I’ve Never Seen Anything Like It
An afternoon walk through the Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach elicits a constant comment of, "I’ve never seen anything like this before." Featuring more than 2,000 tropical and subtropical plants from six continents the gardens hold many mysteries for two ladies from the Rocky Mountains.
Driving down Military Trail, it’s easy to miss the entrance to the garden. The 14-acre botanical oasis is nearly hidden among strip malls, parking lots and the local driver’s license office. Once inside the gate that busy world is left behind as the sweet smell of oleander catches our attention.
The garden has a feature I haven’t come across before, the Oncell System allows you to phone a designated number from your cell phone for a brief introduction to the garden. As you proceed, if you see an area of interest with a numbered post, you may redial the phone number and then the post number for information on that garden section. A new take on self-guided/guided tours.
Palms sway overhead as we wander through rose, herb, palm and tropical foliage gardens. We search for small labels identifying angel trumpet, ponytail palm, and rainbow eucalyptus. Some plants are unusual variations of the familiar; a huge prickly pear variety demonstrates what happens when a cactus grows in a humid climate with lots of rain. Orchids trail from the crook of a tree and complex delicate blossoms adorn the tips of ugly twisted, thorny stems. We assign descriptive names to unique unidentified foliage – wilted cabbage, Jurassic Park platter, and torpedo palm.
We were the last two to leave the garden at closing, I’m sure we’ll be back in a different season and will once again utter, "I’ve never seen anything like it."
When You Go: Mounts Botanical Garden is located at 559 North Military Trail (between Belvedere Rd. and Southern Blvd.), West Pam Beach, 561-233-1757. Admission is free, a $5 per person donation is suggested. The Gardens are open Monday through Saturday 8am – 4pm and on Sunday noon – 4pm. Closed on holidays recognized by Palm Beach County.
Mounts Botanical Garden – West Palm Beach, Florida
I searched Internet sites such as Trip Advisor for customer comments. The Zagat Guide has granted an “Excellent” rating every year since 2004. Chef/proprietor Scott Philip has been featured in Great Chefs of the West. The positive reports made us put the cafe on our“To Do” list. During a January visit Judy, Janis and I headed to Hurricane Cafe for Saturday breakfast. Despite a bit of morning chill we chose an outside table instead of waiting for one inside.
rench Toast, thick slices drizzled with caramel sauce, sprinkled with pecans, all topped with sliced bananas. Judy and Janis ordered eggs benedict – one with tomatoes and spinach, one with smoked salmon and fresh hollandaise. We left well satisfied, armed with to go boxes because of the generous servings. We would have another morning savoring our Hurricane breakfast offerings.
Growing up in Central Illinois a visit to Steak ‘n Shake was our idea of dining out. In Champaign the iconic 1950s drive-in was on Green Street a few blocks west of the U of I campus. A flash of the headlights signaled your need for service, a carhop would rush out to the car to take your order returning with a tray piled high withsandwiches, fries and shakes. the tray clipped to the outside of your window. When all was finished, with another headlight flash she’d come to retrieved the tray.
On our latest stop we learn the company is proudly celebrating its 75th anniversary. The original opened in Normal, Illinois, just 50 miles from our hometown, in February 1934. A reputation was built on freshly ground steaks for the burgers and creamy, hand-dipped milk shakes. I fondly remember how much my father loved his strawberry milkshake and mother her orange freeze.
Castlewood Canyon State Park
Where To Go - Travel USA 