It has been a week since we left home, well almost eight days now, we left last Sunday at five AM and it is now Sunday afternoon the following week. Our morning routine is at a relaxed pace these days, coffee outside watching the sunrise, breakfast and then off to do something. Today we hiked a trail down the coast in the town of Sebastian, the North Sebastian Conservation Trail, yesterday we did a 2.5 mile hike in Malabar. We hiked a mere two and a half miles today too, but it was a nice walk. The trails here are really flat, couldn’t find an uphill or downhill if you tried. The vegetation is so different from home, a lot of scrub pine and palm stuff that I don’t know, but a really interesting landscape.
Since we have been here, Carol has been shopping a couple of times, I have ridden my bike around, we had some outstanding tacos from the neighborhood food truck and we attended a laser light show with our friends Tom and Debbie. The laser light show was an interesting experience, billed as something spectacular, I think we all thought it fell just a little short of that lofty goal. After a few minutes of lights going overhead and music coming from far away it all seemed pretty much the same.
I am guessing it really would have been spectacular back in the 1960s…however even though there was a bit of disappointment in the air, it is always great to be with friends no matter the setting. We had a ball. It is interesting how some friendships flourish with time. We only see these two every now and again and it is always as though we had just left off the day before. We have a lot of common bonds and shared experiences that bind us together. Tom and I can chat all day long about nothing in particular and Carol and Debbie do the same. When we are all in the same space it is a steady crossfire of conversation. Such a good time.
As I think I mentioned in the post from the other day, we have rented a car, this is not something we normally do when traveling, we just use the van but since we are going to be here for a couple of weeks we figured that a car would just make sense. This whole experience of staying in one place for a couple of weeks is a first as well. In the two years that we have owned the Doodle we have traveled almost twenty thousand miles and our average stay is two or three nights, at a rally 5 nights - so two weeks in one place is a novelty. It certainly is nice to be able to set a leisurely pace… after all, we have a Leisure Travel Van! So leisure it is for the next week or so and we will just take it easy and learn about the area. I think tomorrow we may head up the coast to Cocoa Beach, Ron Jons and the space coast. Wednesday is going to be a stay at home day, morning anyway, as I have hired a guy to come wash and wax the Doodle. Tom had his motorhome done by the same guy, and it looks like it just came out of the showroom. I don’t know of any service like this at home, and we are here, and the guy is here, so let’s get it done.
Yesterday we had a treat, a couple pulled in, just across the road from us in a Leisure Travel Van. So few of these are made that it is a rarity to bump into another Leisure owner. As it happened, they had just got it and it was their first night camping in the van. Noobies! Karl and Anne were very enthusiastic about their van and should be, it is a beauty and (although I may be a bit biased) and they were full of questions. We stood outside their van with our masks on and I tried to impart all the knowledge I wish I had known when I first got our Leisure van.. probably came off as a pompous ass . . . and that may very well be the case anyway. We chatted for quite a while and I told them about organizations to join, apps to download and many war stories from along the road. I bet they were glad when I finally walked off… then this morning as we were having coffee in the wind, watching the sunrise, Carol spotted that they had their fan vent cover all the way open. These vent covers are known to fail in the wind, so I couldn’t help myself, I waited until 8 am, and sent them a text and let them know my concern.. likely overstepping even more social boundaries. I stumble over these boundaries all the time. As they pulled out this morning, Anne leaned out the window and thanked me, but it really appeared to me as though they were making a hasty escape. . .I have to work on my social skills. In any event, they were very nice people and we hope we meet them down the road and are able to spend some real time together in some other beautiful location.
As I mentioned today was a great day for a hike, some shopping and just hanging out. I got dressed for supper, meaning a clean shirt and shorts, as we are heading out for Cuban cuisine with Tom and Debbie. Poor little Harper will have to stay at home and guard all out stuff..great guard dog that she is. We headed up the road to Nini’s Cuban Cuisine. It is a small place in Indiatlantic, just east of Melbourne out on the barrier beach. It may be a small place but it delivered big flavor, awesome Cuban food and apparently the Mojitas were pretty good too. We sat and swapped more stories, talking about every subject under the sun. Another great evening with friends. This morning, the wind has died down a bit as I write this watching the sun come up over the intracoastal once again. So I have coffee in hand, Carol is on her exercise mat linked up with her instructor friend and Harper is still snoozing. I’ll wrap this up now and see if I can get it posted this before I attempt to make a loaf of bread on the convection microwave..this should be an experience. . .
Below is a short video of Harper playing with a squirrel, she is always trying to make new friends.