COCOA AND VERO BEACH, FL

He Said:  Hello Everyone.  Merry belated holidays from Florida.  Pat and I enjoyed Xmas day by watching some football and just hanging on the boat.  We had a nice dinner with ham and some other goodies then decided to head into town just to see if we were missing anything.  Our friend Eric joined us, and we found the dumpiest little bar in town that was actually opened Xmas nite.  The place had about 10 locals in it that had nothing better to do that nite - just like us!  One thing they had going on was I think they must have started their celebration about 10 hours earlier - it looked like a good old drunk nite to me.  We stayed for about an hour then headed back to the boat for a pretty early nite.  This was the first time in 10 years that we didn’t spend the holidays in Vegas with Pat’s family.  It was a little different, but it is what we signed up for.

The following few days were spent riding the city bus into the beach area and enjoying the city.  We made our way to Walmart on Thursday at Merritt Island which was a little distance on the bus but no big deal.  We caught some lunch then did some of our fav shopping at our fav store.  We are really Target fans but as you travel the east and southeast there seems to be many more Walmarts.

Friday we headed back to Cocoa Beach and hung out in about 84 degree temps - that’s what I’m talking about!!  We enjoy those beach days whenever we can find them - each day in Florida is not exactly hanging in Paradise.  This is winter time and we need to remember that.  We went to Coconuts on the beach for a few cold ones then back on the bus to the marina.  Pat needed a break from me so Friday nite my new buddy Eric and I walked over to the nearest bar from the marina, about 200 yards from the boat.  Linda’s Pub was fun but neither Eric nor I had enough to drink to sing karaoke.  For some strange reason I would rather make an ass out of myself in front of friends as opposed to strangers, go figure.  Without college FB each Saturday poor Pat needs to find other ways of getting away from me.  Normally it only takes her saying “why don’t you go grab a cold one and I will see you when you get back” works perfect!  Saturday we spent on the boat and then headed out with some other boaters we met and ended up at Norman’s - good music and a nice outside patio.  Norman’s is about 50 yards from Linda’s.  Maybe in Cocoa you need to name your bar a person’s name, don’t know.  After our last couple nites hanging in bars with people’s names, Pat and I laid low.  We grabbed pizza in town and headed back to the boat early that Sunday nite.
 

Coconuts on the Beach - our first Florida beachfront restaurant

Our plan was to head to Vero Beach on Monday AM but you have already heard enough about the weatherman running our lives.  We were prepared to live by 8AM, but it was way too windy. We had a terrific spot at a great marina in Cocoa, but we were in the last spot directly in front of the marina.  We had a neighbor on 1 side and a big ass dock on the other.  With the winds and current this made it nearly impossible for our exit due to the big dock being on my port side and having to back out.  I spoke to the dock master and he said if you do not have to get out of Dodge maybe hang out a little longer.  Easy decision.

Hello NY Eve.  We had no clue what to do because we planned on being in Vero Beach and we knew they were having a bonfire on the beach for us boaters.  It sounded cool, but we couldn’t get there.  Oh well, we are getting very used to changing our plans.  So I walked down to Linda’s to check on the NY Eve ordeal.  I went with cooker man Johnny and, of course, had to have a few $1.00 Bud Lites - at that price it is impossible to say no thanks.  Later that eve 6 of us went to Linda’s for the festivities.  Check it out - 25 bones per couple and all you can eat.  Not our normal deal but Linda’s son made the food, and it was great.  Drinks were cheap, company was good, champagne was good and my hat looked stupid on me.  Oh yeah, plus it messed up my ‘do.  They had a combo of Karaoke and the same dude played Mr. DJ.  It really was a fun nite.  We walked back to the boat about 1AM and called it a nite.  I’m still looking for the entire group that phoned us at about 3:30 in the morning.  I may have picked it up but as I recall my head hurt too much.  Hey guys, don’t start your own band unless you want to go hungry.  I do actually know who you are.
 

Happy New Year!!

So finally on Wednesday the 1^st we headed down the road, less wind so time to travel.  This was the first NY Day ever that I didn’t sit my lazy ass in front of the tube for a day of bowl games.  The good news is we got to Vero in time to find a pub near the marina to take in the Rose Bowl.  Congrats to Michigan State, what a great game.

The next several days we sort of hung out and enjoyed Vero Beach.  Our little Riverside Cafe received a lot of our business - location, location, location.  We could walk to the bar in about 10 minutes or so.  We could also dingy over, but the ride back was a little dark and lengthy.  Plus we had to travel thru a bridge and the dingy man is not so used to that, but it worked perfect.  

Sunday the 5^th was a beautiful day so we traveled back to the beach and hung out.  Mulligane’s on the beach had live music on the patio so I parked my rump on the beach about 50 ft. from Mr. Guitar.  He played some Motown, Jimmy B., Eagles, Van and other fun music for old farts.  Later that afternoon it got cloudy and rainy and we had about a 25 minute walk back.  We ate on the boat and called it an evening.  Our stays here in Florida have been a lot of fun but the weather has been a little crazy. One day mid 80’s, next day maybe 60.  Oh well, overall pretty darn nice.  We really enjoyed the 80 plus degree weather in Vero, but it was time to head on down the road.  We’re planning on leaving Monday morning and heading to Stuart.  Hope all is going well in your world.
 

Vero Beach - you can't see it, but the water is a pretty blue

Take Care,  Jack

PS. Those of you who know how much I follow Ohio State Football, I didn’t mean to forget our Orange Bowl Game.  Although we sort of forgot to show up I still need to shout out to Clemson in their victory over us.  Glad I didn’t go thru all the stuff to get to Miami.  I don’t know where our defense disappeared to, but they forgot to show up again.  Oh well, like I have said earlier, it is just a game.  Keeps me from going crazy.

 

She Said:  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

It’s been a fun week in Cocoa.  What a great place – the marina facility and staff are excellent, the boaters are really friendly, the town is steps from the marina and there’s convenient bus service.  We had our most social week since boarding MTB – we were invited to a neighboring boat for happy hour, we had people over for happy hour and we went to dinner a couple nights with other boaters.  It was really fun.    

There are 2 towns – Cocoa and Cocoa Beach (think I Dream of Jeannie).  Cocoa (where we stayed) is on the ICW and Cocoa Beach is on the Atlantic.    It’s an 8 mile bus ride from the marina to the beach.  We spent a nice day on the beach and at Coconuts.  At the north end of Cocoa Beach is Cape Canaveral and the cruise ship docks. 

 


Downtown Cocoa - very quaint and picturesque

 

At our marina there was a Manatee zone.  Manatees swim just below the surface of the water and were being killed off by speeding boats and boat propellers.  As a result their population dropped to around 600, and in the mid-70s were declared endangered.   The population was estimated to be over 3000 at the beginning of the decade and there’s controversy whether manatees should still be considered endangered.  We saw a manatee that had a transmitter attached.  You’re supposed to report these sightings – which we did through the marina.  The staff at the marina said they’d never seen one before so I guess that was pretty cool. 

The plan was to leave Cocoa on 12/30 and spend New Year’s Eve in Vero Beach.  But the weather got really windy and we decided to stay put.  We had a great slip at the marina, but it was a difficult spot to get out of even in the best of conditions.  Add strong winds and it was way outside of our comfort zone.  The next day the winds weren’t any better in the morning.  When the winds calmed down in the afternoon, the marina staff decided to manually turn MTB around making our departure easier (especially in the wind).  It was quite an effort and the docks were full of spectators.   

The good thing about our delayed departure was spending New Year’s Eve at Linda’s Lounge and Café in Cocoa.  A group of six went for dinner, dancing, karaoke and celebration.  It was a really fun night with great people.  We got back to MTB around 1:00am.  At 3:30am the phone woke us up to a choir of partying Phoenicians singing Feliz Navidad!  It sounds like a good time was had by all – thanks for sharing your New Year’s Eve party with us. 

We made an uneventful departure from Cocoa on New Year’s morning for Vero Beach.  There were lots of playful dolphins along the way which made the trip fun.  There was also RAIN.  I guess it was better traveling in the rain than just sitting on the boat.  We planned to stay on a mooring ball 3 nights and ended up staying 5 nights – that’s why Vero Beach is also called Velcro Beach – because people stay longer than planned.  The mooring field was the best one we’ve been in.  It’s large, really well protected and scenic.  The marina boaters organize several events during the week - it’s a great place to spend a week. 

New Year’s Day meant the Rose Bowl, and we dinghied into the marina in search of someplace to watch the game.  It was still raining so we walked to the closest restaurant – Riverside Café – and had a fun night watching the game.  We hopped the free bus to the beach the next day and spent a perfect day relaxing in the sun.  84 degrees, a light breeze and low humidity – this is the Florida I’ve been looking for.  The next day was an entirely different story – rainy, windy and cold!  Being a weatherman in FL is definitely more challenging than being one in Phoenix.  The bus service in Vero is great and we got a lot of errands done.  Friday night we were back at Riverside Café to watch The OSU Buckeyes lose their 2^nd game in a row.  Jack was only slightly suicidal, but it was still a long, cold walk home. 

 

Vero Beach on a sunny afternoon

We had our 2^nd great weather day while in Vero and enjoyed another fun day at the beach.  This is the first time we’ve been in a tropical Florida setting – there are palm trees, the water is pretty and overall the temps are good.  The downtown Vero Beach area is really nice – lots of cute shops (the most adorable clothes) and restaurants.  We went to the farmer’s market – tomatoes, corn and strawberries are in season.  Later that night we went to the Food Truck Frenzy.  I always think food trucks are going to be fun, but I’m usually disappointed – this was no exception.  

As much as we enjoyed Vero, it was time to leave.  We have reservation in Marathon beginning 1/18 and we still have about 250 miles to travel.  Next stop – Stuart.