December 10-15

Vero Beach is euphemistically known as ‘Velcro Beach’, and we are beginning to understand why. In our last update, we said we would be here for a couple of days, and it is almost a week later. We are still planning to leave in a couple of days, but who knows.

This is a comfortable place to spend time, and interestingly, we are feeling for the first time that we do not need to be mindful about continuing on. We are only 100 miles from Fort Lauderdale.

Vero Beach is a protected harbour, and so a comfortable place to tackle some of the many tasks that we have been putting off. The bus system is convenient and connects us to all of the shopping options we could wish for. Not a day goes by that we don’t hop on the bus to one place or another. There is also a great bar only a short walk away, and we have been known to stop for ‘happy hour’ drink. Last but not least, it is a nice walk to the ocean, and apparently there is a great ice-cream store on the way home.

Another couple of days and it will time to continue on.

December 2-9

10…9…8…7…Kaput

We have spent the better part of the week waiting for the space shuttle launch, and it isn’t going to happen.

Last Sunday we departed St. Augustine for Daytona and then on to Titusville on Monday. Titusville is one of the best places to view the shuttle launch, and we were very excited about the opportunity to see it. It was scheduled for Thursday the 6th, so we had a couple of days for exploring and odd jobs. Unfortunately, not much to report on either front.

The launch was postponed on Thursday. We agonized about whether to stay another day, but opted to continue on to Cocoa Village, where we could still get a good view. Along the way we passed the Vehicle Assembly Building located at the Kennedy Space Center. Although it doesn’t look very big shrouded in the mist and compared to the sailboats, it was at one time the largest building in the world and still lays claims to having the largest doors. Apparently it takes 6 000 gallons of paint for each stripe of the flag emblazoned on one wall. Leads you to wonder how sloppy the painters were, though!

The launch was scrubbed again for Saturday (we anchored at Indian Harbor Beach at Dragon Point) and then postponed indefinitely on Sunday (we are tied to a mooring ball at Vero Beach with two toher sailboats). We will spend a day or two here as Corinne is anxious to do some Christmas shopping, and then make our way to Fort Lauderdale.

PS We have had a small computer malfunction – one of our keys is no longer working. Which key do you think might be very important? Did you say right arrow key? I didn’t think so.

While this key is important for editing and scrolling through pictures, it turns out the @$&% thing also controls the brightness of the screen, and when you turned it down as low as it will go because you couldn’t remember if the left arrow brightened or dimmed the screen, then you can only see the monitor at night or … in the darkened bathroom at the coffee shop with free wi-fi. How would that look?