Learning how to reduce holiday stress in Palm Beach

Kimberly LaRue in the King Library

In the tranquil setting of the Society for the Four Arts campus, a group of women mostly older than a certain age gathered for a free talk on how to reduce holiday stress. They came to the Palm Beach campus to hear instructor Kimberly LaRue present her techniques for practicing mindfulness.

After gathering on the second floor of the King Library amidst the hardcover books and waiting for the session to start, they bantered with each other. One woman told her talkative friend, "You stress the rest of us."

"I know," replied the woman to whom that comment was directed, "that helps keep me de-stressed."

Surfing scientist talks about riding waves in South Florida

Bob Taylor in Fort Pierce, summer 2012 (photos  provided)

The soft-spoken scientist at the South Florida Water Management District has distinct ideas about how he wants to spend his spare time -- either walking on water or on land.

To Bob Taylor, environmental engineer, walking on water means surfing.

"Surfing can be a wonderful way to relax and de-stress," he says. "You are very focused on the wave; you are not worrying about other life problems."

That sounds like the main reason I like yoga. When I focus on my breathing, I forget about my worries.

Surfing scientist checks Web for best waves in South Florida

Bob Taylor at North Jetty in Fort Pierce in summer 2012. (Photos provided)

Meet Bob Taylor, South Florida Water Management District scientist by day and surfing enthusiast by night and weekends.

Taylor, 55, grew up in Jupiter where his parents bought him a longboard at a yard sale and got him hooked on surfing. He and his buddies taught themselves how to surf and have been surfing since they were about 9 years old.

They used their surf boards to paddle across the Intracoastal Waterway back then, Taylor says, but he does not recommend doing that today -- presumably because of increased pollutants in the waterway.

He will follow the Pipe Masters tourney when the surfing competition starts Saturday in Oahu. Taylor will watch to see how Kelly Slater, 40, performs because he's one of the three top surfers in contention. And Slater is from Cocoa Beach.

Exploring renovations at Lake Worth's beach

Adirondack chairs line up to face the ocean.

Finally after nearly 30 years of talk, Lake Worth is busy renovating buildings along its beachfront.

Sunday, I loaded my dog in my car to check out the renovations to Lake Worth's storied casino building and other restoration work underway in the multimillion-dollar project. I wanted to see how my tax dollars are being spent. But I also needed to get in a morning walk with my dog. So the trip to the beach filled two purposes, my new definition of multi-tasking. Here's what I saw:

1. Lower parking lot still a construction zone. I parked here in order to get the most steps on that Sunday morning. We drove onto an unpaved road into the parking lot and had to dodge cars and pickups on our walk up to the beach.

Turkey trotting through Palm Beach

Runners in the 2011 Turkey Trot

Ever want to peek into the mansions in Palm Beach?

This Thursday, better known as Thanksgiving Day, the United Way of Palm Beach will offer that chance when it hosts the 4th annual Turkey Trot.

The 5K path of the race begins and ends in Bradley Park, near the renovated Publix grocery store with valet parking.

The course heads north along the North Lake Trail bicycle path, turns east on Plantation Road, then south on North County Road and loops west on Wells Road.

Exploring Snook Islands in Lake Worth

Little blue heron with fresh catch atop limestone boulders

Friday morning, before I went to the local grocery store, I took a detour to the other side of Lake Worth and stopped to explore the Snook Islands Natural Area.

The islands are man-made, created to help clean the Lake Worth Lagoon and provide a fish habitat. I read about the $18 million project that involved 28,000 tons of limestone boulders installed to stabilize the 11 acres of mangroves planted and the 1.2 million cubic yards of sand that filled the deep trench along the city's golf course.

But I wanted to see what the area looked like for myself. I longed to walk on the relatively new boardwalk to the gazebo and satisfy my curiosity about the type of wading birds attracted to the area. I once was an avid nature photographer back in the days when cameras still used film.

Run for pies in Tequesta

Runner holding an apple pie (photo provided)

This Thanksgiving, while most of us are just rising, nearly 1,600 runners will line up in Tequesta for the 8 a.m. start of the 12th annual Run 4 the Pies.

The 4-mile race is sponsored by four organizations: Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach Roadrunners, Publix grocery stores and Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Tequesta.

The first 900 finishers will receive a fresh-baked apple pie from Publix, says Bob Anderson, who is in his fifth year as race co-director. The other 700 or so runners will get a $2-off coupon for a Publix bakery item. "That way, no one walks away empty-handed," he adds.