Last Day in Cocoa Beach

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Minuteman Causeway

The weather has been unseasonably hot this year -- over half the days this winter have been over 80F. Feels good most of the time, but not this morning when I went out for a walk about 11. I went to Minuteman Causeway (0.7 mi according to the GPS on my phone, but it felt much farther). I wanted to walk along the Banana River, but the sewer construction project made the idea seem crazy. Instead, I walked home on the west side of A1A . Fortunately, I did walk in a little shade but I was very warm when I finally arrived at the condo.

We decided to have a late lunch at Fishlips in Port Canaveral. What a great surprise! Wonderful view on the cool, shady deck. We had a scrumptious appetizer (grilled brie and fruit) and shared a wonderful scallop risotto. Plenty of food for both of us. We watched a dolphin jump and a sea turtle appeared from time to time.

Reviewing th

Later, we drove to the boat launch to see the boat traffic. We were interested in the Royal Caribbean ship Grandeur of the Seas, where passengers who had boarded in Baltimore were on a shore excursion to the Kennedy Space Center. A woman who must have skipped the shore trip was entranced by the sea turtles swimming below us. She had never seen one before.

We had forgotten about the complex potluck this evening so I went for a swim. Later on, a guy ("Scott", I think) entertained the crowd assembled out side the party room : Elvis, Everly Brothers, Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash ...). We enjoyed the music from our second floor balcony.

We had a great week in Cocoa Beach.

Merritt Island Revisited

Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

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Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge is one of those places I occasionally see in magazines or on TV: it is wild and "jungly", though accessible enough for someone willing to get a vehicle dusty on a dirt road. The volunteers in the Visitor Center are cheerful and willing to answer the inane questions that most of of ask, like "Is that a water mocassin outside in the swamp?". (It wasn't). It looked like a striped garter snake to me, probably easily identifiable to one familiar with the snakes of Florida. I'm not likely to be that person anytime soon.

Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

I persuaded Bob to do the quarter-mile loop on the boardwalk, but after three-plus decades together, he's gotten me spooked thinking about what could fall out of trees or slip up through the cracks in the planks. The songbirds were loud and lovely, but I couldn't find even one in the canopy of palms and other trees. I did take a look at an osprey (not exactly a songbird!) through a viewer set up outside the Visitor Center.

The wetlands were not as full as I had expected after last week's rains, but we did see a lot of waterfowl and plenty of alligators. I was hoping for a roseate spoonbill, the very first bird I ever looked up in a field guide. I saw one on my first visit to the refuge way back when we first starting coming to this area in the late 90s.

Birders were out in full force for a Monday. Some sported shirts from various birding destinations and most were wearing the obligatory hat. I'm a birder wannabe, except for the garb, but I'm not willing to wade through muck and weeds to see a bird or get a photo, and I seem to be too lazy to acquire much knowledge. My driver has trained me to take pretty good photos out of a moving car, and that's what I did yesterday.

Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time

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The last Sunday before Lent always gives me that "bring it on" kind of feeling. Lent always signals the promise of spring and I associate the season with early morning frozen mud puddles and the temptation of Cadbury eggs. Not so in Florida, where spring has been here for quite some time and there are never any frozen puddles. I'm sure a Cadbury egg could be found without too much difficulty.

We attended 8:00 a.m. Mass at the Church of our Saviour, our Florida vacation church for many years before we moved over to the Gulf. It is unchanged, though perhaps people chat a little more loudly in the pews before Mass, an unfamiliar occurrence in our conservative St. Paul parish. I was hopeful when I saw a black keyboardist take his seat at the organ, invoking a stereotype as I anticipated some energetic singing. However, this very accomplished musician slid into (mostly) insipid songs and service music. I know he had more in him that what was delivered!

The stained glass in this church is quite beautiful, though. As my mind wondered during the homily, I was thinking about creating a stained glass style collage with colorful photo prints. I have a lot of discard prints that would suit the purpose.

It's cooler today (expected high: 72F), but still warm by northern standards.

Laidback Saturday

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A walk on the beach topped off my perfect afternoon. We would usually have gone to Mass, but this narrow peninsula was simply too busy to go even a couple of miles. Drinks on the deck and a pick-up supper were a good choice for this warm evening.

Downtown Cocoa

I'm always happy to "get up and go". Yesterday, we decided on a little side trip to the old City of Cocoa, which didn't seem so old after our recent experience in St. Augustine. We didn't stay long and opted for lunch back in Port Canaveral at the familiar Grill's. By the time we got there, traffic was backed up with passengers heading for one of the cruise terminals and we stayed only long enough for lunch. We stopped at Publix to get provisions for dinner at home, knowing there would be more congestion near the Seafood Festival.

Surfing on Saturday afternoon

I went for a swim in the nearly empty pool. It's a great pool because, in the 1960s style of pool construction, it is quite deep(over 8 feet at the deep end; nearly 4 feet at the shallow end) -- built to accommodate a diving board, long gone from this and similar pools. It's the kind of pool that used to make me frown (almost!) since it was over the heads of little a non-swimmers. A lot of the older guests here seem to have limited swimming skills as well, so that leaves a lot of space for people like me.

Happy Hour at Cocoa Beach Pier

Friday evening volleyball at cocoa Beach Pier

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We contemplated having dinner at the Seafood Festival but heavy traffic deterred us so we continued on to Cocoa Beach Pier, where I'd hoped to eat outside. However, the deck was fairly crowded and full of smokers, so we went into Pelican's , also full, and sat at the bar for a beer.

We ordered appetizers from the Happy Hour Menu: calamari (not so good) and shrimp skewer (delicious). We had a pleasant conversation with Rich, our companion at the bar,who had recently moved to Merritt Island from Massachusetts. His father was early NFL player Gil Bouley. I'd never heard of him, but enjoyed reading this article. Unlike many former athletes in the early years of professional sports, he was fairly treated by management and had good memories of his career and his team's owners.

The evening was beautiful but we were quite tired, though it wasn't yet 8 p.m. I was sound asleep shortly after 10.

Beach and Pool

Fishing on Cocoa Beach

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Happily, some things don't change. I love water. My first certain memory is sitting with my mother at the Forebay in my hometown of Temiscaming, Quebec, sitting on a rock with the water from the reservoir running over my feet. I couldn't have been much older than two, and many of my best memories since then are of lakes, rivers, oceans, swimming pools ...

This morning we walked over to the beach, where the tide was almost low. The waves were so inviting that I couldn't resist them, even though I wondered if my balance -- somewhat compromised by multiple sclerosis (MS) -- was good enough. I guess it was. I waded in the water and was soon followed by other people who might have been wondering if they should go into the surf. The water was just cool enough to be refreshing.

After about 90 minutes, Bob and I went over to our pool for a swim. It was lunchtime and the pool area was relatively empty. A perfect morning.

Still Love Cocoa Beach

Port Canaveral is a working port

The beach near Patrick AFB

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Thursday was a kind of re-entry day. We first
came to Cocoa Beach for a week about 20 years ago, when we rented the condo of a work friend of mine. That year we visited Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, and we spent a lot of time playing in the ocean. Our last trip here was 7 years ago, when we stayed at the Hilton for 10 days after my first knee replacement surgery. The area was deep into recession then, and the following year we went to the Gulf Coast.

Yesterday we expected rain but got only a few drops for several minutes at a time. The rest of the day was sunny and warm. We spent a couple of hours at Port Canaveral watching fishermen and birds in and around the water. Lunch at Grill's, an old favorite, was delicious. We treated ourselves to a beer (Amber Bock for me, Shock Top for Bob) and shared a grilled mahi-mahi fish meal, with wild rice and black beans and cheese bread. I've always avoided mahi-mahi, thinking it was dolphin, but it's actually dolphinfish, so I've been missing out all these years.

We checked out the beach near Patrick AFB and returned home for a swim. The pool is fine, with a water temperature that isn't killingly hot. I actually feel somewhat relaxed: this is NOT a normal state for me but it's pleasant, for now at least.

Although the Space Coast seems more prosperous than it was on our last visit, economic recovery still has a long uphill climb. The end of the space shuttle program had a significant impact here, and private industry doesn't seem to have kicked in enough investment to make this area as vibrant as it has been in the past.

The Cable Guy

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I'm not responsible for TV at home so this was a new experience for me. The cable guy told me there had been many calls for service in the last few months, not one of them signal related. I had left him notes beside each remote so that he'd know what I did to "patch" the situation so that at least two of the three TVS would work. However, he arrived fairly early so I was at home when he arrived.

I'd found that one remote that would work in our bedroom and the living room. The other two remotes were toast and had to be replaced. All three TVs are fine now. However, each is programmed for the specific TV, and all three are different. I told the owner I would label the remotes, so that people are less tempted to mess around with them. They will anyway, of course.

They aren't as up-to-date as our Comcast remotes at home. It's a temptation to use the device power button (to control each device individually) than it is to power on and off with the system power butto, which has to be aimed directly at both the box and the targeted device. Too hard for most people, I guess.

Brighthouse has been sold to Spectrum, and the cable guy told me he hopes for improvements in equipment and service soon. However, I like Cisco -- familiar from my IT days -- so I'm feeling happy with myself after my late-in-late introduction to TV.

Settled in Cocoa Beach

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Mild when we left St. Augustine on Tuesday. Traffic increased as we approached Daytona Beach, where the Daytona 500 will be run on Sunday. I felt as though we were driving underwater. We could barely make out the shadow of a pickup truck in front of us.

We saw a rest stop and pulled off until the rain let up a little, but it started up again almost as soon as we got on the road. We turned off at the exit to Hwy 528 into Port Canaveral and "continued on" -- the GPS phrase for "kept on going" into Cocoa Beach.

It was pouring so hard that we didn't even notice that we were almost at the condo. It is located a little south of the Hilton and Lori Wilson Park. We unloaded in the pelting rain and, after drying off and putting away our clothes, I messed with the TV in the living room. I ended up calling the cable company and figured out that previous tenants had really screwed up  all the TVs in the apartment. I used the remote for the master bedroom in the living room and that was OK.

TV is not really my thing but I love a challenge. Turns out there have been many calls to the owner about TV problems and, in fact, a service call is scheduled for today. Too many remotes! One each for TV, Cable, DVD player, for each of 3 TVs.

After a trip in the rain for groceries, we got soaked again and returned home for supper.The rain lasted throughout the evening. We lost power (and the Internet) for an instant last night. This morning, I found the wireless router and recycled it.

Fine today. Rain is predicted for later on but I think we can look forward to sunshine late this afternoon and tomorrow.

Walk in the Old City

Tiles recall the Moorish occupation of Spain

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I've wanted to visit St. Augustine for many years, probably since I first read the Confessions of St. Augustine when I was in my twenties. I had high expectations, but was a little afraid I'd be disappointed.

Doorways often lead to inner courtyardsThe Old City certainly is designed to attract tourists, but the original architecture is still very much in evidence, from the various periods of growth in the city's history. I like the eclectic mix of shops, galleries and restaurants and the narrow streets and alleys.

This part of now near the water reminds me a little of the south of Spain and cities like Cordoba and Granada. Moorish rule in Spain ended around the time Columbus sailed to the new world, but fortunately the early explorers brought the art and culture of 800 years of occupation with them.

Other neighborhoods include historically black  Lincolnville and a few streets of  multicolored Victorian houses. Our hotel, the Bayfront Inn, is on the edge of the Old City, was very convenient but not as comfortable as more modern establishments. However, the location, view and free breakfast made it a good choice for us.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine

High altar - Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine

St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland

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The City of St. Augustine was founded on the feast of St. Augustine in 1565 and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine is the oldest Catholic parish in the United States. We've visited many Spanish mission churches in California, Arizona and Mexico, but this one is one of the most beautiful.

It is a "real" parish, well maintained, with the kinds of activities normally found in religious congregations.  The choir rehearses weekly; various service clubs have regular meetings; a parish festival will be held soon, with the objective of raising funds to pay for damage done by Hurricane Matthew.

The church is quite small, with beautiful stained glass windows and several lovely little shrines to various saints, including Saint Patrick, where I stopped to light a couple of candles. Lots of tourists, very respectful. The gift shop was disappointing, like one in any other part of the country.

Fort Matanzas

My tour guide at the Fort

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After decades of hitting every fort and historic military encampment on our travels, I was determined to avoid Fort Matanzas. However, Bob dragged me there after we left the Red Train -- "for a look". He traded in his old National Parks Golden Age pass for a new, Senior card and we got in free.

Salamander camouflaged in the wall

It's a worthwhile visit for anyone. I especially appreciated the views of the Bay: impressive buildings on the other side, shorebirds on a sandbar, the famous lighthouse in the distance. We walked up the old stone steps to the inner fort, where the 360 view of the area was quite spectacular. A little salamander ran past me and hid inside the wall, barely visible.

Shorebirds in the distance

We staked out our walk to the Cathedral and left the fort with a better idea of the history of the city. It was interesting to see markers portraying the English and French as the villains of past centuries, similar to ones I've seen in Spain and Mexico. 1600 does not seem so long ago in this part of Florida.

The Red Train

Beginning of a beautiful day

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We'd noticed Red Train and Old Trolley tours since we arrived in St. Augustine. On Tuesday morning, we decided on a Red Train tour for an overview, mostly because tickets are sold right across Avenida Menendez at the Marina.

We boarded at about 10:30 and were pleasantly surprised that our driver, Mark, was a mild-mannered guy who didn't overload us with too many facts. The second driver, Bob, was more typical, and he filled every minute with both interesting and boring information. Turns out he is a host for Flagler College's radio station, and he really does have a great broadcasting voice. However, the non-stop patter got to be too much for Bob, so we left the tour a little before the end.

It's a great way to see the Old City, especially for people like us who don't have very much time. The day was unseasonably warm (nearly 80F).  Loved the ride through the old streets and the views of Matanzas Bay.

Historic St. Augustine

View from our veranda

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The Welcome Center at the Florida border was under construction on Monday, a good sign of the economic recovery we've noticed on our trip south. We had the free glass of juice (orange for Bob, grapefruit for me) delivered by Rosetta, a cheerful representative of the state of Florida. An older couple welcomed us  to Florida as we returned to our vehicle.

We stopped for tourist information in St. Augustine -- not too helpful, since this was mainly a parking lot for for the Red Train tours. We were pointed in the right direction to get to the Old City and followed traffic along Matanzas Bay. We passed some of the hotels I'd seen in Fodor's guidebook and, almost accidentally, pulled into the parking lot of the Bayfront Inn overlooking the bay. We were tired so booked a room on the spot.

By chance, we ended up in Room 210, one of the original rooms in the historic Rodriguez House, a First Spanish Period building built by royal decree of the King of Spain. The view from the veranda outside our room is magnificent. We watched sailboats go under the lift bridge during the afternoon as we sat outside, feeling a little weary from our journey.

Late in the afternoon, we walked away from the water for a block or two, right into old city streets. We turned back to the bay and stopped at O.C. White's for drinks (JW Black for Bob, Pinot Noir for me) and appetizers (coconut shrimp, crab and spinach dip with crackers). We sat on the terrace and were grateful for our light jackets. A young musician played the guitar and sang. The service was good and we weren't pressured to order dinner.

We had a great night's sleep. We're staying another night, but have to move to a room in the newer part of the hotel, still with a view of the bay. I hope we don't have to schlep our stuff down the stairs and back up to the second floor - definitely a first world problem. Ditto for the slow internet. I think most photos will have to wait until we get to Cocoa Beach.

Georgia Pines

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We drove through the southern part of Georgia this morning on our way to St. Augustine. I had been looking forward to the miles of tall pine trees that line the freeway. They remind me of other pine forests in my life: the pines of  northern Quebec and Minnesota's Northwest Angle, those of John Island where I went to camp on Lake Huron near Spanish, Ontario, and François Mauriac's "pins d'Argelouse" in his novel, Thérèse Desqueyroux.

Maybe it was a road sign to Augusta that triggered the memories: my own sure sign of spring is the Masters at the beginning of April. It certainly felt like spring today when I got a whiff of those famous Georgia Pines. Something like heaven.

Pride Goeth etc. ...

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It wasn't exactly a fall, but I am feeling less self-congratulatory today that I was twenty-four hours ago.

We both had a great night's sleep in a very comfortable hotel king bed. Breakfast was good enough and certainly plenty to sustain us for many hours, which we needed because it turned out to be a very long day. When we left Mount Vernon shortly after 8:00 a.m., Bob drove into heavy fog which  got worse in the hills and around water, and there was plenty of it along Hwy 24 toward Nashville. We didn't see much of anything but that was fine since we've been this way several times in the past.

I got to drive twice, both mushed in my mind as one unsatisfactory experience. Lots of construction. Plenty of up and down though the mountains, with trucks driving slowly up the hills (when I had to pass) and racing downhill (when I was supposed to downshift but was afraid to do so). The patient instructor from the Bob Hennessey School of Driving was less patient today, especially when I got nervous in the hills and in heavy traffic. So grateful, not for the first time, that I couldn't just stop on the freeway and walk to the nearest airport.

After the fog lifted, the sun came out and we finally saw spring flowers at one of our rest stops, along with flowering trees and bushes. The dreaded drive through busy Atlanta turned out to be easy in the HOV lane, but by then dusk was falling, since we had lost an hour after entering the Eastern timezone.

I decided to make a reservation in Macon by the time it looked as though we were going to make the distance -- something I wasn't so sure of when we were moving at 5 mph through construction zones. I settled on Country Inn and Suites, a Minnesota hotel chain just off I75 at exit 169. Our room is almost identical to the one we had last night, but older, though the space is nicely renovated and once again, the bed is super comfortable.

No dinner tonight, just scotch and snacks. We're watching Victoria on PBS. Feels like our Sunday evening routine at home.

Best First Day Ever

Sunrise near Hudson, Wisconsin

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We've been driving to Florida since 2014. During our first trip, the journey from winter to summer
was very dramatic. We left home on a frigid late February morning, and spent most of the day in the car.

So different this year, and I loved the day so much that it's hard for me to do my usual hand wringing routine over climate change. This morning, we left early after a restless night's "sleep", way before 7:00 a.m. The temperature was already way above 32F. A few hours later, we shed our jackets and spent 10 minutes or so outdoors at every rest stop. We ate our lunch (turkey sandwiches with deli meat from Lund's & Byerly's) at a picnic table half-way to our destination. I forgot to apply sunscreen this morning -- a daily ritual every day of the year -- and am looking at my ruddy face in the mirror as I type this blog entry.

I have always dreaded my time at the wheel but today I really enjoyed myself. I drove about a third of the way and could have done more. On this Presidents' Day weekend, we were lucky to have "wide open freeway" for most of the journey. I am a slow learner: after all these years, I've finally mastered cruise control and I don't agonize over every truck I have to pass. Bob -- who has been the object of my wrath over the years as I criticize his driver coaching -- was very complimentary and helpful. I'm (somewhat pathetically) proud of myself.

We had booked the Drury Inn in Mount Vernon last week and we pulled in around 5:30 p.m. It is a modest, cookie cutter, hotel. A Minnesota bus tour arrived at about the same time as we did and I laughed at the room of cheap Minnesotans enjoying 3 free cocktails (scotch & soda for Bob, red wine for me) and appetizers (salad, meatballs, mostaccioli, hot dogs). We stayed here last year too, but were too tired then to take advantage of the free food and beverages.

The day was one of out best ever on the road. We're happy campers this evening, looking forward to a comfortable night in a great king bed.

Countdown

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I used to start yearning for the next Florida trip soon after a cold April reminder that Minnesota is still, well, Minnesota, with unpredictable swings in weather conditions much of the year. Now, especially after several perfect summers extending far into November, I don't even think about the drive south until the Christmas holidays.

I often regret catless living, but not when we're leaving town for an extended period of time. In the decades under feline rule, our bags didn't come out of the attic until the very last minute, to avoid dealing with miserable cats until absolutely necessary. This year, my suitcases have been on the guestroom bed for a week, a happy reminder that we're almost ready to load the Traverse for a Saturday departure.

We're leaving a week or so earlier than in the past to give us time to visit the historic city of St. Augustine before heading to my favorite Cocoa Beach, where we spent spring breaks until our first trip to the Gulf Coast in 2012. We were lucky to find a condo right on the beach because of a cancellation. I'm really looking forward to the view from our balcony ... and I hope the pool is a little larger than it looks. This is our route:

Florida Roadtrip 2017