A Quiet Escape: Coral Cove Park

While the rest the of the Eastern United States hunkered down for Snowstorm Jonas, we enjoyed a beautiful, cold weekend here in South Florida.  The wind and rain on Friday gave way to a cool and clear Saturday morning.

If you’re brave enough to venture to the beach when temperatures drop under 70 degrees, perhaps you’ll enjoy a visit to Coral Cove Park in Tequesta this winter.  Quietly tucked away on Jupiter Island, you can spend a morning by the sea virtually undisturbed by other beach-goers.

P and I took a quick trip up the coast and spent a Sunday morning enjoying a little stretch of the beach to ourselves.  Despite some clouds, there was plenty of action: wild waves, birds, surfers, and the occasional boat on the horizon.

The shoreline of Coral Cove is unique.  Although not ideal for swimming, the rock formations put on a good show when the tide goes in and out.

Here comes a wave…

… watch out…

KA-POW!!  (insert vintage Batman sound effect here)

The beach was relatively empty except for a few cyclists who wandered down in their spandex to take a quick look at the ocean.

The morning entertainment to rival the crash of the waves was the sanderlings, tiny sandpipers that dodge the incoming sea surf to forage for food.

They are one of my favorite parts of the beach.  I can’t get over how they run so fast on their teensy-weensy legs.

If I laid still enough on our blanket, one or two sanderlings would scuttle over, giving me the chance to finally use my zoom lens – if they held still long enough.

“Sanderlings (Calidris alba), 7 inches tail to bill tip, are frantic, wave-chasing little sandpipers with black legs and a straight, black bill.  In winter, adult plumage is pale gray above and white below.” – Blair and Dawn Witherington, Florida’s Living Beaches

“Sanderlings probe for mole crabs like tiny sewing machines in the wet sand briefly exposed between swash and backwash.” -Blair and Dawn Witherington, Florida’s Living Beaches

P and I also watched surfers catch a few small waves (South Florida isn’t known for it’s surf).

From a distance, the crests of the waves look like wintery mountain peaks.

The beauty of the beach is not reserved for sunny days.  Sometimes, the best beach day is a gloomy Sunday in January, wrapped up in an old blanket, watching the waves just before the rain clouds blow in.  Every beach-goer, whether a tourist from the Midwest or a Florida native, owes it to themselves to spend one dreary day at the seashore.

xoxo from Coral Cove Park,

JUP Girl (and P)

Coral Cove Park – 1600 Beach Road, Tequesta, Florida 33469