Leaving Vero Beach

January 31st - February 12

Looking back.  We'll miss you, Vero Beach.

Our month in Vero Beach has come to an end and we're back traveling on the water, as of the morning of February 10th.  We had lots of fun in that beautiful, friendly little city but we're both happy to be out on the open water again, cruising along in the welcome company of pelicans, dolphins, cormorants, ducks, osprey, and manatee.  Speaking of the latter, we barely avoided a collision with one that surfaced right in front of the boat as we traveled through the Haulover Canal.  Manatees are very large, lumbering water mammals and signs all over FL warn to be on the lookout for them as they slowly surface for a drink of air and just as slowly sink back into the water.

Our Last Two Weeks of Visiting Vero

You may remember Colleen's comment in the last blog about hearing an author of books she enjoys. The Vero Beach Book Center, in business since 1975, is one of her favorite stops in town.  All winter this independent bookstore hosts several popular authors every week and Colleen more recently had a chance to see and hear Reeve Lindbergh, the youngest daughter of Charles and Anne.  Another opportunity arose to help in judging at the 21st annual Indian River Regional Science and Engineering Fair.  Lots of fun there.  And then there were two quilt shops, a meeting of the Sunbonnet Sue Quilt Guild and the guild's big every other year quilt show to visit.  Of course Colleen's been sewing and quilting on the boat and was excited to meet Dan and Sandy on a neighboring boat.  Their beds sported homemade quilts, one of which looks to be quite old.  On Saturday the 9th, McKee Gardens hosted a Corvette show so we enjoyed the cars and the gardens, an excellent combination.  And then, of course, one of the highlights of our visit was taking our laundry over to Howard and Donna's house to wash and dry in their oversized appliances.  Thanks a bunch, guys.

This is an art quilt, liberally embellished with 3D touches.
The Sunbonnet Sue quilt show included many  ocean-themed
pieces, which makes sense in this tropical community.

My favorite quilt in the show.  The houses were copied from
newspaper to fabric; then the tiny windows were cut out and backed with
yellow fabric.  The balloon is 3 dimensional, pieced squares stuffed with
quilt batting and attached to the black background with just the right
angle to suggest flying. 

This sampler quilt on Dan and Sandy's boat looks as though it was made
as a special gift for a long-ago quilter with its hand embroidered
messages of patriotism, faith, family anf friendship.

This original owner of this 1967 Corvette says it has over 600,000 miles on
it.  The lady says that almost all the miles are hers.

This 2013 Gran Sport is Corvette's newest and hottest model. 
Hand built engine, remote oil coolers, oversized brakes and all the racing
components for going around 180+ MPH

McKee Gardens in Vero Beach, a lovely tropical
walk into old Florida

The gardens have sustained quite a bit of hurricane damage
through the years but the land is so rich and verdant that many
downed trees have simply rerooted themselves and just kept on being beautiful.



We'll miss you,Vero Beach. You were fun to visit and a memorable stopover.
Truly "Velcro Beach" as your residents say.

On the Water

This past Sunday and Monday were relaxing, easy days on the water.  We journeyed the first day from Vero to Merritt Island and then from Merritt Island to Daytona Beach.  We stayed in marinas both nights and had the chance to see friends Roger and Marcy on Merritt Island.

We've seen lots of people enjoying the water - windsurfers,
kayakers, swimmers, fishermen and -women and a large variety of boats.

 

Still Florida's most beautiful bridge - located at Daytona

Sometimes the waterway is wide and deep and the "captain" can
relax at the wheel.  Believe me, everything's under control.

Blue water, blue sky, as far as the eye can see.
 You just have to relax with this view.

And Then The Real Fun Begins

Tuesday morning we prepared to leave the Daytona marina.  Wayne turned off shore power and suddenly we had a bad sizzling noise, wafting smoke and a burning smell in the main cabin.  Our inverter was frying itself!  And you thought the exciting repair adventures were over for us.  Wayne immediately turned it off; then back on to confirm that it had quit converting DC to AC and had quit charging.  Major issue.  We decided to go on 29 more miles and pull into the marina at Palm Coast, where we were docked last year.  The inverter will probably need to take at trip to California so we'll use the time to rent a car and pick up our own vehicle in Vero Beach, maybe check out possible fresh water dockage in the Jacksonville area and maybe even (gasp!) take a brief trip back up to North Carolina.  Cold weather is expected in the north Florida area for the next several days but right now we're in shorts and short sleeves.

The day's fun wasn't over yet.  After just 45 minutes on the water we experienced our second Coast Guard boarding.  You may remember we were boarded on last year's trip, in nearly the same spot on the ICW.  We did pass with flying colors again, thanks to our always prepared captain.

We seem to be the only boat on the water anytime
the Coast Guard has to do a few inspections. 
Lucky us!

Finally, just after lunchtime we were welcomed with open arms at Hammock Beach Marina in Palm Coast  and are settled now in our old slip for an indefinite stay.  A car is rented for us to go to Vero Beach tomorrow to pick up our vehicle and arrangements have been made to ship the inverter off for repair or replacement.  Wish us luck!!

It's All About the Sun and the Sea

Front yard boat building.  This could be Wayne.

Someone who is serious about life on the water.  This two story
houseboat is permanently anchored just north of Mosquito Lagoon.

The perfect island to take kids who love sand and water.
This shallow sandbar extends almost into our path on the waterway. 

A happy man and his boat