Tuesday

A quiet couple of days. We left Sebastian Inlet campground earlier than we might have in search of an internet signal and breakfast. We found breakfast eventually (about 11:15) in a crowded but interesting local eatery called Happy Toast. This mainly breakfast restaurant is owned by a Brazilian who goes back to Brazil for a month every June, taking supplies to distribute among the poor. There is a big jar on the bar where customers can contribute.

Our next stop of note was the Merritt Island Visitor Center. This is a small, but interesting wildlife museum. There is also a boardwalk out among the trees and along a pond. The trees are all heavy with Spanish moss. We could hear the calling of many birds, but there were few to be seen in the heavy forest.







We couldn't stay as long as we would have liked because we were eager to catch up with Rod and Cheryl, old friends of Jean's from Indiana whom she hadn't seen in 15 years. They were very glad to see us and we spent an interesting 24 hours with them.

Tuesday, they took us on a short tour of parts of New Smyrna Beach. The highlights of the tour were The Hub on Canal, an artist co-op that they have gotten very involved with.

The Hub is in an old building that has been many different things in its history. It contains several glass-fronted studios where artists in a wide range of disciplines from painting to writing produce beautiful things

One of the artists that we were impressed with does interesting work in fabrics. Jean was especially interested in a piece she did based on Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible.

There is also a courtyard that Rod converted from a weedy dump into a quiet place to rest, have lunch, or even a small event.














We also had lunch at a very busy beachside restaurant. Then off to see the condo they lived in when they first got to New Smyrna. It is now for sale. We almost wished we could buy it. We were both impressed with New Smyrna, a town that traces its history to before St. Augustine (albeit with a break, which keeps it from being the oldest town). It has an interesting old area, as well as a broad, flat beach.

After going back to the house and visiting some more, we reluctantly left to go on to Winter Garden. There we set up for the night at Leisure Time RV so we would be ready for an 8:30 appointment to have the automatic step repaired.