Vero Beach FL

December 16, 2019 - December 23, 2019

We are on a mooring ball in Vero beach which has its advantages over anchoring out. One advantage is being able to use all of the marina facilities for minimal cost.  Also, grabbing a mooring ball is easier and more secure than anchoring.  Mooring is less convenient than being in a slip though.  Anytime you want to go to land you have to go by dinghy which greatly limits your freedom of movement and sometimes makes you feel trapped on the boat.  Our mooring in Vero is close to the dinghy dock making land more easily accessible.  Weighing the high cost of taking a slip (if one is even available) against some of the disadvantages of taking a mooring - the mooring usually wins out. Unfortunately, in Vero the mooring field is surrounded by mangroves which host millions of no-seeums.  When we have a strong breeze the bugs are not a problem, but lately it has been calm in the evening and Bob and I have numerous bites.  Thank goodness for benadryl.  

Vero Beach is the only place we have encountered
sharing a mooring with another boat, but it works!

Biking around Vero Beach (ocean side) is safe and easy.  We can take quiet neighborhood roads to get to most locations with traffic lights or four way stops at main intersections.  To get to larger shopping areas for provisions and boat supplies we would have to bike over a bridge to a very congested area.  Neither Bob or I want to do that so we take the Vero Beach free shuttle bus across the bridge.  This feature is one of the reasons Vero Beach is so popular with cruisers. 

The weather has been overcast and rainy and with the no-seeum issue we decided to splurge and get a slip at the marina for awhile.  We also needed to get a rental car.  We felt like we were civilized for a change. LOL   At the marina we had shore power and could run our air conditioner to dry out the humidity in the cabin making life more comfortable.  Our first trip in the car was to Petsmart to purchase a soft carrier for Lola to get her to her Vet appointment to get her an international health certificate.  We also got the chance to eat at some of our favorite Vero Beach Restaurants; Fishack and Georgio’s Pizzeria. Both were just a good as we had remembered.  

The weather was windy and overcast for
several days in a row ...

And that is why we took a slip at the marina.

We left the carrier out for Lola to get used to, but she avoided it like the plague.  On Monday morning Bob had to grab her and we both shoved her into the carrier.  Fortunately, this carrier had an opening at the top so Bob was able to open it and comfort Lola on our trip to the vet.  She did remarkably well with the whole procedure considering her issues the last time we took her to the vet. 

Bob and Lola at the vet relaxing.
Notice the aviary in the background,
Lola loved it.

We finally have a weather window for our crossing to the Bahamas.  I’ll write about Christmas and leaving Vero in my next blog post.

Merry Christmas and thank you for reading my blog.