Another long drive (over 1000 miles in one day), another change of time zone - this leg means we've arrived in state number 20 for the road trip to date
The drivers in this part of the country do not appear to be particularly law-abiding nor courteous, which made the last four hours of our drive even more of a trial than the first nine.
When we finally escaped the throngs and parked the car at our friend's place in a nice, dark, quiet lot, I was ready to walk away from the car and not look at it for a few days.
Birds, a Beach and a Bar - combining a few favourites with good friends!
Andy and Robin, with whom we became fast friends when we all lived in the marina in Weehawken, New Jersey during the winter of 2012/2013, were as welcoming as ever. Once we had our stuff stowed in their guest room, Andy handed me a drink and Robin appeared with a plate of nibbles that was big enough to stand in for dinner. I flopped down in Andy's favorite chair. Aaahhh, it felt good to sit down... in a slightly different position and in a different chair than I have been all day.
On subsequent excursions around the general area of their winter condo in Sebastian, Florida, either Andy or Robin were gracious enough to do the driving in their much nicer vehicle as they gave us a tour of the local highlights.
A cool airboat tour of the Florida swamp lands
Our non-culinary favorite was when we all went out on an airboat ride in a nearby wetland reserve. We saw lots of birds, four alligators, including a mother and one of her six-inch hatchlings, and got to do a lot of high-speed sliding around.
The four of us were in the front row of seats and I noticed that Maryanne and I were the only two that seemed to flinch as Johnny, the operator, aimed straight at the shallowest, most heavily vegetated spots. It's hard to ignore the instinct not to do that. I kept worrying about the props and rudders, but of course, on airboats, they are all on the top!
Andy and Robin are both so specially embedded in our memories from our time in Weehawken - we've managed to meet up several times since, but this was the first time in their Florida condo. We shared laughter, card games, and more; and of course, great food (they are both fantastic cooks).
We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, which was almost entirely prepared by Robin. I know she would insist that we helped, but she is being kind. Mostly we got in the way while occasionally swiping ingredients she was preparing. She's amazing.
Botanic Gardens, beaches, bars and MORE great food - all were shared and added to the great time
For reasons that would not become clear to me until we got there, they made reservations for us to eat a mere twenty-four hours later at Armani's Cucina in Vero Beach. After the big Thanksgiving dinner, I was pretty sure I would be giving up solid foods for the rest of the week, but here we were, perusing a menu of delicacies.
We needn't have bothered. Andy already knew what was good and before we could figure out what had happened, a whole table of it was spread out before us. It was all very, very good. Included in this was a very special entree made by Sal, the owner. It was a simple dish: homemade pasta with homemade tomato sauce. The special bit was when he tossed it all together in a big, hollowed out wheel of cheese, then scooped it out and served it to us.
We were all starting to feel a bit full when the meal went 3D and a giant pizza was suspended over the rest like a roof by one of those elevated pizza stands. Okay, there is no way we are finishing all of that...
Well... maybe. After the remainder was boxed up, Robin made sure it ended up in our bag of padkos (Afrikaans for "road food"). That would have been more than enough to sustain us for our upcoming thirteen-hour drive to Norfolk, but then she made us a few turkey sandwiches to throw in there as well. So much food... And every bit of it delicous. But most of all the company was great and we hope to see them again soon, most likely in Newport next year.
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