Vero's Restaurants

We have visited a number of restaurants in the area. 

More things to do!

There is always something to do here.  Besides the oyster mats (which I did for 8 weeks), there is yoga at the Yacht Club on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a variety of VBPS sponsored events.

Vero Beach Yacht Club

Yoga class, VBYC

We attended the squadron's Mardi Gras dinner party, as well as their St. Patrick's Day dinner.

I went to the Squardon's Ladies' Book Club meeting in March, which is held over lunch at the yacht club, and will also go to the Fashion Show on April 5.

Also, each Friday night our community has a gathering at the club house from 5:30 to 7:30.  Everyone brings an appetizer and their own beverages.  It has been a challenge to come up with something different each week.  I've made quiche twice, a hot crab dip, tortilla rollups, corned beef rollups and an antipasta cheese and salami rollup.  I need to find different recipes for next year!!  I have also helped decorate for Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day.

Welcome to the Mardi Gras Party

Decorations abound!

The "bar"

A huge selection of appetizers!

More connections with friends!

Gabi and Dan invited us to join them for a family celebration of St. Patrick's Day (after all, Sheehan is certainly an Irish name) on Saturday, March 15.  We drove up to Palm Bay in early afternoon and got to spend some time with Gabi and Dan before what they termed as the "invasion" occurred.  Three of their four children arrived during the course of the afternoon, along with 5-6 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren!  After being introduced to everyone, we went out to the back yard to watch the kids use the zip line that Dan built for them.  It looked so enticing that I asked Gabi if she had ever done it.  She said only once, a long time ago.  So I suggested that if she would do it, so would I.  It was great, except for the tree that you rapidly approach at the end!  Gabi served a corned beef and cabbage dinner that was absolutely fantastic.  How she stayed so calm and got it all prepared ahead of time was amazing--there must have been 15 of us at dinner.

While we were at Gabi's house, Jeff Parsons left a message inviting us to dinner, also for St. Patrick's Day, but since we were also going to the VBPS dinner the next day, we opted for later in the week.  So, on Wednesday, we set out for Melbourne once again.  The Parsons live just off of Route 1, a little north of the airport. 

The Parson's home, on Water Street, Melbourne

It was so good to see them again, and catch up on news, etc.  over cocktails.  (Jeff made me a Dark and Stormy!)  Patti and Jeff had just returned from a 3 month trip to England, Hong Kong, and New Zealand, where they had rented a camper and traveled all over.  They also went with Emily, Charles and their respective significant others to visit Hanoi!!  Emily's baby is due in April and Charles and Allie are engaged.

Cocktails before dinner

  Dinner was delicious--grilled chicken and vegetables, sweet potatoes and salad.  And Patti made a wonderful Toffee Date cake for dessert, with an English custard poured on top!  Wow!  We had such a good time that all of a sudden it was 10:30 p.m. and more than time to take our leave.  Hopefully we'll see them again, or at least next year!

We had a great evening!

Finally, yesterday, Bob and Carolyn Long came to Vero Beach for a brief visit.  Tom Barrett made a reservation for dinner for us at the Lobster Shanty, at Royal Palm Pointe.  We met them there after the Friday night reception at Coral Stone.  Ginny Devaney and her husband, Steve, were staying with Tom and Pat, and John Garrett (he and Peggy now live in Vero Beach during the winter months and in Old Lyme in the summer) also dropped by for a drink.

Josephine Bonello turns 95! Happy Birthday Mom/Nana!

Mom celebrated her 95th birthday on February 15, 2014.  After some discussion, Sieg offered to stay in Vero Beach with Minnow rather than subject the dog to boarding for 5 days or trying to figure out how to take him with us on the plane.  So I booked a flight from Melbourne to Hartford, via Atlanta.  That way, Sieg would not have to drive too far (i.e. West Palm or Orlando).  The airport is only 30 miles from us and it's a beautiful ride up through Sebastian and Melbourne on Route 1.  There are only 5 gates in the airport, so going through security, etc. was easy.  I even was issued a pink pass that meant that I didn't have to take off my shoes, belt, etc.  (I guess I'm officially old, or maybe just don't look threatening??)  Thank heavens I decided to leave on 2/14, because if I had planned to go one day earlier, the 18" of snow would have cancelled my flight.   My flight to Atlanta was on time, as was the one to Bradley Airport.  Ed and Betsy were en route from Maine, so they picked me up at the airport and we headed to New Hartford.  We had a huge pizza from Monica's for dinner and spent the evening catching up and watching the Olympics.
We had decided to cook a special dinner instead of trying to go out.  We made Pasta Bolognese and a Rasberry Mousse cake for Mom.  We gave Mom new flannel sheets, pillows and a heated mattress pad for her birthday.  We all sang Happy Birthday, and if I can figure out how, I will post that here one of these days!!

Mom with ther three children, ready for the pasta!

Ed, Betsy and Mom

Angel Food Rasberry Mousse Cake

Ready to sing Happy birthday!

 On Sunday, Tom arrived to spend some time with Nana.  He left Dover around 6 a.m. and showed up at 9:30.  We had lots of time to chat, and then decided to go the the Chinese Buffet in Torrington for an early lunch.  We all had several helpings of everything from dumplings to clams, ribs, coconut shrimp and sushi.  The food was much better than I remembered from past visits.  Once we got back to West Niles Road, Tom pulled out his school photo for 2013-2014 and proceeded to add it to a prominent site on the fridge.  The cousins have always competed for the most photos and the best spots!!  Eric has always given Tom and Mark a run for their money :)

We also did a family portrait of them with Nana, and even Tess got into the photo.

After Tom, Ed and Betsy left, we did a quick cleaning and shopping, since we had invited some of Brian's and Mom's close friends over for cake, ice cream and coffee.  Mark, Joanne, Ernie and Rob came over in the early evening and we again sang to Mom and celebrated her 95 years! 

And the cake appears!  Rob, Nana, Brian and Ernie

Happy Birthday song--Ernie, Joanne and Mark

Abe watches as Nana blows out her candles!

Throughout the whole weekend, I was amazed by the huge amount of snow and icicles.  It would have been up to my thighs on the deck!

Icicles on back deck

Back deck

Early morning looking at front yard and sidewalk

I had a layover both ways in Atlanta, enough time for me to get a decent lunch both times at the Sweetwater Pub.  Food was good, as was the beer!!  It's a local brewery.

Atlanta Airport, restaurant

In spite of the snow forecast, my flights were on time, and we actually made it back from Melbourne before it was completely dark.

It's a small world!

We have been discovering that there are lots of people that we know who live in Florida, even in the vicinity of Vero Beach.  Of course there are Suzie Perot and Charlie Muir.  We were invited to dinner at their home in Sea Forest last Tuesday.  It was great to catch up with them--it had been quite a while that we had seen them both.
I have been in touch with Ricki (Erica Ivers when I first knew her, now Ricki López Chaar).  Hers is a great story.  I first met Ricki at Horace Mann School, where we were both first year teachers in 1970.  I was part time that year, as I was still a full time student at Columbia University and living in Johnson Hall, the graduate women's dormitory on 116th Street between Amsterdam and Morningside Park.  When I decided to teach full time (my NDFL fellowship had ended and I needed more funds to continue working on my PhD.), Ricki and I decided to rent an apartment, and with two others, we ended up in a great place on W. 86th street.  Anyway, after three years, Ricki decided to return to the Boston area, but we kept i touch.  Her mother invited her to go on a vacation to PR and while walking on the beach, she was picked up by a guy who claimed to be the mayor of Dorado.  He picked her up that evening in his limousine--yes, he was the mayor--and that was the beginning of their relationship.  By 1976, Alfonsi (Papiño) had asked Ricki to marry him.  She was still worried about all of the implications of moving to a new culture, family expectations, learning a new language, etc.  She wanted to try it out for a summer before committing, and they decided that she would wear a wedding band for that summer, so people (especially her mother-in-law) would accept her.  I got to visit them for a week in Dorado, along with her friend, Meg.  We were treated royally!  Papiño took us to visit many parts of the island--the Cerromar resort, el Yunque, Ay Bonito, Ponce, Loquillo Beach, etc.  We even got to ride in an ambulance, with the siren on, since it was the only way to get out of a huge traffic jam!  Meg and I took Ricki to Tortola to celebrate her birthday.  Anyway, Ricki returned to Boston to teach one more year and then decided that yes, she and Papiño would get married, and they did so the following July 3.  They have been togethere for more than 37 years!!  Ricki and Papiño also own an apartment near West Palm, close to her mother's current residence, so, once I told her that I was retiring and spending the winter in FL, we planned to meet.  Last Saturday (3/1), Ricki and Papiño drove up to Vero and we had a great visit.  We had lunch at the Vero Beach Hotel and Spa that is right on Ocean Drive and the beach.  We sat on the patio overlooking the beach.  Lunch was good, and the company even better.  We even stopped for an ice cream at the Boardwalk Cafe on the beach.

Ricki and I, Coral Stone 

Lunch at the Cobalt

Sieg, Maryanne, Papiño, Ricki

When I mentioned to Eric that I flew out of Melbourne, FL, to go to celebrate Nana's 95th birthday, he remembered that that is where Charles Parson's parents live.  We are hoping to see them once they return from the UK.
I was trying to locate Gabriella (Gabi) Ossimanti Sheehan, a friend from my high school days.  I lost her e-mail (we had been in contact two years ago when the 50th reunion was about to take place), but I had no luck, so I googled her and lo and behold!--they live in Palm Bay which is even closer than Melbourne.  We chatted the other day, and she has invited us to come to a family dinner one of the next Sunday's.  She has four children and numerous grandchildren, and would like us to meet them.  Her husband, Dan is just in the process of retiring from the U.S. Postal Service.  (more to follow in another blog!)

Jacksonville, January 31-February 2

So, how did we end up going to the National Annual Meeting of the United States Power Squadrons, held most years in Jacksonville, FL?  It had never been high on our list of things to do.  In fact, we only went to the district meeting in Ocean City, MD, once, at the urging of Scott Borzell when he was commander.
We were in Vero Beach in late June, staying at the Caribbean Court Boutique Hotel while we looked for a winter rental.  The last morning we were at breakfast, sitting at a large table.  A couple approached and asked if they could join us, since the restaurant was full.  We made small talk for a while, and I casually mentioned boating.  Louie perked up and asked if we had ever heard of the power squadron.  When I said yes, that we were members of Main Line in PA, he told us that he is the current national Admin Officer, moving up to Exec this year and to Commander in two years!  Louie and Dottie Ojeda were in Vero for a wedding, but they know people from the Vero Beach squadron and encouraged us to become associate members.  They also pushed for us to attend the national meeting in Jacksonville.  We eventually decided to go, since we would be in FL, and was a 100 year celebration of the founding of the USPS.  (And because we felt a personal contact because of Louie.)
Siegfried had checked out the hotel (the Hyatt-Regency) and discovered that it was pet-friendly, so Minnow didn't have to be boarded after all!  We set out on Friday morning, in heavy rain, to drive the 206 miles back north to Jacksonville.  By the time we stopped for lunch (yes, at a Chick-Fil A), the rain was pretty much over, thank heavens.
We got to the hotel in mid-afternoon.  It is in a beautiful location, overlooking the river.

Hyatt-Regency Hotel

River Walk

I was checking in when I turned around and saw Sieg and Minnow, standing by our luggage cart, in the middle of this beautiful, formal, all marble, fancy lobby!!  He is one lucky dog.  Instead of the first floor, as I had requested, our room was on the 12th floor, so we got to ride up and down elevators a lot!  He was allowed just about everywhere, including the gift shop (we went for ice cream sandwiches).  The hotel sent up a dog bowl and the most luxurious doggie bed/cushion for Minnow.

Friday night we went to the 100th anniversary reception in the ballrooms overlooking the river.  It was so mobbed!  The hotel provided wine and beer, and each district had a table with appetizers.  However, we had no idea that it was by district, and I was politely turned away from a district table when they asked if we belonged to their group. Grrr!  We never actually found the district 5 table, since it turned out it was two rooms down.  We gave up and went to dinner in the hotel restaurant.  There were supposed to be fireworks, but we missed them as well :(  Seemed that organization was lacking that day--even the First Timer's Table was unmanned.
But Saturday turned out much better!!  We got up early in order to make the opening of the Annual Meeting.  It was a lot of pomp and circumstance, flags and marching.  And we were pretty much the only ones not wearing uniforms, since we've never been interested in purchasing them.  We sat with District 5 for the entire 3 hour morning session.

Entrance of District and National Officers

Podium

We had lunch in the hotel restaurant again, and returned for more of the meeting.  We got there early enough to chat with Louie Ojeda, and then went to sit in the District 5 section. 

Louie Ojeda, 2nd row far left

Louie and Dottie Ojeda

A woman came over and suggested that we "vacate" those seats, since they were mainly for squadron commanders (and we certainly aren't that!)  I was a bit put out, but it really turned out for the best.  The woman was Mrs.Lafferty, wife of the Commander of District 5, and once she found out that we were representing Main Line, she invited us to a reception for District 5 attendees in their suite after the meeting finished.  It was a really nice event and we got to meet a bunch of people.  The suggestion is that we attend more district and national meetings, but I'm not so sure that is going to happen.  Although, Louie becomes Commander in 2 years, and that meeting will take place in Orlando, so I am tempted!!

District Commander Lafferty and First Lady!

 The evening ended with the Mardi Gras Ball.  The new National Commander is from New Orleans, hence the theme.  The dinner was held in a huge ballroom and about 600 people attended.  Dress was relatively formal, some had masks, some had decorated umbrellas, and all had Mardi Gras beads!  The dinner was excellent (except that they put the dessert, King's Cake, on the table instead of dinner rolls, so we had dessert before dinner).  The band was great, and they played most of the evening.  After dinner, they played Mardi Gras music and everyone got up and "strutted."  It was truly a classy, fun event.  When we got back to our room, Minnow got his ice cream!!

Mardi Gras Strut!

The Oyster Mat Project

After hearing a description of what the Vero Beach Power Squadron is doing to hopefully help to improve the water quality of the Indian River Lagoon, I volunteered to work on oyster mats.  While the quality of water has been getting worse gradually, apparently there was an algae bloom about two years ago that killed a lot of sea grass by cutting off sunlight to the grass.  With no sea grass, the native fish, birds, manatees, etc. are disappearing.  The Rotary Club and the squadron are partnering in an effort to create oyster beds, since oysters are a natural filtering system.  The plan is to make 1100 mats that will be placed in the water in the Mooring flats near the end of March, just prior to the spawning season.  The hope is that the oyster spat (eggs) will land on the oyster shells on the mats instead of being swept downstream or eaten by other creatures.  Each mat is a plastic-coated wire square of about 18"x 18" to which 36 half oyster shells are attached with wire ties.  The shells need to be tightly fastened so they stand up.

 The idea is that  up to 8 people work for three hours (9 a.m. to noon) making mats each weekday, while two others drill holes in oyster half shells. 

The first time I worked (Toby calls it the sweat shop!), it was so cold that we had to move the tables outside.  Normally we are on the screened-in porch.  Week #1 I managed to get 2 mats done.  The next week I did 3.  The third week I did 4 of my own and finished 1 that someone else had started.  I was determined to make them more quickly, after hearing that Kathie Thomas was able to do 5!!!  Last week I did 4 and could have started a 5th, but was told that we should knock off for the day.  This week they cancelled the session because the drill press wasn't working and there were not enough shells available for the mats.  It really feels like I'm doing something good for the environment and the squadron, plus it keeps me busy.

Here is a link to an article from the local newspaper:    Oyster Project
Another article:Oyster Project once more

The last week I made mats, I managed to do 5 easily.  After 6 weeks of actually making mats, Toby asked me to spend the last morning cutting mats, so that the local students they are going to involve in the project would have materials on Saturday, March 15.  The idea is to get students interested in saving the lagoon and to give them a way to do community service.

Cutting the mats!

The mats are being laid in the Mooring Flats on the last 2 Saturdays in March and the first in April.