Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

This is a great park that I have been to many times. It was a favorite weekend stop my parents took me to as a kid. They had a wonderful train ride that we enjoyed through the natural setting. Fortunately that natural setting has been preserved for the current and future generations, but sadly, the train was removed years ago. One can still find the old trackless railroad bed within the interior of the park. The nature trails through the hardwood trees and picnic tables along the setting of the Intracoastal Waterway are fabulous. Today we used the park primarily for a different reason, beach parking. Many people use Birch Park as alternatives to garage and parallel parking along A1A. We enjoyed walking a nature trail on the way to the beach and then we found that the pedestrian tunnel under State Road A1A was closed. Iron bars with a padlock blocked the entrance. So instead, we were forced to use the crosswalk across A1A which was not nearly as safe. There is more distracted driving on the section of A1A than anywhere I know. The scenic views of the beach capture the attention of many right where this dangerous crosswalk is. The tunnel is much, much safer for park-to- beach pedestrians and needs to be re-opened. We purposely visited the day before the airshow. We do this to avoid the extremely large crowds and high cost of seeing the actual show. The Blue Angels performed their practice exercises today to the delight of everyone who knows to come the day before. The practice exercises can be seen up and down the beach from Dania to Pompano, but the advantage of seeing it from the beach in front of Birch Park is the public address announcer also sets up there to rehearse his informative descriptions for all visiting that part of the beach to hear the day before the actual event. It's an amazing exercise that all ages enjoy and we beat the big crowds and cost of what would be in place the next day.