Vero Beach and a Visit with Good Friends!

2/22-2/25
     We traveled for 18 miles to Suntex Marina in Vero Beach.  This marina is very nice and we liked the friendly people there.  It was a great, safe place to run, throughout a very nice neighborhood and golf course.  It has a beautiful swimming pool, with the laundry facilities adjacent to the pool.  You can enjoy the pool while doing the laundry!  This is an important amenity!
 
     When we pulled into the marina, Karl got an email from some friends that we had met while in the Bahamas.  We have seen them on several occasions in the Bahamas and really enjoyed their company.  Imagine our surprise when she said they lived in Vero Beach and they kept their boat at the very same marina we just pulled into!  In fact, turns out their beautiful home is a short walk from the marina.  It was an unexpected pleasure to get to visit with John and Ann and to see where they live.  They invited us to have brunch with them at their golf/tennis club, which we thoroughly enjoyed and invited us to their lovely home!  John is a retired air force and Delta pilot and Ann is a retired nurse. They have traveled all over the world and it is always fun to talk to them!  They have even traveled for 8 months on their boat, Freedom, doing the Loop on the eastern shoreline up into Canada, so they offered good advice!  They generously lent us one of their cars to use.  We took them up on it and drove to a store that John recommended, called Marine Connections Liquidators.  This is a huge warehouse building full of all sorts of marine supplies that boat owners had to liquidate.  Karl was like a kid in a candy store! We actually needed a part for our toilet and after looking through dozens of old toilet seats, (yucky) we luckily found the piece we needed!

Bad sign when Mackie needs a cart to bring her shopping bags back to the boat!

    Since we had the use of a car, I spent an afternoon shopping.  I went to the mall and to Publix to re-stock.  It was fun to spend a few hours shopping.