We cross the state today: from its belly to its shores. A real sacrifice for me, since I truly prefer getaways that have zero driving involved, but if you want to show a child even a fragment of Florida, you have to drive.
Our wake up is beautiful. Bright blue skies outside. True, the view is sort of resort-y. This is a state with a flat landscape and in places like Orlando, there are many areas of green that seem humanly created rather than initiated by nature. Nonetheless, it can be very pretty for what it is. We eat breakfast downstairs, outside, looking out on the lagoon. Is it a real lagoon? I mean, it has water. It has green plants growing to the side. The girl says it's lovely. She sits next to me just to have that view. Me, I like the birds that seem to appreciate all the cool bathing opportunities.
And now it's time to make use of the fabulous pools at the hotel. Don't think theme parks! Think warm weather (high of 84F/29C) and meandering pool waters with waterfalls, slides and all those things kids like Snowdrop just love to pieces. (Our hotel's pool is good, but it's the sister hotel's pool that's the draw. We're allowed to use it, which is a total joy for the girl. It has a crazy big set of slides.)
(going down in a tube)
(or without)
(trying out their pool)
(then returning to our own)
Lunch, by the pool.
Then, we pack up and return to the airport to pick up a rental car and from there, it's... road trip!!!
Well, almost road trip. We inspect the car. Take photos of dinges. Load it up. I turn on the engine and get a pop up warning that the engine needs inspection. I go all the way back to the rental desk. "Oh, it's probably some routine mainetenance like an oil change." Thanks, Hertz. I don't accept "it's probably just..." They back pedal. "Would you like another car?" You bet your sweet booties I would like another car. And we do score well on the exchange -- we get one that has a mere 16 miles on the odometer.
Snowdrop is at her best at times like this. She's no wimp when we try to get help. She'll roll down the window and shout out to the attendant if we're being ignored. And when we finally do set out, she takes my phone and puts herself in charge of navigation. It is actually a very very lovely drive to Vero Beach. (One hour and 45 mins from Orlando.)
Florida, by car. Reel me back to my childhood, why don't you! My parents liked to use Christmas break for a road trip south -- from New York to Florida. How many times did we do this? Three maybe? Poles from the UN group favored Fort Lauderdale. It was cheap then and the owners of one small rental property seemed not to mind renting to people from the "Eastern Block." It would take us three days to get there. In a black Chevy with vinyl seats. How easy it is for Snowdrop now! No worries about being welcomed in hotels across the state, no vinyl car seats, no three day drive.
But also -- not many orange groves these days, at least not on the stretch we cover today. I know that citrus growing has gone way down over the years (disease, climate, natural disasters). Indeed, Florida's citrus crop in 2023-2024 is said to be the second lowest in 100 years. That's more than 90% down in the last two decades. (California grows now almost all orange trees in the U.S.) And yet, we can't shake that association: Florida and oranges. For my generation at least, this was the state that gave us the best of the best.
We cross over on the Merrill Barber bridge to get to the barrier islands, home to our hotel -- the Kimpton Vero Beach. (Kimpton hotels are part of an SF group, but they do a reliable presentation of lodgings in many, many parts of the world. They call themselves the bold and playful group and I suppose there is a recognizable attempt to go in that direction.)
About Vero Beach itself. Well, it has its virtues. It does seem more like a mix of old Florida and some resorty type stuff at the shore line. Not just highrise codos as far as the eye can see. There may be an interesting town. It remains to be seen. The hotel itself is... funky. It is so close to the water that I swear you could feel a splash of water up in your room if you lean out. (And we do get a very nice view room.) The beach itself is a bit unkempt and at high tide, it leaves little space for play. You wonder if perhaps the hotel is just a little bit too close to the water's edge. The pool is remarkably small. True, the Orlando pools can spoil a person. My expectations weren't high, but this one is utterly tiny.
Still, we are here for the ocean and the ocean is awesome. We only spend a few minutes at the water's edge, but the girl cant resist picking up a stray bucket and digging away and, well, letting her feet soak in the moving water.
Of course she gets wet. And it just doesn't matter.
We eat our evening meal at Cobalt, once more the "informal" hotel eatery. I suppose we could drive over to any number of places in Vero Beach (the town), but spending time on this is completely not worth it. She'll find something on the menu here and so will I.
(calamari!)
It's okay stuff. Friendly wait staff. Terribly expensive. I mean, twice as much as Orlando's dinner. Sure, we ordered more. That's because we were compensating for not ordering the dominant item on the menu -- beef. No matter. The calamari were fine. My bisque was good. Our four scallops were astronomically overpriced.
Tomorrow, we fall into our beach vacation routine... Today? Sleep to the sound of crashing waves. They are indeed close!
roar... swish.... roar... good night!
