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| Vero Beach, just south of Cape Canaveral, is a cruiser
haven/hangout for good reason. The municipal marina offers slips and moorings. For under 11 dollars a day, we got a
secure mooring in a protected area, dinghy dock to facilitate going ashore, trash disposal, water, laundry, telephone/internet
connection and free bus transportation into town. The area that surrounds the marina is very nice, upscale. Vero has more golf courses
than schools, and that tells you something about the age of the crowd here. They even have extra long traffic lights to
allow the seniors enough time to figure out what to do. We considered getting jobs here, just for a while to pay down some
bills, but decided against it. On the weekends, you can rent a car for ten dollars a day. We did (see picture in slide show at bottom) and took drives to the local
surf spots of Sebastian Inlet and Fort Pierce Park. The day we saw Sebastian, it was 1-2 feet with mushy shape. There were
forty-five people (kids) in the water and every wave had 3-4 riders. Depressing! After a two month stay in Vero, we finally decided that we needed to get going again. We motored down the ICW to Fort Pierce. The next day we sailed from there to Miami. We discovered that Miami Beach was fun! First, it was spring break, so the joint was jumpin' with students. Next, the anchorages here are wonderful. We anchored in Sunset Lake, surrounded by multi-million-dollar homes and close to the South Beach action. We were within walking distance from the famous beaches, art-deco hotels and restaurants of Florida's playground. Each day we took walks to areas of interest, had lunch, then returned to First Star. Sobe (South Beach) reminded us of Panama City because of its latin-urban-party flavor. The Miamarina, in downtown Miami, is surrounded by a mall sporting tourist shops, restaurants and a stage for live music. Several groups performed during our visits here. Marinas in southern Florida are very expensive for transient cruisers. A 36 foot boat pays almost 70 dollars a night for a slip. Compare this with the San Diego Yacht Club at 18 dollars a night! On a monthly basis, slips here are about the same as So. Cal. 
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