Vero Beach Adoration & Information Thread 2008

[DisDaydreamer]

WHOA! Is that at high tide?

You beat me to the question.... I sure hope it is, but after looking at the sand up near the stairs, it looks like it has seen water recently. Something must be causing a tidal surge about now (wind).

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Thanks Lisa for the excellent report. A very nice contribution to the thread. I am real sure now that we'll be doing a kayak tour in hopes of encountering manatee. Love that BC I knew which one it was immediately, because we have stayed in bldg 14 many time. One day. Gotta get some points first I guess.

BTW... I tried request one of the King-bed corner rooms and they said they couldn't take the request because of demand

Glad you had a good time

 

[lisareniff]

Sorry Rob. I guess the secret's out.

 

[MrsNick]

BTW... I tried request one of the King-bed corner rooms and they said they couldn't take the request because of demand

I keep hoping that one of these days they create some of the DVC studios with a king bed. We requested the king bed corner room at check in last year but it was no go

 

[lisareniff]

OK, I have a correction. Just talked to DH. The picture of the single umbrella is not the one I thought. I was thinking it was near our BC. It is closer to the ramp, one of the first few. So the dune drop off is not 5' in this area, next to our BC is was. The water was going pretty much up to that point.

I looked up the times for picture and tides. They were taken on Wed. 16th at close to 7:30am (sunrise at 6:55am). High tide was at 8:57am. The tide was coming in.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

OK, I have a correction. Just talked to DH. The picture of the single umbrella is not the one I thought. I was thinking it was near our BC. It is closer to the ramp, one of the first few. So the dune drop off is not 5' in this area, next to our BC is was. The water was going pretty much up to that point.

I looked up the times for picture and tides. They were taken on Wed. 16th at close to 7:30am (sunrise at 6:55am). High tide was at 8:57am. The tide was coming in.

I just love it when you analyze evidence

 

[Kendallkat2]

2 more wake-ups and we will be leaving for Vero! We are staying in a Ocean View inn room. Can't wait until I see that ocean! We love it at Vero Beach. Haven't been there in over 2 years. Looking forward to our long walks along the beach. We will be visiting relatives at Jensen Beach on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday will be dedicated to the beach. Wednesday we leave for Disney World for 3 nights at Saratoga Springs.

My daughter loves crab. We had planned on going to Ozzie's Crab house but someone mentioned that it is closed. Does anyone have another suggestion? Want a place that is easy on the budget. I hate spending a lot of money on food.

Beth

 

[MiaSRN62]

Hi Lisa....
Wonderful TR. Loved all the photos and links. I really appreciate the restaurants and places to visit you mentioned. I'm using your TR as a planning tool for our trip there in August. I'm just sorry you had cool'ish weather. Seems a little odd for April in that part of FL. The beach erosion was so sad to see. I can't imagine what it would look like if Disney hadn't brought in sand. BTW....love that photo of the sea shells ! So pretty.

Beth....have a nice trip to Vero and WDW

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Speaking of Photobucket, here are some of those pictures of the beach...

My kids are 7 and 9 and pretty tall, that "wall" is over 4 feet tall...

That picture was taken in front of lisareniff's BC the week before she was there...

 

[MiaSRN62]

That picture was taken in front of lisareniff's BC the week before she was there...

Kickapoo.....your photo shows the drop off and the beach erosion really well. Thanks for posting that again.

 

[DisTeach1]

Well, we will be there for our first trip to VB on Sept. 30-Oct. 2 for a short stay before WDW.

I'm torn between not wanting to do too much and wanting to plan something.

We will arrive around 9 a.m. morning of Sept. 30. I think that day we will relax after a long red-eye from CA and have a nice dinner, etc.

The following day my husband and son want to golf...any recommendations and hopefully, cheaper than WDW? When they get back, I don't know...just more relaxing or a drive to somewhere.

Is there somewhere we can view wildlife without a formal tour? Manatees, etc. We would love to go for a self-guided nature walk.

Actually, after reading through all the pages, I think I'm going to call and see if a Beach Cottage is available for our stay. I have two OVIR for those two nights. It's going to be me, husband, son and my 74 year old Mother. I requested connecting rooms or rooms close by, but who knows. And let me tell you, my 15 year old son would prefer we are far, far away. We did not get connecting rooms last trip to AKL and he loved being with Grandma. We actually caught the room service guy delivery a banana split at 9:45 p.m. He loves being with Grandma without us interferring. But, the cottages look great, so I will see what we can get.

I'd love to do the Kayak, but I'm pretty sure my 74 year old, arthritic mother who hates water and can't swim could not do that, so I think I'm looking for a tame nature hike. I'd like to see manatees though..Is there anywher we can see them FROM SHORE?

I think we will have our first dinner at the resort and our second night at that shack I read about, with the funny name I can't remember.

 

[Starr W.]

Well, we will be there for our first trip to VB on Sept. 30-Oct. 2 for a short stay before WDW.

I'm torn between not wanting to do too much and wanting to plan something.

We will arrive around 9 a.m. morning of Sept. 30. I think that day we will relax after a long red-eye from CA and have a nice dinner, etc.

The following day my husband and son want to golf...any recommendations and hopefully, cheaper than WDW? When they get back, I don't know...just more relaxing or a drive to somewhere.

Is there somewhere we can view wildlife without a formal tour? Manatees, etc. We would love to go for a self-guided nature walk.

Actually, after reading through all the pages, I think I'm going to call and see if a Beach Cottage is available for our stay. I have two OVIR for those two nights. It's going to be me, husband, son and my 74 year old Mother. I requested connecting rooms or rooms close by, but who knows. And let me tell you, my 15 year old son would prefer we are far, far away. We did not get connecting rooms last trip to AKL and he loved being with Grandma. We actually caught the room service guy delivery a banana split at 9:45 p.m. He loves being with Grandma without us interferring. But, the cottages look great, so I will see what we can get.

I'd love to do the Kayak, but I'm pretty sure my 74 year old, arthritic mother who hates water and can't swim could not do that, so I think I'm looking for a tame nature hike. I'd like to see manatees though..Is there anywher we can see them FROM SHORE?

I think we will have our first dinner at the resort and our second night at that shack I read about, with the funny name I can't remember.

I think you are thinking about Squid Lips.

 

[lisareniff]

Actually, after reading through all the pages, I think I'm going to call and see if a Beach Cottage is available for our stay. I have two OVIR for those two nights. It's going to be me, husband, son and my 74 year old Mother.

One thing to be aware of in the Beach Cottages.... All three bathrooms are on the first floor with the bedrooms. The living areas and kitchen are on the second floor. There are good handrails on the stairs. Not sure if it would be an issue for your Mother but something to consider.

I'd love to do the Kayak, but I'm pretty sure my 74 year old, arthritic mother who hates water and can't swim could not do that, so I think I'm looking for a tame nature hike. I'd like to see manatees though..Is there anywhere we can see them FROM SHORE?

I'm sure there are other places that might be better (we are not that experienced VBers yet) but the little nature walk we went on at the Environmental learning center you could do on your own. There were lots of labels on the trees, etc. It is also close, just over the bridge. I have the link posted a couple posts ago.

The manatee we saw when we were kayaking seemed to live in that boat launch area of the Round Island Park about 20 minutes south on A1A.

Rob? Any other suggestions?

 

[lisareniff]

Good shot Kickapoo! DH said he got some good shots of the erosion so I didn't take any myself. Then I really didn't see what I wanted to show when I got home.

Here's a couple more...

 

[bobbiwoz]

Your first picture above shows that you can walk to the water without going down that steep bump. Is that the case, or is the steep step under the water in that picture?

Bobbi

 

[starbox]

I'd love to do the Kayak, but I'm pretty sure my 74 year old, arthritic mother who hates water and can't swim could not do that, so I think I'm looking for a tame nature hike. I'd like to see manatees though..Is there anywher we can see them FROM SHORE?

We saw manatees in the water from the beach 3 of the last 5 days of vacation.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Rob? Any other suggestions?

About 10 minutes north off of 1A is Pelican Island. Not a real exciting place, but if you like Pelicans it can be pretty cool. http://www.fws.gov/pelicanisland/

About 20 minutes north on 1A is the Manatee Observation Center were you can view manatee and dolphin. http://www.manateecenter.com/

About 20 minutes south is McKee Botanical Garden. No animals, but beautiful and exotic plantlife. Lots of shade there too. http://www.mckeegarden.org/
Here is one of many really cool Ficus trees they have

About 80 minutes north is Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge. They have a bunch of self guided walk, bike, and drive tours. We really like the Blackpoint drive loop. We'll be doing that again this June for sure. http://www.fws.gov/merrittisland/

About 10 minutes north is the Archie Carr National Wildlife refuge where they're focused is on Sea Turtles. http://www.fws.gov/archiecarr/

There is much other stuff too that you will see just by driving around. Have a great trip. I've added you to our roll call.

 

[lisareniff]

Your first picture above shows that you can walk to the water without going down that steep bump. Is that the case, or is the steep step under the water in that picture?

Bobbi

That is true Bobbi. There is no 'dune cliff' near the ramp. It develops as you go down the shore. I think it eroded back some from Kickapoo's picture with our strong waves.

 

[Sarahtink]

Sarahtink - Don't be too afraid of the kayak tours. I think Kickapoo had an extra special trip and paddling two through the water in a tandem is a heck of a lot harder.

Have you ever paddled a kayak before? If you know motion to paddle a kayak you should be fine as long as it's not too windy.

We do own a kayak but really only use it for a week in the summer for little paddles. I must admit I was a little apprehensive when going on the the tour. I am now over 40 and in the worst shape in my life both weight and strength wise. What shape you used to be in and things you used to do doesn't matter does it?? I was even concerned that the guide would have brought a life jacket big enough and I wouldn't fit in the boat, etc. Everything was fine. [a break to regain composure after bearing soul] Really, I think it is doable to most, at least most that have paddled once or twice before, especially if there is little wind.

Go on one of the non Disney sponsored tours. I think you will find them smaller and able to adapt to your needs in a smaller group.

Thanks for the advice, Lisa ... sorry it has taken so long for me to respond! Loved the fabulous report and photos and links ... appreciate it! Have a list of places/restaurants/ideas going for our first visit.

To answer your question, I have been kayaking once before on a river with tides from the ocean so that it changed directions depending on high/low tide ... I thought we would never get back to where we began (we likely misjudged the tides). I was in a single kayak and trying to learn how to paddle, etc. Anyway, my upper body strength doesn't compare to my DH. He so wants to do it though (I could care less, really, except the idea of saying hello to manatees sounds cool) ... we will look into one of the none Disney tours as well.

Hopefully the next time you are there the weather will be warmer!!

 

[Sarahtink]

Agreed, so tell DH that you want to have a connection with him. Like a leash connecting the 2 kayaks

Will do!