Jennifer Merril, Author at The Parklander Magazine - Connecting you to our community

September 25, 2023

Immerse yourself in tropical Flamingo Gardens

There is a 60-acre botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary in Davie, featuring more than 3,000 species of tropical, subtropical, and native plants and trees, and home to the largest collection of Florida native wildlife. Their slogan: “We ask that you take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints.”

My friend and I went there recently, and we adhered to their instructions. It’s a beautiful, natural setting. It’s called Flamingo Gardens, and yes, it does have many pink flamingos, but it also has a lot more.

Established in 1927, Flamingo Gardens is one of the oldest botanical gardens in South Florida. It was founded by Floyd and Jane Wray, originally as an orange grove. Specialized botanical gardens here include naturalized orchids, cycads, heliconias, and more. The arboretum contains some of the largest trees in Florida. The state began keeping the Florida Champion Tree Register in 1975, and Flamingo Gardens boasts 15 Champion Trees. One of them, the Indian jujube, is also a National Champion, the largest of its species in the country. We were quite impressed by the majestic scenery surrounding us as we toured the venue.

Flamingo Gardens is part of Long Key, a natural oak hammock containing an untouched hardwood forest. There is also the Wetlands Walkway, where visitors can take nature walks and see all kinds of birds. In addition, throughout the area, peacocks, iguanas, and cats roam around, as this is their home.

Flamingo Gardens is owned and operated by the Floyd L. Wray Memorial Foundation, started by Jane Wray in 1969 in honor of her late husband. She sold off much of the original property but kept 60 acres for the wildlife refuge, where animals from the site’s “backyard,” the Everglades, are cared for, as a guide informed us. Wray’s goal was “to preserve the core property for future generations and emphasize the flora, fauna, and history of the Florida Everglades.”

The Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary is a place that takes in injured or nonreleasable native wildlife, including black bears, bobcats, otters, hawks, bobcats, eagles, otters, panthers, peacocks, and, of course, flamingos. It also houses threatened species such as the American alligator, American snapping turtle, Florida burrowing owl, wood stork, bald eagle, and Florida panther, which now serve as animal ambassadors in educating the public about the Everglades.

Nestled in the hammock of 200-year-old oaks is the Wray Home Museum, which was built in 1933 as a weekend residence for the Wray family. It is now a cultural landmark and the oldest residence in Broward County west of University Drive. It has been restored to provide visitors “with a glimpse of life in South Florida in the 1930s.” My friend and I toured it and enjoyed the historical items from that period of time. We also were amused by the peacocks that hang around outside. One magnificent male kept strutting around in front of the museum building, showing his plumage and doing a little dance to woo the nearby peahens. He didn’t have any luck, but he put on a good show for us.

We ate lunch at the Flamingo Pond Snack Bar and then jumped on a tram at the nearby station, which picks up passengers throughout the day and takes us on a tour around the property. We had a very good tram tour guide who gave us lots of information about the cultural history, special features, and verdant nature all around us.

Flamingo Gardens has something for everyone, including the Wildlife Encounter (held at various times), a tropical rainforest, a butterfly pavilion, a pollinator garden, a tropical fern section, a cactus and succulent garden, and even a wedding gazebo. And, off the beaten track, there were lots of cool animals to see. We visited a variety of them in their enclosures and were thrilled when a parrot said “Hello!” to us when we walked by.

It’s a lovely place to spend some time. You won’t regret it.

Flamingo Gardens is open every day from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4 p.m. For information, go to FlamingoGardens.org.

May 10, 2023May 10, 2023

Cruising the water in a different kind of taxi

How can you tour the Intercoastal Waterway and the New River in Fort Lauderdale but on your own timetable? By buying an all-day pass on the Water Taxi!

I recently did this on a beautiful Saturday with some friends. We started our waterside adventure by parking at 15th Street Fisheries (where we could do valet all day) and having a delicious seafood lunch there, overlooking the sparkling water, fish, and boats of the Intercoastal. Then we walked out on the pier located right there and boarded a yellow water taxi, at the Fort Lauderdale Route’s stop #3.

To get your Water Taxi passes, you go online for pre-purchase and then your ticket barcode appears on your phone; just show the phone to boat staff upon boarding each taxi. The various boats are scheduled to arrive and depart every 35–40 minutes (though we never waited that long), between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. It is a great way to see the many nice features and highlights of Fort Lauderdale.

Stops 1 and 2 are along the river: #1 is the Riverside Hotel and Stranahan House, where you can enjoy the picturesque Riverwalk, and #2 is just steps away from the famous Las Olas Boulevard with all its shops, restaurants, and bars. We disembarked there and walked over to have cocktails and window-shop on the boulevard for a bit.

The other locations are on the Intercoastal: You can go to stop #4, for the Hilton Marina and Convention Center (where you also can transfer to the Hollywood Express Route, which goes to Margaritaville Beach Resort and the Hollywood Broadwalk); #5, the south end of Bahia Mar (where you can view marinas of luxury yachts docked); #6, Beach Place and Fort Lauderdale Beach; #7, GalleryOne Double Tree and Galleria Mall; #8, Birch State Park; #9, Shooters Waterfront; and #10, Bokamper’s Sports Bar & Grill.

We spent our afternoon gliding up and down the water throughout the city, seeing celebrities’ mansions and yachts as well as all kinds of other boats, including tour vessels, barges, party boats, a floating tiki bar, and young sailing students soaring by in a line of little boats. We went past “Beer Can Island,” where people frolicked on boats clustered around the sand bars, with many milling around in the shallow water and socializing. It was a gorgeous day, so there was a lot of action on the Intercoastal.

Aboard the taxis were tourists, families, and bar-hopping friends, all seeming to enjoy being out on the water and the ease of the taxi system. There was staff at each stop answering questions and, on board over a microphone, narrating the sights as we went past them, providing some interesting history and funny anecdotes. Be sure to bring some cash for tipping, as they definitely appreciate that and work hard.

Later that afternoon, two of us went ashore for a nice walk alongside A1A and the ocean, at Fort Lauderdale Beach, where we saw large groups having beach parties and barbecues and a wedding getting set up on the sand overlooking the ocean. We went on a walking bridge above A1A to buy drinks from a small market, and then headed back to our water taxi stop. I enjoyed being able to explore the area at our leisure and return when we were ready.

We ended our water tour of Fort Lauderdale by disembarking at the same place where we first got on, at stop #3, and picking up our car at the 15th Street Fisheries valet lot. A very pleasant day!

The Water Taxi all-day pass costs $35 for adults, $30 for seniors and military, $15 for children 5–11, and free for children under 5. Evening-only passes are $20 and start at 5 p.m. You can also buy a month’s unlimited pass for $90. For tickets and information, go to WaterTaxi.com.

November 4, 2022

Relax and take in music, scenery at Jazz Brunch

Next to the banks of the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale on the first Sunday of each month, you can hear the catchy tunes of live jazz music in a beautiful setting at Esplanade Park. Sunday Jazz Brunch at the Riverwalk provides a free concert series performed by local jazz artists on three different stages from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There is the large Esplanade Stage for big bands and orchestras, the Connie Hoffmann Stage for more intimate performances in a gazebo, and the Peck Courtyard Stage at the adjacent Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Around the area are park benches, picnic tables, and boat docks on the river, and you can meander all along the scenic, brick-lined walkway by the water and catch some boats gliding by. Some concertgoers set up chairs, tables, and picnic blankets to listen to the music, munching on picnic lunches they bring, or purchasing food from the vendors set up nearby. Local merchants also sell crafts and other wares in a designated area.

I got to experience this relaxing but fun event for the first time in early October with my boyfriend, Art. We didn’t know to bring our lawn chairs but snagged spots on a couple of benches where we could sit. There were almost as many dogs as humans there, it seemed, and we may bring our dogs to a future event. Everybody there was having a great time. We saw several groups camped out with enough food and beverages to feed a tailgate party for a day.

Soon after we arrived, we walked over to a restaurant just past the railroad tracks with outdoor tables overlooking the river for a delicious brunch before returning close to the music. But just walking along by the water and hearing the live music can lift anybody’s mood. There was joyful dancing in a couple of different places, and it was a low-key party atmosphere, with friendly people around us. We saw a woman walking around with shots on a tray, passing them out for free; and a little girl selling lemonade from her small chair and table on the grass facing the walkway.

This peaceful setting by the New River is nice and scenic, but also a great central location to be in. Besides the Broward Center, the area boasts the Museum of Discovery and Science, the Museum of Art, and Huizenga Plaza. There are also water shuttle and water taxi stops, along with the Community Shuttle and Tri-Rail stops. And the city’s Marine Facilities offer four docking stations along the river, all accessible to the jazzy sounds of the live music.

It was my first time at the Riverwalk, which runs from the Sailboat Bend neighborhood to near the Stranahan House. Art and I enjoyed walking back and forth along the pretty walkway near the music, although we didn’t do the full one-mile walk on this day. The Riverwalk has two main streets, Las Olas Boulevard and Himmarshee Street, running through the district. On a future trip there, we plan to take in the full Riverwalk experience.

If you like jazz music, both big bands and small, in a picturesque locale, the Sunday Jazz Brunch is a must-do. I’ll be going back for sure.

The next two Jazz Brunches are on Nov. 6 with entertainment from Davis and Dow, RD Project, and Peter Betan Trio, and Dec. 4 with music by Valerie Tyson Band, Jackson Bunn Group, and Mari Bell Quintet. For more information, go to www.parks.fortlauderdale.gov/special-events.

September 21, 2022

Cruising down the Intracoastal

Living near the water in South Florida has a lot of advantages. I got to experience one of the best ones this summer.

I took a two-hour, narrated yacht cruise aboard the Lady Atlantic on the Intracoastal Waterway, from Delray Beach to Boca Raton and back. The waters were calm and peaceful, the route was beautiful as we passed impressive mansions lining the shores, and the boat was mostly shaded and comfortable for our journey.

I had made reservations in advance (recommended) and boarded the yacht on a Saturday for the 5:30 p.m. sightseeing tour as part of a group of four couples. Lady Atlantic was docked at Veterans Park on East Atlantic Avenue in Delray. We planned to eat dinner at a nearby restaurant after we got back to town, although they sell food and drinks on board the cruise. We got in line early to secure a good spot on the middle deck (which is covered), and we grabbed a couple of small tables that were located at the stern of the boat overlooking the water, pulling up eight chairs at our prime spot. We were ready to cruise!

A server came around with paper menus listing the drinks and appetizers available, and we ordered something for everybody in our group. We also were located close to the inside bar, for those who wanted to go in and get a drink quickly.

At 5:30 our vessel started to move, turning slowly around to go south on the water and waiting for the drawbridge at Atlantic Avenue to go up at 5:45. As a two-year resident of Florida, it was my first time seeing the tall bridge spans standing up from the vantage point of a boat on the water, and I got a little thrill from finally getting to do that.

We slowly cruised south out of downtown Delray and toward Boca Raton, looking from side to side depending on what our narrator was telling us over the intercom about the sights on either bank of the water. There were many interesting, huge properties along the way, some with pools and elaborate yards and gardens, and we learned about some of the pro athletes who had mansions on the Intracoastal as we passed by them. It was easy to stand up and walk around to get good photos of the sights, as the waves were never rocky on our cruise.

As we made our way to Boca, we learned a little about the area’s history from our excellent narrator. My friends and I were also surprised to see how many houses along the way seemed to stand empty; we soon learned that these impressive homes were just one of a few properties that someone might own. Because we were doing this cruise in the summer, many homeowners were gone and probably staying up north. It also meant that everything in the area was less crowded — a nice bonus!

Like clockwork, when we got to our destination in Boca at 6:30 p.m., the vessel made a U-turn and we headed back the other way to complete the journey in two hours. We got to see the churning waters and the picturesque properties from the other direction now.

After we returned back to Veterans Park, everybody lined up to slowly disembark, with help from the staff. My friends said they wanted to do another cruise sometime, maybe to go north toward Manalapan Island, another option offered. We are hoping to see manatees in the water there in the wintertime.

Delray Yacht Cruises also offers 1:30 p.m. boat tours, holiday lights cruises during December, and private charter cruises. For more information, visit www.delraybeachcruises.com.

May 13, 2022May 17, 2022

Society of the Four Arts: Soaking in art, culture, nature, and inspiration

As part of the art class in my 55+ community, we go on field trips to different art museums and exhibits in the area, led by our teacher and artist-in-residence. For our most recent trip, he took us to the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach. There we discovered a gorgeous campus of buildings and gardens in the heart of the island.

Although we traveled there to see an exhibition called “In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870–1940”(which has since moved on), we got a lot more from this trip than expected. The Four Arts campus includes the spacious art gallery, “Campus on the Lake” cultural programs in various buildings, a library and children’s library, a sculpture garden, and a lush botanical garden.

Our group started in the spacious art gallery for the seasonal exhibition ($10 each, prepaid), and after viewing the impressive paintings in all of the rooms, we ventured outside, where we were greeted by tranquil gardens and more art.

The Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden and the Four Arts Botanical Gardens, two distinct gardens, have provided a natural oasis in Palm Beach since 1938. You can get away from stressful daily life and stroll through this peaceful maze of floral paths with ponds, benches, fountains, and lush foliage. One of my favorites was the unique Chinese Garden, where you can go through a pagoda-style entrance and grab a solitary moment to meditate and get lost in the quiet beauty of this walled-off part of the gardens.

The other gardens, or outdoor “rooms,” are the Fragrant Moonlight Garden, Palm Garden, Bromeliad Garden, Jungle Garden, Spanish Façade Garden, Formal Garden, Tropical Garden, and Madonna Garden — each one more breathtaking than the last.

The sculpture garden gave our art class more culture to soak in outside. The heart of this garden is a plaza paved in quartzite encircling a beautiful octagonal fountain. Bronze figurative sculptures are scattered throughout the garden in settings both formal and informal. Our group of budding artists enjoyed wandering around and stopping to take in the sculptures at our own pace. We moved wherever our spirit took us. It was a perfect field trip for our group.

The Society of the Four Arts has lots more for visitors to do and plenty of parking space to accommodate them. In addition to viewing the art in the Esther B. O’Keeffe Gallery, which changes every so often with temporary, traveling exhibits, one can enjoy workshops, lectures, music, films, book discussions, and plenty of programs for children, including floral design and storytime.

Examples of upcoming book discussions on campus include “You Don’t Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War” (May 17), “Robert Macomber, Code of Honor” (June 8), and “The Churchill Sisters: The Extraordinary Lives of Winston and Clementine’s Daughters” (June 21).

Or just go to the Four Arts to take in the fragrant, verdant gardens and get inspired by your surroundings. You’ll be glad you did.

For more information, go to fourarts.org.

February 18, 2022

Exploring a ‘secret’ beach at Hobe Sound

A friend recently told me about a secluded, “hidden” beach along the Atlantic coast that she had heard about, and we decided to go see it for ourselves. We picked a nice October day, partly sunny but not too hot, to head to the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge. We would make the drive to this beach, explore the area, and hopefully add to our seashell collections. I had started mine after moving to Florida in 2020.

I picked up Susan and we drove north, heading through Palm Beach County and past the beautiful seaside town of Jupiter with its striking red lighthouse, and then crossed the border into Martin County, quickly approaching Hobe Sound. It is an unincorporated area adjacent to the ocean along U.S. 1 and A1A.

Our directions took us onto a barrier island and we headed east on a very peaceful road flanked by banyan trees on either side. As that road ended, we came upon the Hobe Sound Public Beach, which was hopping with people and a pretty full parking lot. That was not our final destination, as we were seeking the more private, “secret” beach.

We turned left and went down a different road passing lushly landscaped home properties as we got further away from the sounds of the busy life behind us, before approaching a quiet gravel parking lot. Parking here is not free, and Susan had read up about the place online, so she had purchased a $5 parking pass and printed it out, and I set it on my dashboard. So now we were ready to explore.

Susan had brought bags for us to collect shells in, and after we put on our hats and sunscreen, we climbed some steps up to a wooden walkway that overlooked the beach. We immediately saw the beautiful aqua water in front of us. To the right, Jupiter was off to the distance, and on the left heading north, far away, were the beaches and towns of the Treasure Coast.

We descended onto the hot sand and walked over to the lapping waves to start our beach walk. There were just a few people here and there, some with fishing rods looping over into the water, which we navigated around as we walked north along the ocean’s edge. But basically, it was a very quiet, remote beach with no signs of commercial life anywhere: no water sports, nobody trying to rent us umbrellas and beach chairs, no snack bars, not even trashcans in sight. It was an unguarded beach, so swimmers were on their own.

We could look in all directions and see no development nearby, which was a welcome change from most beach areas. Lovely wild vegetation was at our backs as we faced the ocean. The Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge also has a nature center north of where we were, but we had found out it was closed at this time.

From the start of our walk, we were able to find a plethora of shells in the sand. As we ambled along, I leaned over every few feet and grabbed a few winners, seeing shells in colors and shapes and stripes that I hadn’t collected before. We continued picking up shells along with rocks and other ocean treasures as we walked along the shore.

We took photos of the quiet landscape after we had walked for a while, admiring the beautiful sky that day — blue with many puffy strands of white clouds. The water was clear and colorful; it was all so tranquil here. No traffic sounds, no noise pollution, not even people talking. Not a bad place to be!

Once our bags were full, we turned around and walked back south, with the water now on our left side. Done with collecting shells (and my lower back would thank me), we waded in the water, gleefully getting splashed as the waves increased. Cooled off, we then headed back toward where we had entered the beach.

It was a nice time on a peaceful beach, and I enjoyed the private nature of it. On the flip side, when we climbed the wooden walkway on the way to the car, with our feet and legs covered in sand, there were no water showers anywhere for rinsing off the sand. So I guess that’s the price to pay for a secret beach: no city-style amenities like you’d see at the public beaches.

We had a very simple outing at Hobe Sound, but one much appreciated for its natural beauty and rare stillness. And I have new shells now to display in my living room.

August 22, 2021August 3, 2021

Beautiful Japanese gardens right in our backyard

After I moved to South Florida last summer, I heard about the numerous wetlands walks, nature preserves, and wildlife parks in the area. I was planning to explore many of them, especially if they were all outdoors, as it was still the middle of the COVID pandemic.

One place that was recommended to me often was Morikami Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach. So I decided to go there with relatives when they came to visit. And I liked it so much, I went back again a couple months later with other visiting family members.

The first time I went, I was floored by the beauty and tranquility of the park. I’ve been to many botanical gardens and similar lushly landscaped parks, but I hadn’t been to one like Morikami before. They call it “Roji-en: Garden of the Drops of Dew,” and it was designed by Hoichi Kurisu. The park comprises six distinct gardens that are inspired by significant gardens in Japan.

After arriving, you go through a large building that houses the museum, gift shop, and café, and once outside, you descend down a wide staircase to a utopian setting below. There is a gorgeous pond in the center, with walkways that lead to the left and right of it, which make a large circle meandering through the different gardens around the pond.

In addition to the abundant trees, topiaries, plants, flowers, stone structures, and bubbling brooks, we enjoyed peeking over bridges and seeing fish, turtles, and even an alligator sunning itself in the pond. In the various quiet oases we found, one highlight was the traditional bonsai garden. And we discovered other peaceful green corners where we could immerse ourselves in the serenity and zen of the place.

Being from out of state, I was surprised to learn about the century-old connection between Japan and South Florida, where “a group of young Japanese farmers created a community intended to revolutionize agriculture in Florida,” according to Morikami literature. My mom and I were fascinated to hear about the rest of its history:

“In 1904, Jo Sakai, a recent graduate of New York University, returned to his homeland of Miyazu, Japan, to organize a group of pioneering farmers and lead them to what is now northern Boca Raton. With the help of the Model Land Company, a subsidiary of Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railroad, they formed a farming colony, Yamato, an ancient name for Japan.

“Ultimately, the results of their crop experimentation were disappointing and the Yamato Colony fell far short of its goals. By the 1920s the community, which had never grown beyond 30 to 35 individuals, finally surrendered its dream. One by one, the families left for other parts of the United States or returned to Japan.

“In the mid-1970s, one of the last remaining settlers, George Sukeji Morikami, then in his 80s, donated his land to Palm Beach County with the wish for it to become a park to preserve the memory of the Yamato Colony.” Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens debuted in 1977, as a living monument and a bridge of cultural understanding between George Morikami’s two homelands.

After we learned about the history of the place and strolled through all its verdant gardens, my family and I walked over to the open-air terrace café and had delicious Bento Boxes for lunch.

It was quite a day enjoying what are the most authentic Japanese-style gardens outside of Japan and then topping it off with an equally authentic Japanese lunch.

To visit, go to https://morikami.org.

Jennifer Merrill is a recent transplant to South Florida from northern states.

July 15, 2021July 12, 2021

Sunshine, Wildlife, and Cane Toads: My First Year in the South

A year ago, I moved to southeast Florida from northern Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. Besides arriving in a new part of the country in the middle of a pandemic, which presents its own set of challenges, I encountered a lot of new and different things to contend with in my adopted state.

Born and raised around Chicago, I moved to the D.C. area after college, got married and raised kids there, and then decided to move to Florida after a divorce and job layoff last year. Why not start fresh in a new place, where I wouldn’t have to deal any longer with snow and ice? The lingering image that had always been in the back of my mind was to someday live in a warm and subtropical place, surrounded by palm trees, and somewhere near the ocean. And so that’s what I ended up doing when the opportunity unexpectedly presented itself.

I took the settlement checks from both my divorce and my full-time job and put them toward the purchase of a nice “villa” home in Florida. And so in July 2020, I suddenly found myself moving still further south and east from where I had originally started (cold, windy Chicago). My dog Lex, a Pomeranian mix, and I arrived last summer to this sunny and humid part of the country and began to put down roots, and I soon discovered a lot of differences here.

I have no regrets, but here are some observations from my first year in Florida:

Lizards in the house. I didn’t know that there would be so much wildlife around my new neighborhood. While I appreciate all the birds, geese, ducks, and rabbits lollygagging around my lakeside community, and I’ve gotten to enjoy the various lizards darting around the lawn, I didn’t expect to be sharing my home with the geckos. These quick creatures like to sneak into the house and creep around the rooms, hang out on the ceiling, and pop out and startle me.

Cane toads that could kill my little dog. Of all the animals I’ve encountered in southeast Florida, including alligators at the wetlands reserves, the scariest for me are the ugly toads that secrete powerful toxins that could take out Lex, horribly and painfully, within 30 minutes if I’m not constantly vigilant outside.

Hurricanes! Two weeks after I moved to Florida last July, Hurricane Isaias hurdled in from the Atlantic and joined me here. I got a very quick lesson on preparing for tropical storms and securing my hurricane shutters. While my windows were tightly covered for a couple tumultuous days, it was dark and depressing in my house. I was so happy when Isaias finished up his visit and rolled away.
Gated communities. Yes, I live in a secure, gated community, and as a single woman residing alone, I am relieved to have that protection. But what I have found in this part of the country is that there are so many gated communities that it’s not easy to just drive through neighborhoods here and explore. When I lived in Virginia, I could run through any neighborhoods I felt like. Here, I can’t do that. I have to keep to my own community or on the busy roads around it.
More tattoos than I’ve ever seen before. I didn’t know before my move that Florida was the land of full-body tattoos. While I have had friends and family in my life who have sported one or two small tattoos, I was in for a surprise when I arrived here and saw that they are etched all over people’s faces and limbs, in every corner of the region.

Like the colorful tattoos, I am getting used to all the differences in southeast Florida. I enjoyed my first warm winter here, although I missed the changing of the seasons in the fall and the spring. But I am glad my winter coat is packed far away in a bin in the closet, and I don’t ever have to shovel out my car again. I’ll take it.