Christmas at Vero Beach

We arrived at Vero Beach early in the afternoon of Dec 2o. We were looking forward to getting our water tanks refilled and having access to shower and laundry facilities closeby. After 2 weeks of showers on the boat, and no nearby laundry, we were definitely ready for some luxury! At Vero Beach we are on a mooring ball as opposed to anchoring the boat. It is managed by the city of Vero Beach and is quite a nice little spot. It has acquired the nickname "Velcro Beach" since many cruisers find it hard to leave once they get here! There is a free bus that goes all over town to lots of great shopping - both grocery and "other".

There were several boats here that we had met along the way - some from the Whitby Rendevous in Sept - so it was good fun to get reaquainted and share drinks and stories. Not surprisingly, some of the cruisers had decided to plan a Christmas pot luck, and it looked like we would have about 70 people for the big day! Shopping excursions were of course required to get the necessary supplies for the dinner, as well as those last minute pressies! Clare asked for a trip home for a week and we were able to book her a flight from Dec 28 - Jan 4. She hasn't stopped smiling yet! So look out Midland! She'll be staying with pal Kelly.

We had an excellent Christmas dinner despite uncooperative weather! It poured rain most of the morning, but started to clear by about noon, and by 2, dinner time, it had stopped raining, and was pretty nice. The no see'ums were out in force however, so we had to dose up with muskol in order to be able to sit outside to eat!

We have revised our plan to leave here Dec 27, and won't leave now until probably Dec 28, after Clare heads out. We have friends from another boat who are going on the same flight, so they are going to take Clare with them and help her through the airport bureaucracy. From here, we will head down closer to Fort Lauderdale (where she is flying out of and into) and then we will prepare for the trip to the Bahamas.

Wow! I'm caught up! It's Boxing Day (which they don't seem to celebrate in the States) and we will probably brave the crowds in a while and see if there are any post Christmas bargains to be had! In the meantime, it's off to the showers and then make sure Clare gets packed!