Change in plans

We're now in Vero Beach, FL. We're sharing a mooring ball with two other boats (only $10 per night!), one of which charters out of Gloucester. We've met up with quite a few New Englanders lately. Yesterday we were passed by a boat named "Boston Accent." There is no escaping.

We were going to go offshore today to Ft. Lauderdale, but we're going to meet friends from our old marina there, and they won't be down here (yes, we are finally starting to feel like we are here) until Sat. It's expensive there, and you cannot anchor if a mooring is available (and you are obliged to pay for moorings). It's warm and sunny here in Vero Beach, so we are going to take our time, catching up on errands today and following the ICW tomorrow instead.

Since we posted last week, we have not been onshore. At night we have been anchored in the Herb River, GA then sailed overnight offshore to Jacksonville, anchoring on the Tolamado river (for two nights), then near Daytona Beach, then again. We haven't been ashore for a week. Surprisingly, we're not that stir-crazy and we still enjoy each other's company.

The wildlife has been stunning. We see dozens of porpoises (we have been told by the family biologist that they are NOT dolphins) every day, some within feet of our boat. We've also seen a bald eagle, four roseate spoonbills, a few banded kingfishers, american oystercatchers, ospreys, herons, egrets, and thousands of pelicans, which plunge into the water head first at top speed. But we have yet to see a manatee.

We've also seen more than a dozen sunken and/or abandoned boats, presumably victims of past hurricanes. Creepy--and dangerous if you are outside the channel.

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