Day 3, St. Lucie Inlet to Vero Beach

Just before sunrise we raised the anchor....all of 7 ft deep.....to get 
under way. We were looking towards a good day of traveling. After we were 
underway I did our daily e-mail and read a note from Bill and Lillie. They 
were one of the first cruisers we met near the start of our journey in 1999. 
We met them in Maine at the Seven Seas Cruising Association Gam. Then we met 
them in Annapolis and several Caribbean Islands. The last we saw them was in 
Trinidad in 2001. Their email told us that they were in Vero Beach and would 
like to see us if we had the time. I made a phone call. We arranged a 
meeting for cocktails on Boundless and dinner at a local restaurant. I 
really enjoyed seeing them again and catching up on the last few years of 
cruising. We even got a tour of Vero Beach. There were still significant 
remnants of hurricane damage from the two storms this summer.

>Besides our time with Bill and Lillie, we did some boat maintenance. We 
>changed fuel filters and got everything ready for an early start. We only 
>did about 28 miles today but the marina that Bill and Lillie suggested was 
>very nice. We enjoyed our short stop in Vero Beach!
>
>Day 4, Vero Beach to Titusville
>
>We woke today to pouring rain and low visibility. It was hard but we 
>finally got underway and did 64 miles in the poor weather. We were told 
>that there were even a couple of tornadoes just behind us. We did get some 
>thunder and lightening but we mostly had rain and fog. Bill suggested the 
>marina at Titusville and again it was worth the stop. Shopping was near by. 
>There was a Country Western Band for a short time after our arrival at 6:30 
>pm. They even let us side tie at the fuel dock for an easy in and out.
>
>The distance we did today was good but we are still very careful of the 
>fixed bridges. I think my VHF antenna is going to be shorter from all of 
>the scrapping on the various bridges we are passing. We really do look 
>forward to waiting for a draw bridge to open. It takes a little longer but 
>it certainly reduces our level of anxiety. We saw many porpoises today. 
>They were usually in small groups but there were quite a few and they were 
>all in 5 to 15 ft of water pretty far away from any inlet to the ocean. We 
>were very surprised at the number and where we saw them. All in all it was 
>another good day!
>
>Day 5, Titusville to Daytona
>
>We woke near daybreak and got under way. The winds started early and the 
>temperature was a bit cooler than usual. The winds gradually built through 
>the morning to 20 to 25 with gusts to 30. Not quite on our nose but close 
>enough to cost us some speed. We did about 42 miles and called it a day at 
>Daytona Beach. Would you believe we are 4 days away from the start of bike 
>week! I was really tempted to wait.
>
>The scenery we experienced on this part of the inland waterway is decidedly 
>different than all of that South of here. Today brought more mangroves, 
>small islands, smaller homes, camp sites, trailer parks, modular home 
>communities, fishing camps, etc. The area seemed closer to something middle 
>class America could afford. The boats were smaller although the large 
>engines still persisted and the platform boat was more prevalent. We saw 
>many people fishing from their own docks or community docks and plenty of 
>bass boats were in evidence. Fishing seems big in this part of Florida.