Day 52-57
11/12/15 through 11/17/15
On the way from Cocoa, FL to our next stop in Vero Beach we had some excitement. We were pulled over and boarded by two Florida Fish and Wildlife officers. They pulled alongside and told us to keep moving at slow speed, and then one officer boarded while the other one followed in their boat. He checked the usual things like registration, life jackets, fire extinguishers, etc. Then he asked to see the head. He put some type of dye in the head and had me flush it three times. I suppose if the head were flushing directly into the water instead of the holding tank the dye would have come out in the water and be observed by the officer following in the boat. Everything was OK, so they went on their way.
About a half hour later Sharon went down from the flybridge and then came back reporting that the bathroom was flooded. I went down and found that apparently the solenoid that allows fresh water into the bowl when the head is flushed got stuck in the open position allowing many gallons of water to drain from our fresh water tank into the head, then overflowing onto the floor. Under the floor is a compartment where the shower drain pump and a couple of valves are located. It was full of water right up to the floor boards. After we got into the marina at Vero Beach I bailed it out using a manual bilge pump and a bucket, emptying about 40 gallons of water before it was all gone. Someone had just told me a few days before that cruising on a boat meant doing repairs in exotic places, so I'm starting to get the picture. I do have a spare solenoid, but the existing one seems to be functioning now, so we'll just watch it closely.
Once we got situated in the marina we checked out the free bus service that picks up right at the marina and makes a loop around the island (Vero Beach is on a barrier island) and the beach, and also goes to the mainland for grocery stores, and just about other type of store you may need. We took the bus to a nice beachfront restaurant where we had Sharon's birthday dinner just a few feet from the 80-degree ocean.
There is a Catholic church about a 20-minute walk from the marina. We checked on Mass time for Saturday evening and found that they had a 4:00 pm and a 5:30 pm Mass. We were told that they get so busy during the winter time that they have to add Masses to accommodate the visitors. The priest who said our Mass was almost as fast as Fr. Bruse in Madison, VA, having us out in less than 45 minutes. The church had just opened their store in the parish hall selling Christmas items, so Sharon stocked us up with holiday items that we will not be able to bring from home for the Christmas season.
One day we just spent on the beach, sunning and enjoying the water. That day (November 16th) the surf temperature was 82 degrees!
Right next door to the marina is a very large dog park. We took Jake and Kimi there almost every day for some rare off leash time. On Sunday, they had an event at the dog park call Bark and Brew. There were vendors, including a beer stand, and some games and other events for the dogs to enjoy. There was a lure coursing area set up and as soon as Jake and Kimi saw the equipment they knew what it was and that was all they wanted to do. They both love lure coursing and have each previously earned their AKC Coursing Ability titles. They both got to lure course four or five times, making multiple circuits of the course each time. We would try to give them a rest after each run, but they would keep dragging us back to that area so they could run again. They were a couple of tired dogs that night!
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