West Palm Beach, Florida

April 18 – 22, 2014

Municipal docks for boaters, a lovely waterfront park offering live concerts and a weekly green market, many nearby restaurants, free trolleys that go to the supermarket and shopping mall, a nearby church with the friendliest congregation we’ve ever known… West Palm Beach, Florida offered it all. One could hang out there forever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our first visit to W.P.B. in 2013, we were hooked. It was exciting to go back and experience the area with our friends, Peggy and Paul. For all the aforementioned reasons, they too became hooked; but, what really reeled them in was the Easter church service the four of us went to at the First Presbyterian Church. While enjoying brunch at our favorite French restaurant in W.P.B., the four of us decided we would like to go to church the next day for Easter. There was a church on the next corner from where we were, so Peggy and I went there to check the time for the Easter service. There was a sign on the sidewalk providing the information we needed, and it also stated, “All welcome”. That was invitation enough for us.

Frankly, we didn’t have great expectations for the experience. However, we were “blown away” by the outpouring of love from the small congregation. The Easter message, given by the female pastor, was one of the best Easter messages we have ever heard. After the service we were invited and welcomed to a luncheon held in their fellowship hall. It felt like we were having Easter dinner with family, not strangers.

As we were leaving the church, the Korean church congregation, who uses the upstairs part of the church for their Sunday School, was coming down the stairs. A gentleman stood at the bottom of the stairs and gave empty Easter baskets to each child. Regarding what was about to take place, we followed the group to a nearby park, and watched as the children had a wonderful time collecting eggs.

Though we were strangers, we enjoyed every aspect of the traditional Easter celebration, with a community of believers who embraced us like family: we experienced a great Easter worship service, an amazing Easter meal, and to top it all off, we watched happy children excitedly enjoying an Easter egg hunt. God is Good.

The four of us, Peggy, Paul, Gary, and I, returned to the church to help with dinner served to the homeless/needy on Monday evening. Other local churches unite with the First Presbyterian Church to prepare food and serve the guests who come to the weekly event. The church also provided clothing and toiletries to those who needed those items. Gary nor I had participated in such a ministry before, and we were blessed to be able to help in a small way.

After we left the church that evening, we walked to a trolley stop to board a trolley that took us to the area of W.P.B. known as City Place. City Place is a popular destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment. We had previously been to City Place during daylight hours; however, the ambience of the area at night was magical. Strands of clear lights illuminated the trunks of the tall palm trees. The fountains were lit up as well, some with clear lights and some with colored.

Fountains in Daylight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fountains at Night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life at City Place

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being able to enjoy the beauty of City Place, where we had our dinner the same evening we served the less fortunate at the church, gave us an acute sense of gratitude for our blessed lives and lifestyles.

Paul and Peggy had stayed in W.P.B. to spend time with us before they went on their way to the West Coast of Florida. We had a great time with them; however, time came for them to continue their journey, and early the next morning they left the anchorage.

The same day Peggy and Paul left W.P.B., friends from Melbourne arrived at the Lake Worth anchorage. So after having lunch with Stu in W.P.B., a trip to Lowes for another cylinder of propane, and another trip to the supermarket, Gary pulled up White Swan’s anchor and we went back to Lake Worth to be with Ed, Cheryl, and their doggie Molly. Ed and Cheryl had a long day traveling on the waterway, so we invited them to White Swan for a light dinner. Ed and Gary caught up on all the boater’s world news, while Cheryl and I caught up on personal/ local news. Molly was right at home on our boat, because Ed and Cheryl had a boat the same model as White Swan before they bought their new boat.

 

We are going to cross the Gulf Stream following Ed and Cheryl, as they take their S/V Lady Bug V across to the Bahamas. We accompanied them on our first trip to the Bahamas two years ago. It will be fun traveling with them again. According to all weather forecasts, we should be able to make our crossing on Friday, April 25th. We will celebrate my birthday in West End, Grand Bahama Island… Not too shabby for a galley slave…