We left Dade City on Saturday, February 26 at 9:05 with Acey’s mileage at 80,752.6, Thor’s 99,707 and we have put 1,765 miles on our bicycles. We stopped in Bartow for groceries, filled up Acey at a TA and arrived at Sunshine Travel Park in Vero Beach at 1pm. While Jim got Acey hooked up and all outside, Linda got things set up inside and made lunch. Linda’s brother Rob drove up from Pembroke Pines, arriving about 2:30 with a car we hadn’t seen before! He traded in his Acura and now has a 2022 Kia Stinger – a very sleek and sporty black ride!
Rob had been wanting to visit some of the breweries in this area, so off we went to try some new brews! We visited Mash Monkeys Brewing, Walking Tree Brewery and Islamorada Brewery.
At Walking Tree Brewery, we got Cajun dinner from a food truck – Rob had some gator bites with fries, Jim had a chicken sandwich and Linda had some jambalaya.
It was a full afternoon and evening with Rob! He stayed overnight with us in Acey – our second overnight visitor; Chuck has stayed 3 times. On Sunday morning Jim made pancakes for breakfast. We visited with Rob for a while before he headed back home. We missed Zooming with our Sunday School class, but after lunch, we tuned in to YouTube to see last week’s worship service at Stephens Valley Church.
Later we Zoomed with the family and got all caught up!
On Monday, we tracked down the UPS box that Chris sent from Nashville on Thursday evening. Somehow, UPS tried to deliver it to our site on Saturday morning, but we weren’t there yet… long story short, Jim went to the UPS center in Vero Beach and was able to get the box! We had not received mail since early January, so we now have tax documents for 2021 and some bills too. So, we sorted thru the mail and worked on the tax return for a while.
On Tuesday, we found a trail close to our RV park and rode about 10 miles on the Trans- Florida Central Railroad Trail.
We rode over the big bridge over I-95
The trail is a combination of crushed gravel, asphalt, dirt and concrete.
We played several rounds of minigolf during our stay here!
On Thursday morning, we drove to the beach and rode on the bike path along A1A; between Indian River (the Intracoastal waterway) and the beach. We rode as far as the Sebastian Inlet but opted NOT to go over the bridge. It was a cloudy and cool 73 this morning – perfect to be out for some exercise.
We rode past this palatial home being built on the beach
We rode about 14 miles and had lunch at the beach – then went for a walk along the beach. The waves seemed particularly loud — watch here and visit the beach!
Later in the afternoon, we visited Pareidolia Brewing. They had a nice presentation for their flights – kind of resembling a skateboard.
On Saturday, after breakfast, we drove back to the beach and rode on the Jungle Trail Loop.
The road was hard packed sand – with just a few cars also sharing the road. Some of the road was “washboard” and there were some spots of loose sand making for an exciting ride!
It was sunny and warm and there was not as much shade as we would have thought there would be in the “jungle”! We rode 14 1/2 miles, some of it along the path we rode on Thursday. Linda’s Apple Watch maps out our rides.
We had our lunch at the beach again. After showering, we headed south to West Palm Beach to meet up with Rob again. On the way, Thor hit 100,000 miles – the extended warranty is over now – but at least we DID use it a few times.
At Coastal Karma Brewing, we met up with Rob; about 1/2 way between our place and his. The door had interesting information. A brewery Cat?! Sure enough!
We enjoyed their brews; Rob’s flight came in a boat!
They had a display of sailboats that had their beers names on them.
The tap handles were an assortment of captains – rather unique!
If you have been following our blog, you know we have a particular soft spot and interest in squirrels. There was one hanging out next to the tap handles!
We DID see the brewery cat, but it was somewhat illusive – moving quickly while on patrol… We made a quick stop at Costco and then visited Skunkworts Brewing Concern. The small taproom was very dark which was unusual. The back wall had an enlarged aeronautical chart of the area, and a turbine fan from a jet.
There was some interesting stuff in the taproom and on the walls – here’s Snoopy –
We parted ways with Rob and headed back to Vero Beach and Acey. It was a fun day!
On Sunday, we met up with Janice and Jeff at Christ Church Vero Beach – an Anglican Church. Due to a supply shortage, the church had run out of toner and was unable to print bulletins for the service. Being unfamiliar with the liturgy, that made it interesting… but the TV screens up front were a big help! Janice and Linda have been in Book Club together for a few years but hadn’t met the husbands! After the service, we went to their condo and Janice fixed a delicious brunch! We had great conversation — but took no photos…
On Tuesday we rode on the Trans-Florida Central Railroad Trail again, right from the RV park. Saved a bit of gas today… Gas prices have now gone over 4.00/gallon — 4.199 this morning! It was already over 80 when we left. This building had some historical info about the railroad than used to run here.
Logging, lumber and turpentine were big industry here for some time.
It’s not a very long trail, but it was well kept and made for a nice ride. There were a few wooden bridges in a wetland section of the trail.
We rode just over 10 miles and stopped at Publix on the way back – we forgot to get lettuce when we were there the other day. it was quite warm today, so the shorter distance was OK!
On Wednesday, Jim wanted to figure out what’s wrong with the refrigerator – it is not as cold as it ought to be, but the freezer is working just fine. We put at the coldest setting. The thermistor (temperature sensor) says its 38. We put a thermometer in the fridge, and it shows temperatures of 42-45 which is really not as cold as it should be; 34-36 is ideal, 38-42 is “safe”. It has been a lot warmer here which is probably affecting the fridge’s cooling ability. Jim ordered a new tube of mastic that goes on the heat sinks that provide the cooling – we may bot have used enough or applied it effectively when he re-did the fridge in January. Next week we’ll attack that. In the mean time, we will put ice in the fridge to help keep the temperature down.
On Thursday, we met up with Janice and Jeff again. They drove to the RV park to see Acey; they had not been in a motorhome before.
Afterwards, we drove into Vero Beach and had a tasty dinner at Riverside Cafe. Linda had been wanting some fresh seafood – she and Jeff both ordered the Mahi catch of the day, Jim had shrimp primavera, Janice had a shrimp taco. It was a fun evening, but over too soon!
On Saturday, we had an early start leaving Sunshine Travel at 8:30 as we head to Wauchula.
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Please be sure to comment now and then – to let us know you are reading the blog and keeping up with our adventures. Thanks for stopping by!
So glad you were able to spend some time with Janice and Jeff in Vero!
I had forgotten to tell you about the Jungle Trail but happy you discovered it on your own. We spent many hours walking there for almost 40 years. It used to be more “jungly” than it is now.
We kind of stumbled onto the Jungle Trail – we rode right past the trailhead turnoff on the bike path along A1A and when we stopped for lunch, another couple that had their bikes told us about it. With gas prices getting so high, we may stay closer to the RV parks to ride – but it was great to get to the beach!
Jim and Jeff had lots of “techy” talk and I think they enjoyed meeting up – we will have to catch up again while we are in Nashville in April!
We had lots of fun with you two! You’ve given us several ideas for activities around Vero…..and I’ve been coming here since 1967. Why haven’t we done this stuff? 🤷♀️
I’m really glad we go to spend some time with you two! It’s funny that we have been in Book Club all this time and had not met each other’s husbands… we must do it again!
I know when we lived in Florida, we didn’t go to the beach very often – I suppose you forget there are “other things to see and do” and just do what you are familiar with. I have yet to visit Nashville’s capitol building or go to a TItans game – and lived in Nashville for 40 years – probably a lot of places we missed…
Sounds like things are going well. We are having strange weather here. The latest was yesterday about noon when Beth went for a walk, the temp was 70 degrees. By 11:00 pm, it was 29 degrees and snowing. This morning we we woke up to nearly 3”. This pm it is currently 36 degrees. A lot of melting and roads are clearing. Benefit of ground being so warm yesterday.
Have you set your dates in April for being back in Nashville?
So good to see the ocean and Rob’s new car. Thanks for the photos and the update.
This brings back many memories of traveling that area with Wayne “Mert’s” parents in the early ’70s, and when we were traipsing the entire Palm Beach County doing ministry. I miss those days!
You two have had quite a trip! Has Chris come with you at all?
Chris calls us every day to “check in” but has not stayed with us in Acey – yet! We have met up with him in Florida for Christmas 2020 when we had been hoping to go on a cruise (that was cancelled) – he and Chuck stayed in a hotel and we had a fun Christmas time in the Fort Lauderdale area with my brother Rob – and again this past December when we actually DID go on a cruise out of Port Canaveral. We are heading to Nashville for Easter and will see him then!