Yesterday afternoon marked a culmination of feelings as we waited for oh just-after-noon-hundred where we once again, dropped our lines and unvelcroed ourselves from Vero Beach, where we'd spent way-too-many days that we care to count.

And yet, if there was a place to be, it was Vero Beach where $15 or so per night on a mooring ball really can't be beat, and access to the dinghy dock and lounge and showers and laundry room, and then there's the Beach which was a great daily walk, and Mulligans and Riverside were great stops for appies and drinks, and well, the free bus to everywhere was a huge bonus, and the side streets leading to and from the area, were a real treat to exercise around in, and the Art Museum and the Veterans Park and, and, and...

But what was it with this place that made both of us feel un-energized and way-too-can't even put two and two together ! Maybe it was just the "idea" that we knew we were to stay here waiting for our up-and-coming solar panel install. It's like that proverbial carrot being dangled from your nose... just within reach, but unable to grasp it firmly or even take a bit out of its wholesome goodness.

There were a few perfect days for us to go offshore and sail down the coast to Miami. Nope. There were two PERFECT weather windows to cross to the Bahamas. Nein, can't do that either. We had a tonne of things "to do" and we couldn't cause we were stuck here waiting to get the work done that we want to get done, before we go any further "south of somewhere"...

Admittedly, it was a self-imposed kind of stuck, as we kept telling ourselves, getting solar panel work done was of our own choosing and doing, so a paradox of stuckness.

When you know you can't do something, that is when you really want to DO that something, and real BAD. However on the flip side, here is where I really got comfortable with my solo-dinghy-rides, and bringing Banyan up to the marina dock for pump-outs and fuel-ups...

Anyhow, back to oh just-after-noon-hundred, we dropped our lines, got one last pumpout at the marina dock, waved bye to Vero Beach, and back under the bridges we ducked...

The ICW was well, the ICW, a narrow channel in a not-to large expanse of water, dolphins swimming about, and pelicans clumsily diving for a mid-afternoon-snack. After seeing one particular pelican chase a poor little seagull with a sliver of a fish in its mouth, that he had to drop as he tried to fly away, and that the pelican happily chugged down. I think that pelicans are sometimes just big bullies.

It was the weekend and the ICW was chock full of boats, goes this way and that,



and off in the distance we could see some serious showers







There must've been some sort of races going on between the Manatee Markers...





Fun to watch, but can't for the life of me imagine being g-forced on one of them. Fun for an hour perhaps, but then what ?

We arrived in our slip at Harbortown Marina, and although the Harbor Cove beckoned to us we stayed onboard instead and relaxed into an evening of Jambalaya and James Bond.