On the Intracoastal Waterway

We spent two nights at the Fort Pierce City Marina, which is a great facility.  It is located steps from the historical town and a newly improved water park that has a Farmer's Market every Saturday.  Also, the first Friday of the month there is a get together with lots of vendors of food and crafts.  We were there for the 20th year celebration, and let me tell you there were a lot of people there.  Our friends and neighbors, Carl and Judy,  from Coon Lake were in Palm Beach at Singer Island, came and met us and had dinner downtown with us. This is the second time they have visited us in Florida this winter.  Sure is nice to be retired, although I have been doing some work.  To our cruising friends, I do suggest this marina if you can get space, as it is very convenient and you can go through customs easily. 

 After leaving Fort Pierce we went to the Vero Beach City Marina in Vero Beach.  The boaters there call it Velcro Beach, because once you get there you never want to leave.  It only costs $11 a night for a mooring and there is a dinghy dock that is quite large so you can go in to do laundry and take the free bus around the town.  It is not far from Ocean Drive where there are great shops and some good restaurants. Some people stay here all winter.  We are so used to moving, that after 5 to 7 days we just have to wander on.  So, after a week here we pried ourselves from the mooring and anchored out one night about 10 miles from Cocoa, Florida.  The weather turned on us, so decided to go to a marina for a couple of days. 

 We are now at the  Cocoa Village Marina, which is again right at the old town that has been restored to the Florida of the 1920's to 1950's, so they say.  There are lots of shops, restaurants, parks and just a nice strolling area with paver sidewalks.  I will need to add some pictures of this town.

We are hoping our engine problems are gone for good, as we had our fuel polished when we were in Vero Beach.  I guess that means they clean the tank and the fuel that was in it,  we really had a lot of gunk in ours.  Oh yes, the laundry room meeting place again.  When in Fort Pierce, I was doing laundry and here was a woman I had met in St Augustine last December, in the laundry room.  They had left there in December and are now on their way back to St Augustine.  They live on the boat full time so are not in a big rush to get there.  They left Fort Pierce the day after us and we met them in Vero Beach and had a couple of cook outs with them, lunch one day in the picture and just had a good time.  Bob makes awesome chicken thighs on the charcoal grill, and I don't even like chicken thighs! 

It is so nice to have good internet access again,  I can update the map and add pictures easily.  I still haven't taken a picture of the many dolphins we see on the waterway.  I am going to try to take a video with my camera as that may be the only way to see them.  I have so many pictures of just water when I thought I had a dolphin in sight!  Oh well, keep trying.