Visiting South Florida in the middle of August is admittedly not everyone’s cup of tea. Visiting with kids in tow can be even more challenging given the heat and humidity. However, it was my husband’s birthday weekend and he wanted to spend some time with his family (and so did we). We could hardly fault him for that, even if the rest of us were dreaming of winter snow already. So off we went. I grew up in the Keys, so I am no stranger to summers spent on what feels like the surface of the sun.
Since we live in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, getting to Delray Beach was a fairly easy drive at a little over four hours. We have just spent a good chunk of the summer roadtripping out west with massively long drives between destinations. So, four hours barely registers with our kids as a drive at this point! Relatively short drive and all, the minute you pull into Delray Beach you realize this is not your typical South Florida town.
Delray Beach is artsy and cool. It has a great neighborhood vibe and is very walkable. Filled with shops and restaurants at every turn. Atlantic Avenue is the place to see and be seen all at once. The best part is the outdoor feel. Literally every spot in town is geared toward socializing and sitting outside. Doors wide open, misters on high and air conditioners blasting. I can only imagine the power bill.
Whether you are on a date, spending quality time with your family or just want to enjoy the local scenery with your favorite pup, this is the place to do it. That fact that you can feel as if you are dining al fresco in a European café one minute and then walk to the end of the street to discover a bustling beach area complete with surfers, is just icing on the cake.
We live on the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida. The beaches are nice, but oh those Atlantic beaches get me every time.
We stayed a block from the downtown area in the artsy section known as “Pineapple Grove” at the Hyatt Place. We were right across from a local venue that hosts musicians and an array of other performers called the Arts Garage. The first night we arrived there was a drum circle in the park next to Old School Square. The streets and cafes were packed, and it was only the middle of the week!
Every time we headed to the hotel we had to walk or drive through this snazzy gate. The location was perfect for getting to everything since we really wanted to explore.
We have stayed in a lot of Hyatt Places. More than we can actually count. They are one of our “go to” hotels when we do road trips. This one was in a perfect location, had live music in the evenings and the art deco look really blended with the whole “Pineapple Grove” ambiance.
Did I mention how fun and unique some of the shops were? The national candy store chain IT’SUGAR was a huge hit with the kids. Glorious candy as far as the eye can see and some very cool options from all over the world.
Did I mention how fun and unique the people were? Check out this gentleman. Well, it may have been less about him and more about his vehicle as he was zipping all over town picking folks up.
And the art? I know I mentioned that, but it really was everywhere from the garbage can shaped like an ice cream cone in front of the gelato shop to this mural we passed many times during our walk back to the hotel.
So many murals…
And the food? So many choices. One night we had seafood. The next we had ramen and Boba tea. But I think my favorite was lunch at the Foxworth Soda Fountain located a couple of easy blocks from Atlantic Avenue inside the Delray Shores Pharmacy. This is a real working pharmacy along with a “market” that could pass for a high-end gift store. All of this was been combined in a retro building with a throwback soda fountain. Who could ask for anything more?
The food was delish! Curry chicken salad fans…are you out there?
Then there may or may not have been one of these to top off the meal. Full disclosure- this may have actually been consumed before the meal. We’ll never tell…
After lunch we took a look around the store. This was definitely not your typical pharmacy. They had everything from fine wines to a great pet section.
We really enjoyed our quick trip down to Delray Beach. The vibrant downtown, the beach, the food. We will definitely be back soon. We had a couple of great places we really wanted to visit and just didn’t get too. We were dying to check out the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens (though I am not sad that we will have to do it when the temperatures cool down) and we would have loved to have spent some time at the Silverball Pinball Museum. Next time. For sure.
Have you been to Delray Beach? Let me know if you found any great spots that we missed.
For now, I will leave you with this….
Happy Friday my friends. May you find the perfect beach this weekend!
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