Vero Beach (by Paula)

Sunday, February 28, 2010 - we finally untied the lines and started heading south again!! We left at 7:45 a.m. and went 75 miles to Vero Beach Municipal Marina, arriving at 3:45 pm. We had actually planned to anchor out well before we got to Vero, but couldn't find a spot nearby that we could get into easily with our 4.5' draft. For any non-boaters wondering why it took us eight hours to go 75 miles - we probably could have done it in five but the diesel would cost so much we wouldn't be eating for a month! Besides, we really like to watch the scenery and the wildlife. We had several pods of dolphin riding our waves on and off all day - what a wonderful sight to behold!!!!

Aside from being stuck on a T-head at the marina and being beaten up by the wind constantly, we really enjoyed our three days in Vero. On Monday morning we walked about five miles through Riverside Park, close to the Marina. We had lunch at the Riverside Cafe - they have the most amazing luau bread, unfortunately they wouldn't sell us any. We did get an extra basket though, and took it home with our leftovers, yum!! In the afternoon we took another walk, this time to the beach. It was really nice to see the ocean again and the weather was perfect.

Tuesday was a rain day - no big deal, we both like to read alot. On Wednesday, we hopped on the city bus at the marina and rode all over the beachside area. Vero has an excellent bus system and, get this, it's free!!!!!! They have a donation box on board, which, of course, we contributed to, but it's free!!!! As I always say, if it's free, it's me! What a great system, you change change routes all day long and get to anywhere you need to. Did I mention that it's free?!?! Remember, we no longer have a vehicle with us, so something like this is important - we still need to buy groceries, etc. We headed out on foot in the afternoon and walked to the top of the nearby 65' bridge - beautiful views of the marina and the area. We would love to stay here for a month sometime.

Paula