the hatchlings make it to the water, and also early morning to see if there are any stragglers. The houses we could see across the river were huge. He said they used to be priced about $2/300,000; but now were in the millions as it has become a very desirable location. The houses back onto the river and people keep speedboats and yachts down the end of their gardens!! There was also a marina full of beautitful boats just down the road!
Another afternoon by the pool as the guy on the desk said they were expecting the hotel to be full for the weekend; so thought we would take advantage of the quietness.There was a full activity programme, but as it was quiet the guy in the activity room said they were flexible, so my 2 20 year old DD's decided they wanted to make a bear factory bear, which they did, and came away with 2 additional outfits for $23 each! Bargain! Don't expect they will be changing the outfits too soon, but hey ho; they wanted a memento!!
Evening we went to another restaurant which was recommended called Shuckers. We found it to be expensive and not that good, but it was heaving so they must be doing something right!!
Saturday was our last day as we were driving up to Disney on Sunday morning. DS and DD1 wanted to go to the Oceanagraphic centre, so we dropped them there and headed to the Treasure Coast Mall. It was empty, so had a wander around, DH picked the others up when they were finished, and stayed till about 4; then went back onto the beach. Packed and got a take out from the diner before an early night......
Pics to follow....hopefully! xxx
xx
