The following morning, we moved the big boat over closer to town and took Koa in for a much needed walk and to take a look around at "historic" downtown Melbourne. They have done a great job restoring the downtown area and there are many small shops and restaurants lining main street. The only problem was, unlike most Florida downtowns, there were no outside eateries. This meant that with Koa in tow, we were quite limited. After walking from one end to the other, we were ready for some lunch and so settled on this little casbah restaurant that had a guy playing some jazz on the saxophone on the patio. It was a perfect day for lunch outside and the ambiance was fantastic! We relaxed and stayed for quite a bit enjoying the scene and our delicious lunches.
After lunch and some lingering about, we headed back to the boat where we upped anchor and made our way just 10 miles North to Eau Gallie. Brad's aunt and uncle live here and we will be meeting up with them tomorrow for lunch.
Brad's aunt and uncle picked us up at a nearby dinghy dock and we all went out to lunch together - they are fantastic people and we always love stopping in to see them. And Carol always makes us delicious baked goods!! We had a great lunch together catching up on our travels and theirs and before we knew it, it was well into the afternoon. Time flies, and all that....
They were gracious enough to chauffeur us around to a few places so we were able to run a few errands before dropping us back off at the dinghy. Another fantastic visit in the books!
When we got back to the boat, we realized what a gorgeous day it was on the water and decided to take advantage of the evening wind with a sunset sail.
We upped anchor, threw out the jib and putzed our way North - not really sure where we would end up. We sailed for about three hours and decided just after sunset to stop and anchor, just South of Cocoa Beach. We hadn't made it far and we hadn't moved very quickly, but sometimes an evening with the sails up is just what the doctor ordered. And it had put at least a few miles dent into our trip to Titusville the following day.
The next day was just a motor - no wind, very hot high sun. But at least it was a short trip. We made it to Titusville in short order and went in with Koa to explore the area. A lot of boaters stop here because it is very affordable. And while we did find it to be affordable, we didn't find it to be cruiser friendly. The only anchorage has been turned into a mooring field (read: money maker) and there is a fee to tie up to their dinghy dock. The downtown is cute, but very small (2 blocks by 4 blocks) and there really isn't much going on. Perhaps there are more charming factors to this area if you have a car, but for the transient boater, it was a bust.
Up before the sun!
The following morning we were up before the sun to head North to Daytona. This was one of our longer days, at 50 miles of water to cover. Moving only about 5 knots, this is a full 10 hour day. It was a beautiful day though and there were manatees and dolphins everywhere!! And there was a shuttle launch from Port Canaveral that we got first row tickets for as we motored up the ICW. A bit disconcerting for sure as the Coast Guard was on the radio all morning warning mariners of falling debris!
Playful Manatees:
We made excellent time and anchored just South in Daytona around 4pm. Tomorrow we will head in to see what the area has to offer!
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