Vero Beach

We pulled out of Titusville at sunrise: 7AM on the nose.

As you see in the photo, the waterway was dead calm, with some lingering sea smoke, and we made great time; we were safely tied up in Vero Beach by 11:30.

A pelican was my wingman on the trip this morning. Flying the same speed as Freedom (20 knots), he would flap is wings a few times to gain a few feet of altitude, and then he would glide along, very close to the surface, for about 100 feet. The tips of his wings slant downward at the very end (like some modern aircraft), and he was so close to the water that his wingtips nearly touched the water.

Our plan of starting early and getting to the next destination by early afternoon is working well. First, we get two hours of WOT travel in before the slugs get moving. Then, we have time to see the next town.

And, by the way, I LOVE Vero Beach. We walked over to a huge dog park before lunch. Then lunch at the Riverside Cafe, at a riverside table, of course. Fish Taco…yum!

I enjoyed the local wildlife in a waterside park. The pelicans are beautiful up-close, and I love the Ibis, with their beautiful curved beaks.

Guinness tried to swim in some of the lagoons and ponds in the park, but Uh-Oh!

I figured if he wanted to swim, we had better get a look at the Beach part of Vero Beach, so we took the FREE bus from the marina to the beach (ocean), and once again Guiness had a ball chasing sea birds for half an hour. On the way home we got to see the town itself…very cute, very upscale.

Still, it IS Florida after all, so we also got to see this really cool mailbox: a real vintage Evinrude (missing its guts). Absolutely excellent!

Tomorrow we’re off to Palm Beach. We are staying at Safe Harbor Old Port Cove if you want to Google it. It sounds lovely. I’ll get to have dinner with my nephew Brain. A very cool young man.

Palm Beach is at Mile Marker 1015. And remember, Key West is 1250. Really getting close now, and Vero Beach really looks like Florida!