2nd Street Bistro – Walk Into the Future

Indian River Lagoon and Swampland Boat tour

Boat tour

“If your ship does not come in, swim out to meet it”.

(Jonathan Winters)

I always look for a clever quote to get me started with the writing process. There are not a lot of funny boating quotes or much to pick from, so I decided to go with reliable Jonathan Winters to get me moving.

My Walk into The Future allows me to chronicle adventures and outings I get to enjoy. I get out and do these things then have to go back and drop a few lines to make sure I capture the moments to share with my readers.

My latest adventure was an excursion with the good folks at the Indian River Lagoon and Swampland Boat tour. This outfit is conveniently located in downtown Fort Pierce, so I did not have far to drive to get this party started.

I have walked past the ticket office multiple times but never made the time to stop and purchase a ticket for the boat tour. This all changed the week I came back from Jamaica. I still had a few days left on my vacation so wanted to keep exploring even when I got back to Fort Pierce.

Joined about 10 folks who were waiting to get on the boat on a sunny afternoon. Luckily for us the boat is covered because the Florida sun was a bit warm on the day we went out. It is always muggy here so not sitting in direct sunlight for 2 hours was a welcomed aspect of the boat tour.

The boat captain tried to entertain us throughout the tour by identifying points of interest and places where he has seen dolphins and manatees. He did everything he could to keep us entertained but we did not see much in the water. There was one manatee in the water feeding so we circled it a bit so folks could get some good pictures.

The rest of the trip was a nice boat ride up and down the Indian River where we got a chance to see other boaters, kayakers, and lots of folks fishing. The water was calm and peaceful, so this part of the boat tour was great.

Discovered a few kayak rental outfits directly on the river. The boat tour provided a different vantage point for these outfitters so now I know who they are and how to get to them. I caught the kayak bug while living in Tallahassee but did not have a go to place in Fort Pierce to rent a kayak and explore. I plan to get back down to the river and leverage my newfound knowledge so I can bring a new adventure to the Walk into the Future blog. Be on the lookout for my new kayak adventures. 😊

Irie!

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“Only the guy who is not rowing has time to rock the boat”.

(Jean-Paul Sartre)

Boat Tour2

Hard Ax Lounge

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“Everything goes great with some axe throwing”.

(Instagram)

The Walk into the Future blog allows me to capture my thoughts, adventures and, plans in a way that I can share with my readers.

Never sought out a venue to capture everything but this blog provides an opportunity to highlight things I do to continue to Walk into the Future.

My new adventure was a trip to the Hard Ax Lounge in Fort Pierce for a round of ax throwing. This was my second time in the Hard Ax Lounge—several of us from work made it to the lounge in December for a teambuilding activity. It was the same day as our ugly sweater party, and I never got around to capturing my thoughts on the original outing.

Turns out I picked up ax throwing fast as I was the ax throwing champion for our group back in December. Never imagined I would be good at throwing an ax but maybe my small-town upbringing in Jasper, Florida translated to becoming an ax man. 😊

Made my way back for round two with a smaller group of friends on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I did not have preconceived ideas that my first ax throwing adventure would translate to this session. Everyone must go through the safety training—ax throwing can be dangerous, and it helped to get pointers from the ax experts that work there.

There are different ax sizes, and each ax performs a bit different from the next. The instructors show all participants how to hold and throw the axes based on size and weight. They offer everyone an opportunity to throw each ax to get a better feel for which ax works best. I had a lot of success with the smallest ax during my first experience so decided to stick with what worked best for me in the past.

The first part of the throwing session is just getting familiar with throwing the ax and working on form and aim. The concept is like throwing darts, but the ax does a lot more damage when it hits the target. We went through several rounds of practice before the ax experts introduced the ax throwing competition into the session.

The ax board is numbered, and scores are based on the number your ax sticks to (8, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1). The first game introduced was a game of 21. You throw with the idea of hitting numbers that add up to 21 to be crowned the winner. If your throw total goes OVER 21 then you go back down to 12 and throw again with the intent to end up on 21. Pretty simple, huh?

Throws are rotated between everyone on your lane, so everyone gets a turn in the rotation towards 21.

My throwing technique is very basic. I grab the small ax, position myself on the lane and then let it fly—not rocket science but I try not to overthink this simple process.

Fast forward and my throws got me close to 21 multiple times, but I had to go back to 12 since I kept going over. Luckily for me, others throwing on my lane could not take advantage of me having to go back to 12 and win the game. We played three rounds, and I was able to win 2 out of 3 rounds and leave as the ax throwing champion for the day. FYI—double champion!

Ax throwing is a fast-growing sport, and it continues to get bigger in the Fort Pierce area. I’m sure this is not the last ax win for the Walk into the Future blog.

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Have you ever competed in ax throwing?

“Throw your axe and have some fun”.

(Instagram)

Pizza night

2nd Street Bistro

“Every pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard and believe in yourself”.

(Bill Murray)

Raise your hand if you do not like pizza! Doubt there are many hands up right now since everyone loves pizza. 😊

I admit I enjoy pizza probably more than anyone I know and have decided this is my go-to cheat meal. I have never been one to count calories and my running program allows me to indulge without having to worry much about gaining weight. Not saying this as a brag point but just a daily fact for me.

The Treasure Coast provides me with multiple dining options to include fresh seafood and great ocean views while out for a meal. I take advantage of these options, but my designated pizza night is one I look forward to weekly.

I was introduced to 2^nd Street Bistro as a great place to catch a ballgame while enjoying a beer at the bar. Seemed like a typical place to get wings, drink a beer, and watch Florida Gator football on Saturdays. Happy to report 2^nd Street Bistro provides all these things but it turns out they have a fantastic menu with rotating daily specials. It is not your typical dive bar but a place to get a great meal for really good prices. Note: they provide a substantial military discount on all menu items, so I am hooked since I love saving money. 😊

I made my first weekday journey into 2^nd Street Bistro on a random Wednesday after work because I wanted to get a beer and see what was on the menu. I did not venture out a lot in 2020 due to COVID but kept hearing about this place and the food. Made my way downtown Fort Pierce once I felt comfortable being around people again and grabbed a high-top table to enjoy a meal.

Turns out Wednesday is half price Bistro Burger night and there are a lot of fans of the burger. There is always a good crowd of folks in the restaurant to take advantage of the special and get their burgers. The menu has a lot of variety and everyone in there has a favorite menu item.

I did not have a specific food item in mind when I stopped in on the first Wednesday night so I asked the waitress what she recommended. She rattled off that everything on the menu is great, so I was on my own selecting what I wanted for dinner.

Gravitated to the pizza selections and the waitress said they were all good—she’s tried them all. Decided to go with my tried-and-true Pepperoni pizza with extra Pepperoni. Never imagined a place like 2^nd Street Bistro would have pizza this good but I am hooked.

The personal pizzas are made once ordered so it takes a bit for it to make it to the table. Trust me, it is well worth the wait. The ingredients are fresh, and the pizza comes out of the oven smoking hot. Learned that lesson the hard way the first time I got a pizza. 😊

I have been hooked on the Pepperoni pizza from day one and Wednesdays have become my official pizza night. Everyone who knows me can track my location after work on Wednesdays to 2^nd Street Bistro. I am such a regular there the hostess takes me directly to a high-top table and the waitress does not bring me a menu. She puts in my Bud Light draft and a personal Pepperoni pizza with extra Pepperoni. I told her one day I am going to change my order up to mess with her but one day has not happened yet.

I have tried other items on the menu but not on Wednesdays—that is my designated pizza night since I run on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work. Figure I earned a cheat day and 2^nd Street Bistro helps me cheat like a champ! 😊

Can’t wait for my next pizza night!

What is your favorite place to get a cheat meal? What is the meal? Thanks!

https://2ndstreetbistro.com/

“I’d rather have leftover pizza than leftover feelings”.

(Sarah Burgess)

One year in Fort Pierce

Fort Pierce

“Your life is a story of transition. You are always leaving one chapter behind while moving to the next”.

(Anonymous)

2020 brought us a year of uncertainty and change. Not the most prophetic thing I have ever written for the Walk into the Future blog but felt the need to drop that nugget.

I celebrated the one-year mark of my move to Fort Pierce on April 13^th and decided to look back. I am sure I was not the ONLY person to move to a new city during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but have not met anyone in my current circle. Turns out I was the last employee hired by Indian River State College before a hiring freeze was imposed due to COVID-19 uncertainty and the onset of remote work for all college employees.

I remember when I was preparing to move from Tallahassee to Fort Pierce the thought kept coming up that maybe my opportunity to work at Indian River State College would be pulled due to the pandemic. I called a few times to make sure I was still hired, and Human Resources kept saying yes. Packed up the U-Haul, pointed it south and the rest is history—arrived in Fort Pierce without knowing the pandemic was about to get a whole lot worse than we expected. It did not help the government kept telling people there was nothing to worry about—that dang U.S. government, they have never lied before, right? 😊

I never had a remote work schedule when I arrived—being new to the area, going into the office was my only interaction with other people. The limited staff in the buildings all wore masks and practiced physical distancing but going to work was a welcomed part of my day. I could not imagine moving to a new city and then sitting at home all day without seeing anyone.

True story—my entire staff was working remotely so I met my 11-person team on my laptop via a Zoom meeting. Never thought this would be possible but 2020 made us find creative ways to get things done. My initial staff meetings were all done via a virtual platform (Zoom, Black Board Collaborate or Microsoft Teams). I love the functionality of Microsoft Teams and continue to conduct staff meetings with this platform. Most of the staff are fully vaccinated but we still have a few stragglers—hope to be able to get everyone together with physical distancing in the fall—fingers crossed.

I had to find new running routes over the past year. Discovered Fort Pierce is not as runner friendly as Tallahassee or Oviedo so finding places to run safely continues to be a challenge. I have two good running areas but would like more routes for a change of scenery. I love running but still get bored if I do not have variety on my routes. Will keep searching for new places to run because I need to extend my long runs with my focus on becoming a running tourist again. I have race entries for the following:

2021 Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon / September 5, 2021
2021 Orlando Utility Commission (OUC) Half Marathon / December 4, 2021
2022 Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon / February 6, 2022

Would like to add more races but need to build my long runs back up to 12+ miles again.

My initial workouts in Fort Pierce were done strictly at home. Most of the gyms closed due to COVID-19 protocols and I would not have ventured in even if they were open. I stopped going to the gym before leaving Tallahassee because the gym environment is a prime place for close contact with others. This close contact led to people spreading the virus so I invested in workout equipment so I could maintain my fitness levels from home. Surprisingly, I stayed in great physical shape with home workouts. I have slowly returned to the gym but only go two days a week now when I am in town. I do body weight workouts (pushups, crunches, squats, etc.) in the mornings before I head to work. I am happy with my results and will keep this up since it is working and a lot cheaper than having a gym membership. 😊

The beaches on the Treasure Coast provide me with great places to sit, relax and catch up on my reading. Funny, I live about 10 minutes from a beach but find I must schedule my beach outings. I run close to the water and stop to enjoy the views but need to do a better job of just making beach days. I am heading to Melbourne tomorrow for an air show and will get an early start so I can stake my claim to a prime beach location to relax and enjoy the Blue Angels as they put on their show. I plan to get to the beach more this year and keep taking beautiful sunset shots.

Time continues to move forward. It feels like I just got here yesterday but it has been a year. Most days seemed to be the same due to COVID-19 protocols but a year it has been. Looking forward to new adventures in 2021 and you know I am going to highlight a few in the Walk into the Future blog! 😊

Irie!

“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly”.

(Henri Bergson)

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