Pictures: Sunset over the marsh in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.Roseate spoonbills in the marsh along Black Pt. Wildlife Drive, MINWR
We were lucky to be able to sneak away in the worst of the winter and drive down the coast to Florida in late January. We already had lots of snow in Duxbury, starting before Christmas, and the shoveling was getting repetitious.
We visited a few cruising friends in our first week in Florida, including Pat and Addison from THREEPENNY OPERA, in Vero Beach, Susan and Barry from SWAN, in Nettles Island, Chris and Kevin, from ANDROS, in Stuart. All those couples were currently taking a break from boating (although Pat and Addison were soon to return to their boat in the Bahamas, and ANDROS will sail there in a month or so). We organized a lunch with several of the above sailors plus fellow vacationers Bertha and Roy, from SERENADE.
During our second week we stayed in a condo in Titusville, near Cape Canaveral and Cocoa. This was originally set up as a chance to stay in a nice unit for a good price, maybe not in such an exciting area. It turned into a really great opportunity to leisurely explore the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, where we found different things drawing us there each day at the beginning of the week. One of the best attractions was the 7 mile wildlife drive of Black Point. It is a one-way, unpaved route that encourages stopping and watching and wandering. Other interesting parts of the refuge are the Haulover Canal, which is part of the Intracoastal Waterway; a small boat launching ramp (where we watched launchings and nearby fishermen); and a walking trail that took us through a grove of oranges--bitter!--planted by early settlers. On the way back off Merritt Island one day we stopped and watched kite-boarders; one entertained us by skimming so close to shore that the edge of his board knocked down traffic cones set on the beach.
We visited the Titusville Munincipal Marina where we had stopped on our 2008-09 cruise, and also spent some time at the Canaveral National Seashore. A great restaurant in the area, Dixie Crossroads, was our destination for lunch one day. We also spent time with Jim (Heidi's brother) and Riko in Cape Canaveral and had a great meal at their house. Then, at the end of the week, we checked out a Birding Festival that we saw advertised. It turned out to be lots of fun and we spent our last two days learning about hawks, Florida Scrub Jays, bobcats, local trees and shrubs, and all types of birding resources. So Titusville is not such a boring destination!
At the start of our third week we attended "TrawlerFest" sponsored by Passagemaker Magazine and held in Ft. Lauderdale. We had a chance to go aboard many boats and talk to other trawler owners ("trawler": slower-moving live-aboard power boat for cruisers who don't mind a Sunday-driver pace with the tradeoff of conserving fuel/traveing further before refueling). We also stopped to see Peggy and Jack, who now are living the good life at a small marina in Ft. Lauderdale aboard their 41 ft. power boat, enjoying their first season after converting from sailing.
View of the kiddie pool and main pool from our condo in Weston.Our condo near Ft. Lauderdale was at Weston, on the edge of the everglades. We have stayed at this resort before, and it is in a good location for taking day trips in any direction in South Florida. Weston is a fairly new, purpose-built town with all the amenities you could want. It is, however, very difficult to find your way around and we spent a lot of time lost on this trip, as we did the first time we stayed there! Walking was safer, and we took good walks around a golf course nearby and also between sister-resorts on our street. Another easy trip from our corner of Weston was Markam Park. I would recommend this park to anyone staying in this area as it has dedicated parts for mountain biking, model-plane flying (and watching), fishing, tennis, boating, camping, target shooting, and dog exercising. And I probably am forgetting some of the uses provided. Of course, picnicing, swimming and regular biking are big here.
Airboat similar to the one we were in, passing us in the Everglades.Susan and Barry visited us in Weston for an overnight and we all took an air-boat ride the next morning through the everglades. The trip included stops to watch alligators sunning on clumps of sawgrass. Another day we drove to Naples and to Coral Gables to see friends who have winter homes in those cities. We made it back to Ft. Lauderdale one day to re-visit Peggy and Jack and to sit by one of the canals, have a few beers and watch boats. But mostly we relaxed by the resort's pool, or in the large hot tub.
Heidi, Ken, and Josie Stephens at Naples Beach.Driving back north, we stopped in South Carolina and checked in on Elaine and Roy Davis. They have a winter home in the Charleston area, Seabrook Island. We had a delicious lunch and then tried to take in the views, but we were thwarted by dense fog. Actually, we spent two days on the same island during our 08-09 cruise. At that time we had missed having any kind of nice meal for Thanksgiving and decided to get off the ICW two days later and treat ourselves royally at Bohicket Creek Marina. Great spot with excellent restaurants, and now we know we have friends there!
We may have avoided some nasty storms and bitter cold while we were gone but home-sweet-home still was surrounded by lots of snow when we returned. It took two days to shovel paths to the wood pile, shed, etc. and to get as much excess snow off of the roof as we could. Ice dams were forming so we worked on those, too. Everglades, alligators, and roseate spoonbills are now but a memory.........
