The first weekend in May each year Antioch Primitive Baptist Church in Vero Beach, has their annual meeting. Since we had planned to visit them on Friday night and Saturday morning, we made the decision to head over early and look for an Adventure Friday destination. Gary did some exploring and found Turkey Creek Sanctuary in Palm Bay where he had found a cheap hotel for a night. While he rested in the car, we all explored the grounds.
Visiting Turkey Creek Sanctuary was well worth the trip. There are several areas of the park. The first area that you walk through adjacent to the Palm Bay Library is their butterfly garden. Planted with a variety of plants that provide food and shelter for butterflies from caterpillar to adult. There is also a tiny fountain that bubbles up creating a mini bog to provide water as well as a curious though tiny environment not normally found in Florida.
Continuing on there is a nature center which is typically open 9 to 4 each day. However due to a lack of volunteers it isn't always available so they suggest calling before you visit. The day we went, we had not planned very far ahead and so we didn't call and they were not open. So just be aware of that possibility if you would like to check them out. They also have a community center here which hosts various activities throughout the year. But nothing was happening the weekend we visited. We went to enjoy a quiet day at the park.
The real attraction of the park is the boardwalk. There are nearly two miles worth of boardwalks. The path itself is unique in that it has individual boards with messages carved in them. We saw notes to gone loved ones, a wedding proposal, some birthday gifts, and even pets. To begin with we walked the long boardwalk to the end and back, stopping at the scenic over looks along the way. The kids were very upset with the overlock called the tree house, when it did not include an actual treehouse. The twins and I saw a raccoon walking back since the noisy children had run ahead to wait for us back at the gazebo.
After that we walked the boardwalk loop. This is where we saw tons of wildlife. We saw tons of turtles and several different kinds of fish, and there was one especially beautiful overlook of the river. However, the best part of the day, was just before we got to the river. We witnessed a red shoulder hawk dive down and pin a snake to the ground. We got to see them, just barely off the boardwalk as they twisted and wrestled with one another. The kids cheered with the hawk got the best of the snake and then flew off to a nearby tree to enjoy his late lunch. They all agreed it was one of the best parts of nature that we have seen this year. It was certainly suspenseful for 5 or 7 minutes, and most unfortunately my phone had died just before we had the nature show.
We would definitely recommend a visit if you are every in the area on the East Coast. It is a very nice park for a day visit and the amount of wildlife in the area is astounding (especially when you consider how noisy our kids are). If you'd like to make a trip the address to the Turkey Creek Sanctuary is 1518 Port Malabar Blvd. NE, Palm Bay, Florida. The park is open from 7-sunset, every day of the week. Of course, you can always call for more information at 321-676-6690. Entrance to the sanctuary is free.
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