Finding the Property

I found this property pretty much by accident. I lived in Ft. Pierce as a kid, from 1958 until 1968. But once I left, I rarely went back. My Dad lived in White City for many years before moving to Lake Okeechobee and finally to the pan handle area (Port St. Joe area) of Florida. My Son moved to Wellington, Florida and it was during a visit to see him that I decided to drive up to Ft. Pierce. I had been looking for a place to retire to and I was searching from the Alabama shore up the east coast and of course Florida. On this particular trip I traveled first down the west coast of Florida looking at property and then across Alligator Ally to south Florida up to Wellington. Once I left Wellington I headed to Stuart and then got on the Indian River Drive heading north to Ft. Pierce. I remember the area from my past as it looked much the same, Old Florida. I remember going to Francis Langford's "Outrigger" restaurant as a kid, traveling down the "Drive." Good memories. That night I stayed at a small motel right on the Indian River and had dinner at the Dolphin club, the old Outrigger restaurant. It was pretty magical. A beautiful balmy evening. Moon shining through the clouds, slight breeze. The feel of salty air on your face. I decided to stay at the motel a couple of days. So the next morning, I headed up the Drive to Ft. Pierce. And as I passed Jensen Beach I saw this For Sale sign that had fallen down. So I pulled in and wrote the number down and walked the property. I kept telling myself, its only a phone call. So I made it to Ft. Pierce, drove by the houses I had lived in and the schools I attended. I made it over to both the North and South beach. And had lunch at the Tiki bar at the marina in Ft. Pierce. After all these years of being away, it still felt like home. That afternoon while driving back to the motel, I again stopped at the property and looked around. Then stopped at Conchy Joe's for a beer. As I was having the beer, I looked out at the river and realized this could be an everyday view for me. This awareness was so strong it nearly knocked me off the bar stool. Or then again it could have been the fact that I had more than a few beers that day and I was just naturally having trouble sitting on the bar stool.

 

Aerial view of the property.

The view from Conchy Joe's. Not a bad view.