Coral Stone--the community

Coral Stone is a quiet, small and beautifully landscaped property at the north end of Vero Beach, almost across from the Disney Vero Beach Hotel.  There are 5 villages of townhouses, plus a club house that has a lounge, a pool and an exercise facility.

1547--our townhouse

Dining Room--Celebration dinner for Eric!!

Living Room

View from our living room, to the backyard

Club House and Pool

Club House

Typical landscape

January 14-15, Arrival in Vero Beach!!

We left Titusville Tuesday morning to head to Vero.  It seemed like a good idea to get there a day early, so we would could pick up the keys Wednesday morning and begin the moving in process.  As we approached Vero, it got cloudier and cloudier, and we needed a place for lunch.  We consulted the "Bring Fido" site and found a dog friendly restaurant (seating on a patio.)  We decided to take a chance on no rain and went to the Oceala Bistro.  Of course, once we were seated and had ordered, it began to drizzle.  But they were able to open a sun umbrella over us, so all was fine.  The food was excellent.  Sieg had a fancy sandwich and I tried their fish of the day, which was superb.  We'll go there again.
After lunch we checked in at the Holiday Inn Oceanside.  They put us in an end unit, right on the beach! (But neglected to tell us that there would be construction outside our door starting at 9 a.m.--didn't matter since we planned to leave early).  The beach was beautiful.

Holiday Inn from the beach

View from our patio

Our room

View from our patio

There are a group of beach side restaurants nearby, so we ended up having breakfast on Wednesday at Mulligan's.  They are quite well known here and have both an inside and outside section.  Standard beach/resort stuff--large quantities, decent food overall.
We headed to the realtor (David Walsh and Associates) and got the keys.  We found the  townhouse without incident, and I headed out to find a place to buy sandwiches for lunch.  It turns out that we are very near Wabasso Beach and there are two small food places right there.  We are also just across from the Disney Resort.
We spent the afternoon unpacking and then headed to Walmart and the grocery store.  By the time we got home, it was after 7 p.m.

Titusville and the Kennedy Space Center, January 12-14

We stayed at the Fairfield Suites in Titusville.  It is in a perfect location, just off I-95 and within 10 miles of the space center.  It is part of the Marriott chain and the accommodations were very comfortable, except that there was no kitchenette.  Sieg and I decided to go to the Holiday Inn next door for a quick dinner.  We had become aware of the Florida law that you can't leave a dog in a car, so we were concerned about leaving him in the room.  The hotel receptionist offered to keep Minnow with her in the lobby while we were out!  He got to roam the office area, etc. (They also agreed to store his frozen chicken since the fridge in our room didn't have a freezer compartment.) 
On Monday morning, we had an early breakfast in the hotel so we could leave by 8:30 a.m. to get to the Kennedy Space Center, get Minnow checked in and pick up our tickets.  Pat Kramer had told me that the Space Center has a kennel--it is complimentary, has large cages, etc.  You have to provide food and water, a blanket, etc.  and that worked out beautifully (not sure Minnow would agree, but...).  Below are the kennel and two signature buildings.

Kennedy Space Center Kennel

Launch Control Center

Visitors' Entrance to the Kennedy Space Center

We were so lucky with the weather--it was sunny and in the 70s. The first area we toured was called the "Rocket Garden" and they had rockets, space capsules, etc. on display in an outdoor area.

We then went to what was one of the highlights of our visit--the Atlantis Exhibit.  You start by walking up a circular ramp to the top of the building, and then are seated in an outer area before a screen where you see an introduction to the history of the space shuttles.  Then a door opens and you are shepherded in to a circular room where you stand as a film about the shuttle Atlantis surrounds you.  At the end of the movie, they project the words "Welcome home, Atlantis" and the whole front of the room opens up to the actual shuttle, hanging there right before your eyes.  It was AMAZING!!! All around the shuttle are interactive displays, etc. and they continue as you make your way down (again on a circular ramp) to the main floor of the building. 

The shuttle launching system

Welcome Home, Atlantis!!

We had to miss some of the displays because we wanted to catch the IMAX movie about the International Space Station, in 3D no less.  You felt like things were coming at you, touching you, etc.  Again, AMAZING!! We loved it as well. 
We had a quick (rather average) lunch in the Orbit Cafe and then went to meet our tour bus for the afternoon.  We had chosen to do the guided tour of the launch control center, a tour that apparently will be discontinued in the near future.  We got into the building, saw the commemorative plaques for each space mission, and then took the elevator up to the Firing Rooms (which are in the process of being renovated). Security was very tight in the building! 

After the Launch Control Center, the bus took us out to view a launch pad (LC 39B, I think).  That facility is going to be used in the future by a private company.  On the way, we drove along side the Crawler Transport Path where they transport rockets from the Vessel Assembly Building to the launch site.

Crawler Transport Path

Launch Pad 39B

The final stop on the tour was the Apollo/Saturn V Center.  However, we realized that it had been a long day for Minnow, so we decided to "rescue" him from the kennel and save this part of the visit for the next time, along with the Shuttle Launch Experience. And there will be a next time, for sure.  While we have thoroughly enjoyed our whole trip south, this was really the highlight, and we will return!!

St. Augustine, January 11-12

We arrived at the Cozy Inn in St. Augustine in the early afternoon.  Cozy Inn is a really fitting name.  The rooms are relatively small, but clean and comfortable.  And it is only about a half mile from the Old Jail and a mile from the fort. (And the Dunkin Donuts is even closer!) And again, they take dogs!!!  I discovered that the car's air conditioner had been leaking again, and Christine, the hotel manager was incredibly helpful, lending me towels, giving us directions, etc.  She also made some great recommendations for restaurants. 

We decided to try JayBird's for a late lunch, mainly because it is dog-friendly.  When we got there, I asked about Minnow, and they actually allowed us to sit in the enclosed patio and brought Minnow fresh water.  We had a pretty long wait, but the food was good.

After lunch, we drove around the historic area and found the Fort and the Old Jail, getting information for the next day.  For dinner, we tried another of Christine's recommendations--the Kingfish Grill.  Unfortunately, it was pouring and cold, so we had to eat indoors (Minnow had to stay home).  Siegfried had the fish and chips and I had a fish special.  The food was very good and our waitress was excellent!
The next morning, Minnow stayed home while Sieg and I went sightseeing.  As per Jessica's request, we visited the Old Jail and the Oldest Store.  Both tours were fun.  The history of the jail was interesting--it needed to look nice so it would fit in with its surroundings, and the outside of the building is really attractive.  Can't say as much for the inside!
We had a quick lunch of leftovers and left for Titusville.

Amelia Island,January 9-11

Again, the drive from Charleston to Amelia Island was very uneventful.  We had lunch in the outskirts of Savannah and arrived at the Residence Inn on Amelia Island in mid-afternoon.  The hotel was up to the standards set by Charleston, although it had more of a resort feel.  After a quick trip to the supermarket, I drove down the street (merely one block) and checked out the beach.  We cooked our dinner in our room and had a quiet evening.

 On Friday morning, we set out to tour our area of the island (Fernandina Beach).  We drove through the historic district and ended up at Brett's Waterway Café, a restaurant on the intracoastal waterway, for lunch.  I got to try their Shrimp and Grits, which were fabulous! The restaurant was right at the municipal marina on the Amelia River, so we had the opportunity to walk the docks, even touching base with a couple on an Island Packet 40 that they had purchased in Rock Hall! We couldn't figure out why there were trucks loaded with wood arriving and leaving the island constantly, but later found out that Amelia Island has two paper factories (you can see one of them in a photo at the marina). 

On Friday morning, we set out to tour our area of the island (Fernandina Beach).  We drove through the historic district and ended up at Brett's Waterway Café, a restaurant on the intracoastal waterway, for lunch.  I got to try their Shrimp and Grits, which were fabulous!  The restaurant was right at the municipal marina on the Amelia River, so we had the opportunity to walk the docks, even touching base with a couple on an Island Packet 40 that they had purchased in Rock Hall! We couldn't figure out why there were trucks loaded with wood arriving and leaving the island constantly, but later found out that Amelia Island has two paper factories (you can see one of them in a photo at the marina). 
Later that afternoon, I went for a long walk on the beach--it was really pretty.  There are public accesses every block or two. 

There is a lot of history associated with Amelia Island.  One claim to fame is that in their over 400 years of history, they have been under 8 flags:  "Florida's Golden Isle that the French visited, the Spanish developed, the English named and the Americans tamed.  It is the only U.S. location to have been under eight different flags." In the 1850's Fernandina became the terminus for Florida's first cross-state railroad, organized by Senator David Yulee.

Charleston, January 7-9

Charleston, January 7-9

The drive from Fayetteville to Charleston was uneventful (read boring), and we arrived in Charleston mid-afternoon.  The Charleston Residence Inn is a really nice hotel.  The lobby is wood paneled and quite formal looking, and the rooms are spacious.  Minnow got to visit the lobby and the hallways.  The hotel offered soup and salad in the evening, so we decided to stay in for dinner.  We were fast asleep when the fire alarm went off at 2 a.m. and it took the management nearly 2 hours to fix the problem, while people wandered around the lobby and the doorway areas.  (At checkout, they waived out pet fee to make up for the inconvenience.)

Wednesday morning our tour bus picked us up at the hotel at 10 a.m. and we set out to see downtown Charleston (the historic area, the battery and a visit to the Heyward-Washington House built in 1771).  Meanwhile, Minnow had a play date with Amanda, the owner of Happy Pet Sitting Services. He even went joyriding in her car!  Our tour was well organized and informative, and left us looking forward to further visits to Charleston (Charleston Tours).

For lunch, we went to California Dreaming, a seafood restaurant near the hotel (chili and peel and eat shrimp.  Guess who had which??!)

After much research, we decided to go to dinner at the Peninsula Grill (ranked #3 of 712 by TripAdvisor).  It turned out to be an excellent choice--beautiful setting, outstanding service and great food.  Maryanne enjoyed the rack of lamb while Siegfried had the filet mignon.  Their house special, coconut cake, was a fitting end to a superb meal (and I don't even like cake!) 
Amanda joined Minnow for an hour while we were in town--he's one spoiled dog!