Vero Beach - Wednesday

Today our lunch adventure took us to The Wave Kitchen and Bar at Costa d'Este Beach Resort. 

Costa d'Este is owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan. The restaurant was literally empty when we came in so we were seated front and center to view the pool and ocean. Rumor had it that Oprah Winfrey was getting ready to check out after spending a few days with the Estefans. It wasn't long before we saw several of the hotel staff gather outside the window and guess who walked by?

Oprah Winfrey! This was as close as I could get without tripping over tables and crashing through the doors to get a better picture. Sonia even got up and went out front to try and get a picture of her but she was already in her limo. We never did see Gloria.

After lunch Sonia and I headed to the outlet mall since the weather still isn't cooperating.

We had so much fun at bar bingo last Wednesday that we thought we'd try our luck again. There weren't as many people there so cash pots were smaller. But Sonia did win a game and took the booby prize instead of the cash.

Karen now has her hand made ceramic starfish magnet.

Exhausted

Seems like the whole Taylor family was working on the basement refinishing at my house.

Finishing the basement is hard work!

Violet and Miles

Back in Kansas City, Violet is getting to know her future boyfriend.

Miles was born 3 months before Violet and his Mom, Jenny, is one if Melissa's best friends.

Maybe Violet shouldn't play too hard to get right now. Miles is really a cutie and he seems very interested in Violet!

Vero Beach - Tuesday

The weather has turned rather cloudy and rainy. Something about a system building up over the gulf, slowly making its way across Florida...blah, blah, blah. I don't mind the heat but where's my sun.

We went to lunch today at Mulligan's - another restaurant overlooking the ocean. No huge history with this restaurant but it also claims to have the best burgers on the beach. Their menu calls their hamburger "BBOB" (Best Burger On the Beach). It was good but certainly not the best I've had so far. Maybe they should change their menu. 

Sonia and I are doing quite well finding our way around without getting lost. We didn't even have to get out the GPS. Since the weather wasn't cooperating we spent the evening at Stix shooting pool.

Michael would have been very proud of his Mom. I only lost 2 games out of 8. Sam wasn't too happy losing to me. Maybe I should have let him win since he is letting us use his house.

New Workbench in the Garage

Jamie sent me a text asking if I wanted a workbench in the garage - no extra charge - they had extra wood.

Now I have a place to repot my flowers unless Jamie has other ideas.

Check out all the diapers. I asked Melissa what else they may have stashed in my garage!

Vero Beach - Monday

Monday mornings on vacation aren't much different than any other day on vacation. There's usually no hurry to get anywhere.

We went to Ocean Grill for lunch. The dining room was built over 70 years ago on a sand dune 200 yards from the Atlantic. The building is furnished in cypress, mahogany, wrought iron and Spanish antiques. The main dining room was originally an open-air patio with a terrazzo floor until the sand flies forced the construction of a roof. Twice storms have taken away the terrazzo floor but left the roof. The beach was also beginning to disappear with the floor. Engineers were able to replace the concrete with wooden pilings and a plank floor and the beach is making a comeback. That may be the reason for the musky smell when you walk in. But the food was delicious. I opted for the planko encrusted chicken sandwich with Bernaise sauce.

There was a gift shop attached to the restaurant so I was able to find a magnet for Karen.

After an hour on the beach we headed to the botanical gardens but it was closed on Mondays. Now one more thing added to our Tuesday agenda.

Violet Moves to Her Own Bed

Since Melissa and Jamie have their house on the market, they have to keep things pretty well picked up. So the pack 'n play has been put away and Violet is now sleeping in her crib.

I've only been away for two weeks but I feel like I'm missing out on so much. But Melissa sends me pictures daily and sometimes a video. I'll post the videos when I get home. I can't quite figure that out on my iPad.