Vero Beach, Florida

We usually visit Gulf Beaches in Florida since it is a short drive to the Gulf of Mexico from our home in the Tampa area. We decided to change things up a bit and visit the East Coast and utilize our Disney Vacation Club points to stay at Disney's Vero Beach Resort. I had forgotten how beautiful the Atlantic Ocean is! I hopped off of the bike and upon removing my helmet; I cold hear the roar of the surf! I instantly felt my pulse slow and my blood pressure start to drop to a relaxed pace. I found Vero Beach to be a small town that is clearly a beach town. There are palatial homes, small rental apartments and modest single family homes all mixed together in a town where I imagine most of the year round residents know each other well. The Gulf beaches don't get large waves, unless there is a storm brewing in the Gulf. This is certainly not the case with the East coast! The waves rolled and crashed non-stop! We slept with our balcony door open so we could sleep to soothing sounds of the surf! There was very little traffic on the water. We caught a glimpse of a large ship only once, and it was so far out that we couldn't identify what type of vessel it was. The sky was illuminated by a gazillion stars at night. No city lights to dim our view of them! Spectacular! We ventured in to "town" for dinner and found numerous small independent eateries that offered mainly seafood fare but other options as well. We went to Captain Hiram's which is located on the Indian River, inland from the Atlantic. The food was much better than the average beach restaurant, the portions were generous and the service was good. Our view of the marina added to the relaxing atmosphere. We noticed a pirate ship docked near an island in the river and our server told us that some self-proclaimed pirates lived on board and often had parties on the island. I think that is pretty cool! Shopping in Vero Beach is not unlike most Florida towns. They have the staples, Wal-Mart, Publix, ABC Liquor, etc as well as very upscale boutiques. I found Vero Beach to be a pretty neat town with a fantastic ocean! I will visit again; I only wish it wasn’t so far from my home. Sigh............

Happy Beach Year!

For 2012, I resolve to spend more time at the beach. I am spoiled to live on Florida's Gulf Coast! We have, in my opinion, the most beautiful beaches in all of Florida. The sand is power soft, my toes love it! Sand dollars and shells are plentiful.

My favorite (so far) is Treasure Island. Located south of Clearwater and north of Sarasota, Treasure Island is a mixture of beach fun, night life and family time all rolled up into one! An ideal time, for me, is to spend the day on the beach and then take a short trip into St. Pete for a Tampa Bay Rays game. GO RAYS!