The prevailing joke about Vero Beach by cruisers- is to call it Velcro Beach. Once you visit its hard leave. We aim to test the theory. With a rental car, we were able to traverse around town and see what trouble we could find.
VERO BEACH FLORIDA
The marina is a stop for the free city bus that offers rides to the beach and to various other stops around the city. Uber is another option- less than $10 gets a ride across town.
DRIFTWOOD INN
Driftwood Inn was opened in 1937, conceived and constructed by local Vero Beach eccentric and businessman Waldo Sextan. It may not be the “highlight” of the city, but it is very photogenic!
Waldo Sextan built the two buildings which comprise the Driftwood Inn and Restaurant in 1935. Timber used to build the Driftwood was salvaged by Waldo from a barn blown down in a hurricane. Waldo was especially fond of bells and amassed a collection of 250 of various types and sizes, collecting them from churches, trains, ships and schools, just to mention a few. They dominate the exterior of the buildings and have always been a special part of the Driftwood Inn tradition.
To continue a rustic beachcomber ambience, there are many artifacts decorating the premises, and he brought in old fish shacks to create rental cabins. its all pieced together and creates a resort and hotel.
the breeze way displays a large dining table- it has seen hundreds of diners over the years and is well worn. Its neat to see that it has a place of honor. I think part of the appeal, is the rustic eclectic nature of the place in an otherwise upscale resort area!
Thrift stores are one of the favorite pastimes when shopping with Al and Deb . Next would be cooking on the boat, farmers markets, and of course boating!
FARMERS MARKET
We took the early morning bus to the farmers market near the beach. I think everyone found something to purchase- jewelry, gifts, bread, dips, coffee, vegetables, fruits; – a variety of arts , crafts to entertain.
MELBOURNE FLORIDA APRIL 9
Once we talked Dave’s brother Al and his wife Deb to join us for a couple days cruising on the ICW, it was no holds barred. We left Vero Beach on a warm and sunny day heading for Melbourne. As avid sailors, our goal was to initiate them to the brighter sides of trawler life. I think they enjoyed the lifestyle, but may not be giving up the sailboat or RV just yet. Its amazing to share the sights and sounds along the ICW with guests- the view from the waterside is unsurpassed!
The Melbourne flea market was a hoot, boasting 2.5 miles of indoor shopping; it requires power shopping to move from booth to booth.
Downtown Melbourne has upscale shops and looked interesting, being a Sunday many were closed. The walk back to the marina found art work and murals were painted on buildings and under the bridge!
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The marina was convenient, great staff and the Ichabod’s restaurant served a great meals- we ate there twice!
next up- bid goodbye to our guests and we meet up with the crew from Enterprise ready to head up the ICW towards Georgia. The stretch of ICW from St Lucie to Norfolk Virginia is 987 miles, plus another 279 to the mouth of the Hudson River for a total along the Atlantic of 1266 miles. At that point we take a left and head west towards the great Lakes. Stay tuned for more mis-adventures!
Filed under: America’s Great Loop Adventure, Florida Boating, Moon Shadow Log Tagged: Boating, farmers market, travel, vero beach
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