Even though we did not truly need any food supplies, we decided to drive to Fort Pierce for their huge farmer's market that is held every Saturday. With hot and sunny weather, we coated ourselves with sunscreen and donned our wide-brimmed hats. The market runs until noon. We arrived a little after 11:00. I heard vendors saying they had been swarmed with customers all morning and had run out of some items as a result.
As I roamed around searching for good vegetables and baked goods, I had trouble getting close to the booths due to the volume of shoppers.
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| Busy Fort Pierce, FL Farmer's Market |
With a lot of patience and a little squeezing in here and there, I managed to buy a nice selection of produce and a couple of tempting cookies and scones. After making our selections at the food side, we strolled over to the craft fair side of the event and looked at the items for sale there as well.
I saw some hand-made, woven sea grass hats that looked nice. They claimed to be water resistant and retain their shape even when crushed. I tried one on to see how it would look on me and thought it suited me quite nicely. As I slipped it onto my head, however, I immediately knew I could never wear this hat. Even dry, it smelled like grass!! I knew my allergies would be totally unforgiving of such a purchase and dropped it back on the table in a hurry.
Besides fresh produce and crafts, the market offered vendors selling prepared "fast" food as well as a variety of drinks such as fresh-squeezed lemonade and smoothies. In addition, the market had a live band performing. We saw several people sitting in chairs listening and some even dancing to the music.
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| Live band at Fort Pierce Farmer's Market |
After buying much more than I intended, and before heading back to our car, we walked around the area just to see what we might see.
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| Fountain by Farmer's Market in Fort Pierce |
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| Large number of fish attracted to the docks by a woman feeding them bread. |
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| and a little Fort Pierce history ... |
As we made our way back to the car, Clark declared that today would be the perfect day for ice cream. Since the time either rapidly approached noon or was already past that point, my thoughts were focused on where we would find lunch. Regardless, I looked for "ice cream store near me" on my phone and came up with two alternatives - both in the wrong direction to be heading back to the boat.
Even so, Clark wanted to go, so we headed for the first one. As we drove through Fort Pierce, Clark said to me, "It's not in the less desirable part of town is it?" In response I said, "I don't know. The app on the phone warns when a store is about to close, but it does not ask me if I am sure I want to venture to the poorer side of town." We found the store, but given the neighborhood, we just kept driving right on by. After all, we knew we had another choice.
The second choice Joy's Homemade Ice Cream sounded good, but I pointed out to Clark it was another ten minutes away still in the wrong direction of heading back to the boat. He still wanted to go. Driving on Route 1 to get there, I saw a Staples store and told Clark to stop so we could get some printer ink. Unbeknownst to me, Clark checked with the sales guys there as I shopped and found out that "Joy's is the place to go for good ice cream!'
Ten more minutes of driving later, we finally found Joy's, and yes, it was worth the trip. In Marathon, I had an ice cream flavor called "Trash Can" that had all sorts of candy bars chopped up into it. At Joy's they had more or less the same flavor, but they very nicely called it "Treasure Chest" - a much better moniker. The person serving ice cream told me she did not have enough Treasure Chest for a single serving, so I added another flavor to it. Well, the serving size for a single turned out to be more than most places give for a double.
Full of ice cream, we headed back to the boat and arrived there around 2:15. Since we had not had lunch (just dessert), I made sandwiches for Clark and grabbed a small, nutritious snack for me. Afterwards, Clark set to working on the salt water anchor wash down to see if he could configure it not to pop the circuit breaker every time it is used.
While he did that, I sat down to read. The sugar from the ice cream (and the cookies I ate at the market) did me in and gave me the "groggies". I really wanted a nap but fought it all afternoon long. I surrendered, however, when Clark came and collapsed on the sofa and closed his eyes. At that point, I gave up and went and laid down on my bed for a while. I believe I could have slept quite nicely in the chair, sitting up. I could not fall asleep on the bed. After lying there twenty or thirty minutes, I went back out to the salon to see how Clark was faring.
We had discussed earlier in the day taking our bicycles out late afternoon for some exercise. Suffering from lethargy, we totally missed that opportunity. With the time showing 6:15, we knew that we would lose daylight soon, so we got in the car to head over to the beach area to walk around and check out the goings on.
Earlier in the day, when we left for the Farmer's Market, Clark saw a sign for the local Power Squadron (USPS) near a park. Before driving to the beach, he decided we should go check it out. The USPS building was located deep in the park, and we found it quite interesting to explore the area. Had it been earlier, it would have been the perfect venue for a bike ride. On our way to the beach, after checking out the park's offerings, we passed a theater where we saw large numbers of people sitting outside listening to a concert. We assumed that pre-purchased tickets would be required and kept going.
From there it was a short drive to the beach side of town. Luckily, we found a parking spot by observing someone leaving as we drove around the lot. Due to the lateness of the day and my peculiar lunch, the smells of the local restaurants instantly made my mouth water and my stomach growl. As we walked around, I peaked at one restaurant's menu just to see what options they offered. Too expensive!
While I thought about food, Clark concentrated on the full moon and grabbed the camera. Night shots are difficult!
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| Full Moon at Vero Beach, FL |
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| Full Moon over the Ocean at Vero Beach, FL |
Looking the other direction from the ocean, the restaurants lit up the area with bright lights.
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| View at beach looking towards Vero Beach restaurants |
As we strolled down the sidewalk, we came to the main source of the mouth-watering smells. A "hot" item on their menu caught my eye -- the "B-BoB" or "Best Burger on the Beach". Even Clark was tempted by the aroma of grilled burgers. We kept walking.
When we reached the street corner, we could tell looking to the right that we would find nothing of interest, so naturally, we turned left. We passed a small ice cream shop that Clark said he had to check out. After hearing their flavors and hours, he told them we would be back later. Really?!
We continued on our way and, as we walked, we started to hear music which became louder and louder. At first I thought a restaurant had a live band, but then I realized that we had stumbled upon a free outdoor concert put on by the town. Like a moth drawn to a flame, Clark led me through the crowd right up to the stage.
The group performing called themselves 21 Hearts, One Beat and they played a great selection of music. By reading the banner hanging on the stage, I discovered that they came from Miami Country Day School. I thought they looked awfully young ... they were all high-school students. Very talented high school students!
One young woman in particular was amazing. She sang well, played the electric guitar, the bass guitar, and the keyboard with equal ease. Truly amazing talent! The students took turns singing and performing. Some were better than others. The music ranged from 50's style songs to current tunes to classical rock. We heard songs originally recorded by Elvis, the Beatles, Carole King, Byonce, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Prince, and more.
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| 21 Hearts, One Beat Performing at Vero Beach Street Concert |
Just before 9:00, when the concert grew close to being over, Clark suggested we start walking. He had his eyes on an ice cream shop very close to the concert area and wanted to get a frosty treat before the band quit and everyone else hit the ice cream store before going home. The shop offered a very nice selection of flavors, but none appealed to me. I rarely eat ice cream. I rarely eat desserts. Eating ice cream twice in one day was way too far over-the-top for me. I passed!
Clark, on the other hand, got two scoops on a waffle cone! The shop offered raspberry sorbetto. He had to have it, but he also wanted plain vanilla ice cream. Ever since Charleston, SC last year, he has sought raspberry and blueberry sorbet - preferably mixed together. I just watched him devour his treat. I got a bottle of cold water and was quite satisfied!
The concert ended and we headed back to the car. The drive to the boat took all of five minutes, but I was very glad we were not on bicycles on dark streets without sidewalks. We parked at the marina, got out of the car, and Clark said, "I hear music!"
My plan had been to go back to the boat and collapse into bed. Instead, our plan suddenly became a walk to the park to check out the event Clark guessed was the one we had passed in the car earlier. Since that was hours ago, I thought it should be soon coming to an end. In way of motivation, Clark reminded me I wanted exercise. "Yes, but my Fitbit says I already exceeded my goals for today", I replied. We kept walking!
Fortunately, the park was reasonably close. We found, when we got to the event, that here was yet another free concert - "open to the public". No tickets necessary! Just walk right in! We wandered on in and found a place to sit (me) / stand (Clark) to listen to the music. This professional group The Beatle Guys played only Beatles music. Honestly, I preferred the non-professional mix from the high school.
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| The Beatle Guys Performing at free concert in Vero Beach, FL |
About twenty minutes after we got to the concert, the show ended. We got to hear a few well-played Beatles songs. Their last planned song was Let it be. Someone made a special request, however, and they then ended the concert with Eleanor Rigby. Listening to the lyrics as we started our walk back to the marina, Clark said, "That's an awful ending song for a concert!"
We got back to the boat around 10:15. My phone reminded me that the clocks needed to be set ahead tonight. That made the time 11:15, and since I felt exhausted, that sounded like a great bed time to me. I grabbed my Kindle and headed that direction. A while later Clark called to me, "Are the blueberries washed?" "What?" I thought. "More food? How can he eat like that and not gain an ounce?!"
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