Square Grouper – 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!

Home

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

(Jean-Paul Sartre)

Boat Tour2

Square Grouper Jupiter

SG1

“Seas the day.”

(Storyteller Travel)

Summertime is conference season for everyone working in Higher Education Career Services. We have multiple organizations that provide fantastic opportunities to network with colleagues.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE) and Florida Association of Colleges and Employers (Florida ACE) are three of the organizations I have membership or participate in professional development. My current role aligns more with NACE these days, but I stay up to date with SoACE and Florida ACE. I have a lot of my tree branches who are extremely active with the regional and state associations. I am proud to say one of my tree branches is the current President of SoACE. I have others coming up through the ranks so happy to watch them grow daily.

The Florida ACE annual conference was held in Jupiter, Florida this year and several of my friends and tree branches attended. I was not an official attendee for this conference since I was just returning from the NACE conference in Portland. I received several texts and emails from my folks in attendance that they wanted me to come down for the conference to say hello.

Decided to drive down to Jupiter for the last day of the conference which was a Friday. My current school is closed on Fridays during the summer so got up with the intent to catch the last portions of the conference and get a chance to catch up with my folks. Jupiter is about a 50-minute drive south from Fort Pierce so made my way down.

Arrived at the conference location and located the Florida ACE group on the second floor. They were wrapping up the conference with awards and door prizes, so I hung back to avoid disrupting the conference, but my friends spotted me towards the back of the room. Got a few smiles and waves but this did not distract from the conference.

I was able to see and catch up with friends once the conference ended. It was great catching up with people I have not seen in a while. Some of this is because of COVID and some was because I moved down to Fort Pierce. Either way, this was a fantastic opportunity to see some great people and reconnect! 😊

The original Square Grouper is in Jupiter, and I had never visited this location before. I am a regular at the Fort Pierce Square Grouper and wanted to check out the OG location for myself. FYI, one of my friends refers to the Jupiter location as the OG (Original Gangster) location so decided to join in on the fun.

Google maps got me to the Square Grouper in about 10 minutes from the conference hotel which was down the street.

Made my way into the OG location to see how/if it was different from the Fort Pierce location.

The bar setups were very similar, and the food menu was the exact same—not surprising. The difference I saw was what was beyond/behind Square Grouper. The Fort Pierce location sits on the Fort Pierce inlet and is great for watching boats on the water. The Jupiter location has a dock directly behind it with boats sitting. Not a horrible look but the views are almost night and day for me. Love the freedom and great pictures I get at the Fort Pierce location.

I’m sure the Jupiter location has a group of regulars who love their views, but I would not trade the Fort Pierce view, vibe and feel for anything. Plus, the Fort Pierce Square Grouper is 15 minutes from where I live as opposed to having to drive 50 minutes to Jupiter. FYI—the Jupiter location seems to get better live music options since it is closer to south Florida and the Miami music scene.

https://squaregrouper.net/events/month/?venue=jupiter-inlet

Happy I made the stop in Jupiter to see what the OG Square Grouper has to offer. Need to explore more in the Jupiter area since the beach is so nice down there.

Irie!

“Life takes you down many paths, but my favorite ones lead to the beach”.(Good Housekeeping)

Poetic Friday

Dream Weaver

Be careful what you dream

Because sometimes dreams do come true

So, what’s the problem you may ask?

The dream you dream may in fact not be for you

Life provides opportunities for you to reach your goals

The key to this process is to know the correct path to follow

Look beyond tomorrow

Search for the things you need

Use this knowledge and your dreams to succeed

Walking and enjoying the Square Grouper (Ft. Pierce)

Square Grouper1

“It is life, I think, to watch the water. A man can learn so many things”.

(Nicholas Sparks)

My Walk into the Future continues to look more like My Walk with COVID-19.

That would not be as catchy of a blog title so will stick with Walk into the Future! 😊 Again, the pandemic has slowed down the adventures but has not completely shut them off. I remain careful when I venture out and take precautions to ensure I am not exposing myself to undue risks.

Most of my adventures center around the beach and shopping excursions. These have proved to be safe and gets me out of the house for fresh air. Will continue to find new beaches to sit on and enjoy the views on the Treasure Coast. Still do not know why it is called the Treasure Coast, guess that will have to be a future blog article when I find out.

A favorite spot for the locals is Square Grouper. Thought it was a clever name when I first heard it but Googled the definition to make sure I understood how the place got the name. Turns out it is a clever hook and attracts a lot of people based on the name and meaning. Yes, you should Google it to understand what it means. LOL.

My attraction to Square Grouper is it is close to Jetty Park and sits right on the Fort Pierce Inlet. The location is at the mouth of the inlet before it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It is a great location to catch sunsets that seem to plunge directly into the inlet. The Square Grouper is 95% an outdoor venue with two bars, a tiki hut stage, and a large outdoor seating area. The plastic chairs are not comfortable but serve a purpose as you can move them around as needed.

Square Grouper2

The outdoor venue has been great to practice physical distancing while also enjoying some live music. Most of the bands are local and only play for two hours—cannot say the bands have been memorable but they have been good enough to make a few people get up and dance. There has never been a large crowd when I visited but everyone seems to enjoy the atmosphere. I spoke with one of the bartenders and he let me know they typically got around 600 people nightly before COVID-19 impacted the world. The crowds are a lot less than that now—the most I have seen there is around 50 people spread out around the outdoor seating areas. A few brave folks will sit at the bar but not very many. Face masks are still required to enter but do not know how long that will last since the governor has relaxed statewide restrictions.

A surprising aspect of visiting the Square Grouper is the food. Typical bar staples but they use fresh ingredients and fantastic seasonings. I have tried multiple items on the menu and have not been disappointed yet. I have been a bit adventurous and explored menu items I would not normally get. Both bars are fully stocked but the signature drink is the Rum Runner. Never had one prior to my visit to Square Grouper but now it is my go-to drink when I am there—try it frozen if you make it there.

Hoping the band lineup starts to improve since I enjoy live music. Will continue to leverage the Square Grouper as part of my Walk into the Future.

https://squaregrouper.net/

What locations are on your adventure list? What makes it a place you want to visit? Thanks!

“On the beach, you can live in bliss”.

(Dennis Wilson)

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