Our stay at Vero Beach, "Velcro Beach" as so many cruisers call it, was great. We can see why so many people arrive there and end up staying. The mooring field was just about full and we know that rafting is mandatory, so we chose to raft up with Links as soon as we got there. Thanksgiving is a big deal for cruisers in Vero and by the time we left there were at least 2 boats, sometimes 3 on each ball. We knew we would be staying 3 days, so we took our bikes to shore to make the most of our visit. We rode through the neighborhoods, up to the beach, to the farmer's market and even to church on Sunday. Another great thing about Vero is the bus that comes right to the marina. You could easily get to any store you may need. The hardest part is getting back on the bus with full backpacks and multiple bags in each hand! Bud and I also got some fishing in. We didnt catch anything for dinner, but I did catch the biggest catfish I've ever seen! The day before we left we ran into Cathy and Ed, whom we had met in Ft. Myers on our first trip. They invited us over for a potluck dinner, and since they upgraded their catamaran since we saw them last, dinner for 9 was no problem. It's always nice running into old friends, along with meeting new ones!
The next morning we traveled just over 40 miles to Peck Lake. This is a neat anchorage where we can dinghy to shore and walk the beach. This is where Jill and I found our first sea heart, sea beans of the trip!
The following morning started our "3 days of bridges". We had seven bridge openings on our way to Lake Worth, Palm Beach (not too bad). We arrived and anchored early enough to explore Peanut Island and enjoy our first snorkling. Just south of Vero Beach is where the water changes to the "pretty water"!
Traveling the next day to Lake Boca Raton, we had 12 bridge openings, and the following day to North Miami had another dozen. There is one bridge where we actually don't need an opening, but it was already open. We were obligated to call the bridgetender and let him know this, so he closed it. Even though I knew we would safely make it under, it was un-nerving to have a bridge closing on us.
Sometimes only half of the bridge is working, that's not so much fun either.
Luckily we were done with most of the bridges because we knew weather was coming in and we had a long 63 mile day from North Miami to Key Largo. So, that's where we are now and will probably be stuck here until Monday. It's an easy place to get to shore and everything we need is within a bike ride. We set a second anchor today for the heavier winds that are coming , but we are in a good spot. We are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with Links with a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings. We have so much to be thankful for!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
XOXO
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