Top 10 things I plan to do with my last-minute vacation in Palm Beach County

We've talked about how this is the time of year for holiday shopping. We've talked about the end of the Atlantic storm season. We've even talked holiday travel. And let me add, how The Palm Beach Post covers all of these things.

But there's one thing I'd like to add that is also rather prevalent this time of year — last-minute vacations. We all know that's it's become part of our culture over the last several decades for most white-collar professionals — like journalists — to focus so much on work throughout the year that they can literally forget to take a vacation. I was certainly guilty of this earlier in my career (before my wife and I had kids).

So what tends to happen is that nearly everyone wants to take a week or two of vacation in December. And now that our daughters are all grown and out of the house, I've fallen back into old habits. Managing to take a week off this month, I've come up with my own list of 10 things to do in Palm Beach County (in a week).

Best holiday lights mapped: Public displays to neighborhood hot spots in Palm Beach County

Here's my list of things to do in Palm Beach County in no particular order:

1. Visit the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum. Born and raised, and worked here most of my life and have never been. Maybe they'll let me touch the big glass thingee at the top!

2. Walk Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach from the beach (A1A) to Swinton Avenue and back. Shake hands and introduce myself to 10 people along the way.

3. Take selfies in front of every public Christmas tree that I can find in Palm Beach County. Then ask one of my daughters how to post them on Instagram.

4. Drive out to the Glades with all the car windows down. Put David Sanborn's "The Dream" on loop right after 20-Mile Bend. (Note: Be sure to stop at The Banyan Tree restaurant in Belle Glade.)

5. Do some hiking in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.

6. Have lunch and coffee at one of our county's intimate little sidewalk cafes; preferably French or Spanish cuisine.

7. Pick a beach, any beach to lay out on and read a good book. Simple, I know. But this is, by far, still one of the best things our county offers.

8. Visit the Wellington International - Winter Equestrian Festival and find out what all the fuss is about.

9. Catch a Florida Atlantic University men's basketball game, in person. Because I love basketball, and I am, at heart, a homer.

10. Visit Cod & Capers Marketplace and Cafe on Stone Crab (claws) Night. In the words of the immortal Stan Lee, "'Nuff said."

Well, that's my list. Admittedly, most of it is derived from our staff's coverage — both stories and photos — of these things over the years.

But I'd like to know something that you would do in Palm Beach County if you had a last-minute week's vacation. So please, email me (address below) with your suggestion. Depending on how many I receive, I will dedicate next week's newsletter to publishing them.

Season to Share

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Rick Christie

Executive Editor

You can always reach out to me at rchristie@pbpost.com and find me on X (formerly Twitter) at @rchristiepbp. Or send in a news tip to breakingnews@pbpost.com. Subscribe to independent reporting that supports democracy via subscribe.palmbeachpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Staycation or vacation: Top 10 things to do near West Palm Beach