These pictures are our of order and I'm doing this update on Bill's laptop while rolling down the road, so just bear with me. Ignore my typos and the bad sequencing.
This is the hallway of the hotel we stayed at in Vero Beach. It was an older place - we thought it was quaint.
When we checked in, Mary Jane made the arrangements for us. We had been feeling like Mary and Joseph, wandering Vero Beach with no rooms at the inns. The truck was a problem, although we'd dropped off the trailer at the truck stop. The Islander hotel was our last stop and Mary Jane was a breath of fresh air. She was really sweet and even offered to share Thanksgiving dinner with us. Our room was clean and had a nice king sized bed.
The ceiling was kind of cool, too. And the fan was great. (Have I mentioned I'm having hot flashes lately?)
This is the hotel as viewed from the street. While it is not beach front, the beach is just across the street.
The little courtyard of The Islander.
After we unloaded our stuff and arranged the room, we walked across the street to see the ocean. Ah, the ocean. How I love it. See that sign that says "No Shark Fishing"?
The beach was fairly deserted. Guess there aren't too many people who want to hang out on the beach on Thanksgiving Day. Fortunately for us.
It was 83 degrees outside. The water, though, was very cold. It felt good on my sore little feet. Here's Bill walking the beach.
Apparently this particular beach has a man made reef for the purpose of providing a breeding ground for sea turtles. We were not there at the right time of year to see the little babies but it would have been an interesting sight to see.
This plaque stood on a very large concrete pillar. It didn't seem like this event was worthy of such a plaque, but go figure.
Birds!
Bill's wiping the sand off and putting his shoes back on after our walk on the beach.
These turtle sculptures were all over the place, each painted differently, sponsored by different businesses. They had this same thing in Charleston.
Bill being silly in the empty street of Vero Beach.
That night we ate our Thanksgiving dinner at Mulligan's (photos later) and then hung out in the room and went to bed. Next morning we went for a walk on the beach (photos later), ate breakfast at Cravings (photos later) and came back to our hotel. Mary Jane called us in to tell us that she had unfortunately double booked our room. The "Updikes" were coming and had reserved room 17 (OUR ROOM) so we had to move. Our new room had two queen beds, no coffee maker, and the remote didn't work for the tv. Here Bill is lying on our new bed. Pouting. We were kind of put out about it, even though Mary Jane thanked us for being flexible. We didn't feel flexible as we were basically given the choice to vacate the room and move into this room or just leave and get a refund for Friday night. Sigh. We are not liking Vero Beach.
This kick-ass hotel belongs to Gloria Estefan. Lovely water sculpture in front.
This place was run by a stinky, snaggle tooth old lady who had initially told us they had a room for us. (Yes, I'm jumping back in time here to the day we arrived.) She had us sit in the office, told us about the apartment she had for us - two nights, king bed, beach front. She started filling out paperwork, then Bill asked where we could park the truck. She was horrified. "At the Holiday Inn!" she sniffed. She immediately came up with a dozen problems with us staying at The Reef. She was very insulting and clearly just wanted us to leave right away. So we did.
OK. Jumping around again, this is Mulligan's where we ate a spectacular Thanksgiving dinner. It was a buffet. We had mozzarella and tomato salad, boiled peel-n-eat shrimp, and a really tasty salad to start. Then we had turkey, ham, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, and dressing. Every item was delicious. We stuffed ourselves, declined desert, then waddled back to our room. Thank goodness that night we had the king bed.
The outdoor deck of Mulligan's.
Now. Back to when we first arrived in town. The Driftwood had a nice condo - one bedroom, king bed, ocean front. But only for the one night. So we were off again in search of lodging. Poor us.
This is Friday. We took a walk around town during the afternoon and stopped back by Cravings, where we'd had an uninspired breakfast. I had an orange float, Bill had some pistachio ice cream.
We went for another walk along the beach. While we were rinsing our feet, I noticed how white Bill's feet are!!! Trucker feet. Made me giggle.
Friday afternoon we also stopped at the little place in the front of our hotel for a hot dog and fries, which we shared. Both were extra good and the proprieter was also friendly. One of the few friendly people we met there. Vero Beach, for those who don't know, is a very wealthy little strip. Lots of rich people with big dogs. Lots of old people, too. Rich old people. We did not belong there.
As illustrated by this photo. :) I told Bill to pose as though he were trying to get on the giraffe - like to ride it. The way he cocked up his leg it looks a little obscene.
Another walk on the beach - there was nothing else to do in town. Walk on the beach. Eat. That's it. Really. This sand castle was being washed away. There's something wistful about the sea taking back a sand castle.
Someone had dug quite a hole. It was really deep, too.
I set the timer on my camera to take this - the only picture of both of us at the beach.
Mary Jane told Bill to park back behind the building. Here's Bill checking on the truck.
Friday night we ate at Nino's Italian Restaurant. It was so good. The people were so nice. We had mozzarella and tomato salad (the m/t salad the night before was so good we decided to have that again) and fried ravioli for appetizers.
I ordered gnocchi with bolognese sauce, bill got spaghetti and meatballs with a side of italian sausage. We ate and gave each other bites of food and made nummy noises the whole time. The gnocchi was tender and ricotta-y and light. The sauce was chunky and delicious. Bill's spaghetti was al dente and the sauce (red gravy to Bill) perfect. As we discussed our food, the gentleman at the next booth sort of had an ear cocked - listening to us. Bill asked if he was the owner. He was. He was sitting there with his daughter and her husband. He was full of personality and was really funny. We talked about the truck business and he talked about his restaurants and the food. He told our waitress to bring us cannolli and espresso. On him.
He then took this picture of us with our cannolli and espresso. Really super nice guy. His name was "Croce" he said, like Jim Croce. He said after such a meal we should go for a long walk, then have sex.
These trees all looked fake. The way the tops come out and all, it looks like plastic.
Then I took this picture of Croce. With his favorite pizza (sorry, but I forgot what all was on it),
This is where we left the trailer before we went to Vero Beach. The TA with the lite-n-fit menu,
We had stayed here Tuesday night when we first arrived back at Vero Beach. It was late and dark and we just wanted to do laundry and sleep. We did that here.
There's the lonely little trailer. Just where we left it. Picked it up again on the way home.
OK. This is back when we first arrived at the beach. I was so disappointed and frustrated that we couldn't find a place to stay and then finally we found the Islander and then came across to the beach. So here I was finally happy and Bill took this pic with my phone. I sent it to Sam saying "Now I'm happy".
Then I took this picture of Bill and sent it to Sam saying "Bill is too".
This is from my phone as well. It's Friday morning. We got up early and hit the beach around 6:30 in order to watch the sun rise. It was very beautiful.
