Florida's A1A highway

the wandering chick

...Florida's State Road A1A

a small portion through Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach and Ft Lauderdale

The State Road A1A is Florida's most coastal road on the Atlantic side of the state. It runs, of course, north and south on the barrier islands from just north of Jacksonville down to Miami. It's not to be confused with Highway 1 which is farther inland.

We were able to do only portions of this designated Florida Scenic Byway. Afterall, we were in Florida for a mere two weeks, not a lifetime! But the sections we did travel were fun. The coastal towns, the beaches, the local restaurants and shops, the salty air: they all made it exactly what we were looking for.

Yep, This is what it's all about! Taken in Boca Raton, as were the next few shots.

A drawbridge opens for taller ships to pass between the Boca Raton Inlet and the Atlantic.

In some places, there's an even more coastal road that deviates off the A1A, like here in Palm Beach. This road, lined with beautiful homes each apparently with their own beachfront lot, is called Ocean Blvd. We would have rather been owners than tourists on this street, but we found a beach with public access and collected our first of many shells.

There's a wonderful bike and hike trail called the Lake Trail that starts at the Flagler home/museum. It backs up to the backyards of expensive homes on one side and Lake Worth on the other. And on this trail is this huge, majestic 186-year-old Kapok tree that is admired by visitors and locals alike. It stands protected on the grounds of the Royal Poinciana Chapel and Poinciana family lawn.

The home of Henry Flagler, Standard Oil founder and known for his railroad construction in lower Florida, is a museum in Palm Beach. Flagler lived there from 1902 until his death in 1913, dying from an accidental fall on the stairs in the house. The 75-room mansion called Whitehall is a National Historic Landmark.

The roots to this magnificent old Kapok flow like ribbons above ground and add to its beauty.

Sea Gull Cottage is Palm Beach's oldest home. Built in 1886 and once owned by Henry Flagler, it is now the parish house of the Royal Poinciana Chapel.

This Muskovy mom and her chicks are residents of the Palm Aire Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

Mama Muskovy and her baker's dozen

This black-crowned night heron, on the grounds of the Palm Aire Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, seems to have bitten off more than he can swallow. It appears to be another bird that he has captured; hopefully not one of the many chicks roaming the grounds. As seen below, he's a much prettier bird without his mouth full of feathers.

Other residents of the Palm Aire are these two Egyptian Geese, which are actually in the duck/goose/swan family. With characteristics of both ducks and geese, they come from the most southern parts of Africa. They were considered sacred by the Ancient Egyptians.

An eye-catching flowering bush called the Common Buttonbush in the coffee family

A stingray glides swiftly and silently through the waters of Pampano Beach.

Pampano Beach

Three more shots (above, left and left below) of Boca Raton

Fort Lauderdale beach, and below: sunset at Fort Lauderdale

See the next page of photos: the Keys (doesn't include Key West)

Or, return to the Florida home page

Thank you for visiting these photo pages.

If you're interested in seeing more, please return to my Main Menu at the bottom of my home page and make your selection.

All images within "thewanderingchick.com Web site are copyright protected. They may not be downloaded or otherwise copied.

Please contact me if you think a particular photo or set of photos can be used in your publication.

From the Lake Trail, this is looking across Lake Worth to the community of West Palm Beach.