Trail of the Pirates: Treasure Coast Tease, Part 2

Trail of the Pirates is a travel series exploring maritime history, culture and lore between Key West and St. Augustine on the east coast of Florida.

A sign at the McLarty Treasure Museum explains the ill fortune of the 1715 Spanish fleet that shipwrecked on these shores.

Today I drove from Hutchinson Island all the way up to Sebastian Inlet State Park on A1A. The drive was simply beautiful! Afterward, I toured the McLarty Treasure Museum, where I learned all about the 1715 Spanish fleet that shipwrecked in these waters during a hurricane. Notorious British pirates from Jamaica took advantage of the fleet's misfortune. My next stop was Mel Fisher's Treasure Museum in Sebastian. Fisher's daughter, Taffi, gave me a private tour. That was a real treat!

A full post and video coming soon. I'm exhausted! Can't wait for the sunrise tomorrow so I can (hopefully) see some dolphins splashing about the Indian River; the water is literally lapping just just a few feet away from my room here at charming Captain Hiram's Resort.

Next stop: St. Augustine!

In the meantime, enjoy a Jonas Brother's rockin' and rather grown-up version of the Disney classic Yo Ho Ho Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me. The original was composed in 1967 as a theme song for Pirates of the Caribbean, a ride at Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando. (I remember loving that ride when I was a kid.) Eventually, the ride grew into a multi-billion dollar franchise ... talk about good treasure!




ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special thanks to Annie's Costumes, Visit Florida, Indian River Chamber of Commerce and Captain Hiram's Resort for supporting this project today.

Trail of the Pirates: Treasure Coast Tease, Part 1

Trail of the Pirates is a travel series exploring maritime history, culture and lore between Key West and St. Augustine on the east coast of Florida.

A section of beach at Hutchinson Island, Martin County. The rock is called Anastasia formation and comes from ancient sea beds. It was once quarried off Anastasia Island to build the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, hence the name, aka coquina. Sound familiar?

So today I arrived in Martin County, where I had the pleasure of interviewing Jim, the keeper at The House of Refuge. More on that later ... but in the meantime, did you know the average Joe is still looking for treasure and finding it here? You don't have to be a Mel Fisher, let alone a pirate, to grab yourself some booty.

In the Vero Beach and Fort Pierce area, about an hour north of Martin County, a woman and her daughter recently found a perfectly preserved gold bird from the 1715 Spanish fleet that never made it back to the mother country. The intrepid ladies, who are subcontractors for a salvaging firm, discovered the treasure while diving at a wreck. The bird is no fowl -- it's appraised at $885,000. And the ladies aren't spring chickens either: daughter is 49 and mother is 87. You gotta admire their pluck! More on this story at TCPalm.

Tomorrow's itinerary features the Sebastian Inlet area. I'll be visiting the McLarty Treasure Museum and other spots. And to get there, I'll be taking A1A northbound on Hutchinson Island instead of I-95, which is something I've been wanting to do for donkey's ages.

The beaches up here are absolutely gorgeous -- so natural and relatively untouched by the ravages of overdevelopment. I felt so at peace and very grounded today while hanging out on Hutchinson Island. Really, the more I travel outside of Miami, the less I like South Beach for its waterfront. Sorry, 305!

I'm a little frustrated with the technology aspect of this adventure -- wishing I had a more powerful laptop. Hopefully by the time I "settle down" in St. Augustine, I'll be able to share a proper story about each destination with you. Good things come to those who wait ... thanks for your patience!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Today's shout-outs go to Annie's Costumes, Visit Florida, Discover Martin and Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach Resort and Marina. Thanks for supporting this leg of the trip!