Vero Beach

In the morning Linda walks up to the bank with Mark and Karen. I paint on a second coat on my dinghy platform. Later ride into town with the other Karen and she drops me off at Home Depot for one more item, PVC tubing that Mark and I need. Karen is going to check out a storage facility for their car for the rest of the winter and we will meet in an hour at Walmart. Meanwhile back at Vero Beach Mark, Karen and Linda go to lunch at “El Cid”, a Mexican restaurant. Linda gets in an afternoon card game with Karen.

For dinner walk up to “Caseys” and out door restaurant where you place you order at a window and pick up when ready. For desert we walk to “Mulligans” for their key lime pie.

 

Linda, Karen & Mark at Casey's

Mulligan's Key Lime Pie

Vero Beach

Mark at work

 

Today I work on cutting and fabricating the plywood insert for the platform in the dinghy and put on the first coat of paint. I covered one of the picnic tables with a plastic drop cloth. I also unpack the water maker and find places to store the compressor and RO filter unit.

 

Have an evening of cards with Mark and Karen.

Vero Beach

This is the last morning with the car so we leave early for a few more stops, Advance Auto for filters, Ace Hardware for paint and brushes for my dinghy platform, ABC Liquors for wine. My main goal today is to buy some very cheap golf clubs to play golf at Great Harbor. I didn’t put any in the boat back in September when we left since we hadn’t figured out where we were heading in the Bahamas. So we stop at Goodwill and Salvation Army. I pick up some irons for a couple dollars, but can’t find any putters. So back in Vero Beach we go to “Play it Again Sports”. Their used clubs are a little more expensive. I complain the cheapest putter I could find was $30, beyond my price point. The clerk finds me one for $6, good enough. I also buy 2 dozen colored golf balls.

After we drop off everything at the boat, we return the car at noontime and Uber back to the Marina. We walk to lunch at “Nenos” in Vero Beach with Mark & Karen and Robert & Karen. Linda and I walk back to the Marina and Robert drives everyone else to Fort Pierce to the Marine Connection.

Tonight we have the Xmas boat parade and we have a front row seat here on the dock.

 

 

Vero Beach

Abbotts for Breakfast

 

Still have the rental car for one more full day. Karen finds a neat breakfast place on Google called “Abbotts”. We head there and find a busy, popular local breakfast and lunch place. We got there early and by the time we left it was all most full. 

 

 

Our main goal of the morning is to head to the “Marine Connection” in Fort Pierce. A very interesting large Marine store that sells new and used boating equipment. Aside from looking for specific items I always walk out with something that was not on my list going in. 

 

Marine Connection Liquidators

 

Lots of Stuff

We also stop at Home Depot, Winn Dixie, Bealls, Best Buy and Lowes for some specific items.

Lunch again at “Too Jays” with Mark and Karen. Later in the afternoon Linda and I head to Publix, Walmart for a few items we missed. I stop at Lowes for a ¼ sheet of plywood to make a platform for the front of our dinghy to hold the fuel can and make a step so Linda can get in the dinghy easier.

We are running late so we decide to get a quick bite at a Burger King. We drive by and there are few cars and the building looks dark. We start to leave and see the drive up is open. We drive up and start to order and I ask if they are open for customers inside and they tell us, Yes.  We said fine, we will park and come inside. We do so and finish placing our order and have fun talking with the woman at the counter. When I go to pay she says Merry Xmas it is on the House.

 

Vero Beach

Linda spends most of the morning putting away groceries that we bought yesterday. Then after Lunch we take the rental car to Walmart, Winn Dixie and Publix with Mark and Karen. And then back to the boat to pack that stuff away. Loading the boat with provisions is like filling a salt shaker. You put in some salt, tap the salt shaker to settle the grains for more space and then add more, and repeat.

We head to dinner at “Too Jays” with Mark and Karen. We find a frozen custard place that has sugar free custard for Karen for dessert. And then back to the boat to finish cataloging groceries. Linda has a record of where everything is stored and keeps track of what gets used.

Vero Beach

This morning we have to switch to another dock, closer to the bathrooms, but old wooden fixed docks. There is not much tide here so no big deal with the fixed docks, but the fingers are very narrow, have to pay attention were you are walking. Before we move to the new dock we head to the fuel dock for diesel and a pumpout. Later in the morning Robert drops us off at Budget Rental car. We get there a little early and have to wait for the size car we rented to be returned by another customer. We work on our iPad's for about ½ hour until an appropriate car is returned. They trying to get us to take a sub-compact car, but I told them we will wait.

We shop at Costco and Publix and arrive at Steve and Joanne's around 6:00 PM. We go to dinner at the club in their gated community. We have a very good dinner, seated out doors, feels like summer home in Vermont. We get back to their home around 9:00 and load up the water maker and a couple other things we had sent to their place. We get back to Vero Beach Marina around 11:30. Long day.

Vero Beach

After breakfast I am back to cleaning the dinghy and Linda works on the food list. We receive a couple packages delivered to the Marina and we get a call from Steve and Joanne Payea, friends in Del Ray Beach, that a water maker I bought on eBay has been delivered to their address. I did not want to have it delivered to the Vero Beach Marina in case we were late getting here.

After Lunch our friends Robert and Karen on Bellaventure, who we first met 4 years ago, gives Linda and I a ride in to town. We head to a local dive shop to buy new flippers and booties. Big improvement over our old flippers. The Neoprene booties are great for walking over a hard bottom and are self draining and these slip into our new open back flippers. Much easier than our old flippers. Another plus is the booties have a very good grip so we can wear them on the boat under wet sailing conditions.

We walk over to “Too Jays” a favorite New York Deli for us, for dinner. After dinner we take the free bus back to the Marina as it starts raining, so we spend the evening on the boat.