Week 38: February 20-26

Our original plan to leave Fort Pierce on Thursday changed because of the weather. Winds were high and it looked as though we would need to stay until Saturday when they were projected to be more favorable for traveling. Fortunately the marina was able to extend our stay and we changed our reservations for our next two stops at Melbourne and Titusville

We took advantage of the extra time in Fort Pierce to visit their small aquarium and attend the annual open house at the Smithsonian Marine Station. It was interesting to see experiments/research in action and interact with the resident scientists. As for the aquarium, it was “cute” but took only 15-20 minutes to see everything.

The Farmers Market on Saturday was terrific. It was much larger than any other one we visited along the loop. Lots of vendors, plenty of fresh produce and some interesting “gourmet” items, even for Kodey. Obviously we did some shopping. In addition to the market, we viewed a simulated cattle drive, the annual Cracker Trail Riders Parade where over 100 horseback riders travel the historic cattle drive route through Downtown Fort Pierce. There was whip cracking, tall tale telling, and horse petting, by the Marina, through the Farmers Market, and ended at Cobb’s Landing.

The weather predictions were correct and we left on Sunday for Melbourne Harbor, a good midpoint stop before Titusville. We planned to stay in Titusville for a week. They had an excellent weekly rate so we figured it was a good place to “slow down” traveling north and take advantage of touring the “space coast” since it was right near Cape Canaveral.

After we arrived and got settled, Peter sent a text to Rob and Claire, members of the Peekskill Yacht Club who were “snowbirds” for a few weeks. While they knew we were scheduled to stay at the marina, they also had family visiting so weren’t sure whether we would be able to get together. As it turned out, they received the text on their way to the beach and were just passing by the marina so stopped for a short visit. While they were there, we had two other visitors in the slip behind the boat, two manatees – a mother and her baby. I guess when you go looking as we did in Fort Pierce, they remain hidden and then surprise you when you least expect it. Throughout our two days at the marina, we caught more glimpses of manatees and a few dolphins.

Melbourne Harbor was a good stopover and we headed to Titusville on Tuesday. Our first few days were spent on routine activities – some food shopping, boat maintenance, mechanic adjusting the intermittent forward gear issue, etc. We then searched for locations for our “tourist activities” and made plans for the next few days.

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