Stuart to Vero and Beyond - March 1-7

Stuart to Vero Beach

Sailfish fountain in downtown Stuart

After two nights in Stuart we traveled on to Vero Beach.  Remember that we’ve referred to Vero as Velcro Beach before?  It certainly lived up to its name this time.  High winds started soon after we arrived and kept us there from Friday until Wednesday, swinging violently on our mooring buoy.  The good part was that we got the chance to visit Howard and Donna, Wayne’s brother and his wife, and were introduced by them to another memorable delicious local restaurant, The  Pomodoro Grill.  Those Vero people do know how to eat!!  This morning we said, “To heck with the winds, we’re outta here” and at 7:15 we left the buoy to brave the fury of the gale and the wide, rough ICW.   At least, that was what the weather man had led us to expect.  So far, though, three-and-a-half hours into the trip we’ve not encountered anything the captain and her crew couldn’t handle.

The dinghy is an exact miniature copy of the big boat.

If Fort Myers is the City of Palms, Vero Beach is certainly the City
of Oak Trees.  This is one of many beautiful, old oaks in yards
and along the streets

Sunset at our anchorage at Vero Beach Marina

Yet More Boat Maintenance

While we were in Vero Wayne noticed a faint smell of diesel fuel in the cabin.  He searched all the possible sources and eventually decided it came from one of the boat's many inaccessible corners.  He had to squeeze behind the couch in the salon as he reached in to tighten the flange on the fuel tank gauge.  He has also diagnosed a water leak (Eeek!) under our bed right at our fresh water pump inlet.  It's just a slow leak (is there any such thing on a boat?) and he plans to cure it once we're settled at a dock.

The space was small but Wayne managed to squirm into it to tighten the fuel gauge.

Another Recipe
We had decided to fix breakfast after we left and ended up developing a tasty, quick-to-fix English muffin sandwich in the microwave as we traveled:

Easy Bacon-Egg-and-Cheese Breakfast

      1.     Toast an English muffin; spread both sides with butter and grape jelly.

2.     Use a fork to whip one egg in a narrow, glass or other microwave safe container.

3.     Sprinkle in salt and pepper.

4.     Drop a slice of Canadian bacon on top of the egg mixture

5.     Cover and microwave for one minute; check egg for doneness; add 15-20 seconds on low power as needed.

6.     Move egg and bacon onto one of the muffin halves; put cheese slice on top.

7.     Microwave briefly to melt the cheese and top with the other half of the muffin.

Today's Destination

Our plan today is to stop for the night either at Harbortown Marina on Merritt Island (where we stayed in December) or to go on to the Titusville marina, 16 miles further up the road.  From tonight’s stopping point we are only one or two days from what we plan to use as next year’s dockage, Palm Coast.  We’re not quite back in North Carolina, though.  In Palm Coast we’ll be renting a car to drive down to Fort Myers, pick up our car and then come back to pack up and head to Charlotte.  So far the mild winter has created an early spring in the Carolinas, leading to the early blooming of the redbud trees, tulips, daffodils, and Bradford pear trees.  Hope we catch the dogwoods.

We’ve been working on a few trip lists as we plow along through the water today.

Things We Will Miss After The Trip Ends:

1.     Florida sunsets and Florida clouds

2.     Wildlife – we saw our first sea turtle today and, of course, we’ve seen dolphins and alligators and all kinds of birds.

3.     Flowers in the winter

4.     Wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts

5.     Going barefoot all winter (this from the Florida cracker in the boat)

6.     Publix grocery stores

7.    The Unknown (occasionally accompanied by sheer panic and terror)

Pelicans - on land they always look clumsy and awkward; in flight
there is nothing so graceful as they skim along, their wide wings only
inches from the surface of the water.

A sailboat under sail.  Always a pretty sight on the water.

Things We Won't Miss After The Trip Ends:

1.     The price of diesel fuel

2.     Boat and marina shower accommodations and laundromats

3.     Ten hour days behind the wheel

4.     Pumping out holding tanks

5.     Hauling water in our four 5 gallon collapsible jugs @ 40 pounds apiece

6.     The Unknown (occasionally accompanied by sheer panic and terror)