Florida

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The Sporking Life

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The McLarty Treasure Museum / The Mel Fisher Treasure Museum


The McLarty Treasure Museum / The Mel Fisher Treasure Museum


The sign on Highway A1A

Exterior of the McLarty Treasure Museum





The McLarty Treasure Museum
13180 North A1A
Vero Beach, FL 32963
(772) 589-2147

(no official website)


Both the McLarty Treasure Museum and Mel Fisher’s Treasure Museum tell the fascinating history of one of Spain’s treasure ships, the Atocha (pronounced ah-toes –sha, emphasizing the second syllable).  The fleet of ships transported gold, silver, and jewels from the new lands to Spain, with most of the wealth going toward war preparation.  To give you an idea of how much wealth one of these ships carried, it took two months to catalogue and load its stash of gold, et cetera.  The Atocha was part of a fleet that was sunk by a hurricane returning to Madrid by way of Cuba.  If you’re interested in reading more about these treasure ships, try these websites:
I prefer the McLarty Museum over The Mel Fisher Museum Sebastian* in terms of being informative and even a bit educational.  However, the Mel Fisher Museum has a better gift shop.  Do yourself a favor:  visit both.  This post covers both museums.

The McLarty Treasure Museum
This museum is situated close to Sebastian Inlet State Park.  For the curious, in this case an inlet is a waterway that connects the Indian River to the Atlantic Ocean.  Because of its natural environmental settings, you will not find much of anything besides shrubs and trees.  There is a bait shop 10 minutes north of the McLarty, if you get a hankering to fish.  Meanwhile, enjoy the 20-minute introductory video to get a grasp of the enormity of the wealth on the treasure ships.  Take a short walk on the boardwalk leading to a splendid view of the ocean.  There are a few things to think of as you are on the boardwalk.  The first is that you get an idea of what the original man had to get through to get to the ocean for surfing.  It had to be slow going.  The second thing to note is that Florida does a great job in terms of protecting the natural environment.  These elevated boardwalks let visitors see what’s there without trampling fragile areas.  Pat yourself on the back for being a “Green” tourist.


The gift shop at the McLarty Treasure Museum
As much as I enjoy visiting the McLarty, the gift shop there is dismal.  It consists of of a few items in an enclosed case, with the volunteer ticket taker lurking nearby.  If you’re in the market for a new coffee cup or carved turtle, you’re in luck. 

Restrooms are located to the right of the entrance area.










Exterior of the Mel Fisher Treasure Museum

The Mel Fisher Treasure Museum

1322 US-1
Sebastian, FL 32958(772) 589-9875
http://www.melfisher.com/default.html
 
Pulling out of the McLarty parking lot, head south (turn left) and drive Highway A1A for about 10
Getting from the McLarty Treasure Museum to the
Mel Fisher Treasure Museum
minutes.  Head west (turn right) at Wabasso Street and drive over the causeway (bridge) to the mainland.  Drive slowly here, because the scenery is gorgeous, and you’ll want your passenger to snap photos for you.  Go north (turn right) on Highway 1 for about 10 minutes.  The Mel Fisher will be on your right.  There’s parking in front, and it’s usually not crowded.  Again, take time to enjoy the introductory video, and the museum will make more sense.  Whereas the McLarty focuses on the history and discovery of the treasure ships, the Mel Fisher focuses on the recovery of gold, silver, and jewels.  The exhibits should take 20-25 minutes to see the treasure exhibits. This museum doesn’t “speak” to me, as the McLarty does, but it has a splendid gift shop.  Finally!  The gift shop.  It obeys Florida’s rule of having to pass through the gift shop to reach the exit. 


The Mel Fisher gift shop is a decent-sized gift shop, given the size of the museum.  The good stuff is in a glass counter and contains jewelry utilizing stash recovered from the treasure ships.  I take longer in the gift shop than I do at the exhibits.  It also has jewelry for every day folks, t-shirts, books, and pirate-themed toys for young children.  It has refrigerator magnets.  If you are looking for souvenirs for those at home, consider the Mel Fisher gift shop.
Hopefully, you’ve “got your shopping on” and are ready for lunch.  Pubs, grills and tiki bars are within walking distance.  As you leave the Mel Fisher, cross that side street for some fun places.  Go ahead.  You deserve it.