Edgewater

After Dorian: We Dodged a Bullet and Are Thankful

We took a drive on Thursday after Dorian had left our area in Florida just to see if the coast had held up okay. We didn’t get over to the beaches, but drove along Riverside Drive on the ICW / River.

I got these photos out the truck window as we drove. Except for dead palm fronds blown off the trees, we didn’t see any damage. Before the storm all talk is about getting ready. After this one we are all thankful and thinking of the poor souls in the Bahamas.

waterside park, Menard May Florida — Menard-May Park

mess from Dorian — Dead palm fronds cleared from the trees seem to be our biggest clean up worry

House boarded up with plywood for Hurricane Dorian

South Causeway and Indian River view from Riverside Drive

Metal shutters on windows — Metal shutters on house

The Black Dolphin Inn on Riverside Drive in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

I had to look this one up, but the little red building hidden among the trees across from the South Causeway bridge is the new Riverpark Terrace Restaurant. Check out the video in their “gallery” section at this link, because the place looks pretty interesting.

Riverpark Terrace restaurant — Riverpark Terrace Restaurant

September and October are often busy months for hurricanes so we will leave our shutters up, like many other people. I think I can safely say that Floridians have breathed a sigh of relief after this one. And the power stayed on! After suffering through Hurricane Irma, that was the best gift of all. That, and this beautiful sky.

gorgeous Florida sunset — Dorian left behind one gorgeous sunset

Visiting the Edgewater Farmer’s Market

My son and I have been meaning to visit the Edgewater Farmer’s Market, but the weather has kept us away. In fact the market rarely happens this time of year because of all the afternoon rain storms.

Finally we had a nice Thursday, and took a ride down to check it out. This was back when the market was set up behind the Police Station. Now it has moved to Hawk’s Park on Ridgewood Ave., and I haven’t been to that location.

Edgewater, Florida feels like a small community, but the population is over 20,000. And just to the North is the popular tourist area of New Smyrna Beach. New Smyrna at least has a main street – Canal Street, and they have the beaches which are just across the two causeways. In comparison, Edgewater has shopping plazas along Route 1, and a scenic stretch of Riverside Drive with a boat ramp and couple of parks. There is a nice bike trail and also a small airport. Edgewater is a less built up place, but not by much.

And now they have a Farmer’s Market. I was happy to hear this and was hoping for more than I found, but hopefully the Market will grow as time passes.

The day we visited there were maybe 10 venders selling various items from candles to booze – yes, you could buy a drink!

We bought some local honey from a company based in Lake Mary. Someone had set up a refrigerated trailer and sold shrimp. We caught plenty of our own shrimp this past year so we skipped that.

I was hoping for some good veggies, and picked up big tomatoes and sweet potatoes, the vegetable choices were limited. It could be the time of year.

Screen Shot 2018-07-24 at 4.40.38 PM — Tomatoes and sweet potatoes from the Farmer’s Market

I splurged on two containers of cookies, which were more like cookie cupcakes. They were delicious and I would buy them again. If you see these for sale at the Edgewater Farmer’s Market give them a try!

Screen Shot 2018-07-24 at 4.40.22 PM — Cookie “cupcakes” – These were so good!

In New Hampshire I visited a small, local market which had farmers selling meat, goat cheese, yarn, birdhouses, crafts, and loads of yummy vegetables. I bought a big “Alaska” nasturtium which ended up giving me enough seeds to plant all around my yard.

black cat and nasturtiums — Skittle the cat among the nasturtiums

Aerial Photos of the Edgewater Florida Area

A friend of ours is a pilot. He happened to be out flying the other day while my son and I were boating. Although he never found us out on the river, he did share these photos with my son and I.

It’s always fun to see a place you recognize from the air! In this first photo, the Edgewater boat ramp is visible right in the center of the image. It’s that rectangular patch that juts out into the water. That is the main channel of the Indian River, which is part of the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway). Straight out from the ramp is all the backwater area where we usually go to fish, and beyond that is the ocean.

aerial view of Edgewater, Florida — Aerial view of Edgewater, Florida – the boat ramp is in the center.

I don’t recognize where they were when this next photo was taken. I suspect they were flying further north.

Screen Shot 2018-06-30 at 12.44.21 PM — Aerial view, Florida’s East coast

We landed our boat on an island and my son got this panorama photo while I did some beach combing. This is where I came across the pink crown conch shell. As I walked the beach area, I came across a cross in memory of someone named Owen. We were out on a Thursday and had the place totally to ourselves. We used the Riverbreeze boat ramp, which is south of Edgewater.