VERO BEACH - NOT AT ALL WHAT WE ANTICIPATED

Vero Beach was not at all what we anticipated.  After having visited much of the Florida coast, I, speaking for both Brenda and myself, expected Vero Beach to be lined with high rise condos and expensive shopping, perhaps much like Fort Lauderdale.  We were completely wrong.  Vero Beach is, in large part, very similar to many mid-sized communities on the west coast.  It is not rural, but it is not metropolitan.  It has the feel of a suburb, but of what I cannot tell.  Our friends Barry and Jodie had a truck, so we got to see a lot more of Vero than we would have otherwise had the opportunity to see.  There is a part of Vero Beach that is on an island boardered on one side by the Atlantic Ocean, and on one side by the Indian River, and separated from the "mainland" by a large bridge.  This part is called Orchid Island and is very beautiful.  There are expansive parks, higher end restaurants, museums, and various other affluent treats.  The other part of Vero, on the other side of the bridge, is also very nice, but in a more suburban sort of way.  The "regular" folks live over there.  This is also where you can find anything from Lowes to Subway, all the big box stores and long chain restaurants are there.  Although we didn't avail ourselves of it thanks to Barry and Jodie, there is a bus system that is completely free to use and will take you to just about any place you want to go.  Most lines lead to a central transit hub and then you hop on a different line, each of which is distinguished by color - the orange line, the green line, the blue line, etc.

 We didn't really do much in the way of site seeing in Vero Beach, other than what went along with rides to the grocery store, the mall, etc.  However, we did get the impression that this is a very cool place to live.

 We went to a jazz concert at the museum with packed picnic baskets, blankets, and friends.  Quite a few folks attended.

Other than that, we did not do too much.  We got a few projects taken care of on the boat, and got together with friends for cocktails, card games, and treats on several occasions.  It was a nice couple days.

 We left Vero Beach on Friday and continued our trek north.  After a long day, we stopped at a place called Green Dragon Point.  It's only a couple miles north of Melbourne, and is situated at the confluence of the Indian and Banana Rivers.  We are anchored in the community of Indiatlantic. There is nothing here of interest to us.  It is very nice.  We can see many very beautiful homes and a rather exclusive yacht club.  We'll probably stay here over the weekend and then get moving again on Monday.  Our plan is to get up to Titusville and go visit the Kennedy Space Center.  Unfortunately, KSC is situated many,  many miles from just about anything; way too far to ride our bikes to.  So, we will have to consider all possible modes of alternate transportation.  I have my research work cut out for me.