Downtown Stuart

I have been spending an increasing amount of my time recently in Downtown Stuart. The more time I spend, the more I like it. My parents retired to the area some fifteen years ago. Back then I considered Stuart a sleepy town bordering on nearly comatose.  In the last few years, I've been making the drive up from Fort Lauderdale with more frequency and  Downtown Stuart has become a regular part of my visit to the area.

Downtown Stuart

I write this blog mostly for my local friends and family but my real life has taken me to twenty five states and eleven countries. I prefer the small town experiences and the little out of the way, seldom visited attractions. Considering all the places I've been, I would sum up Downtown Stuart in one word - Comfortable.

According to the Downtown Stuart web page link above, there are 50 shops, galleries, and restaurants. Every time I think I've seen them all, I find one more to enjoy it seems.

On my last visit, I decided to take a few early morning photos for my Flickr collection. As expected, downtown was deserted when I arrived but I was surprised by the number of joggers out to greet the dawn with me and my camera. Shortly after sunup, I was further surprised to see the morning breakfast crowd had already rolled into town. I think of Stuart as primarily a retirement community but certainly not one that sleeps late.

There are plenty of attractions in the area such as Blowing Rocks Beach, the Jupiter Light House, and the Elliot Museum.  My last posting from Stuart is my 3rd most popular ever. There seems to be more interest in Stuart than I originally thought. And now that my family has relocated to the area it's time I took a closer look.

Roosevelt Bridge - Stuart