OK We're Here - Now What

So we looked at one another and said, well where do we want to go now that we’re here.  And it seems we don’t have much of an agenda.  One thing we know for certain is that we don’t want to travel on the weekends when all of the local boaters are out in force trying to cram all the fun they can find on the water into two days.  Our motto is “be off the water” no later than noon on Friday.

Thus Friday morning found us running for Ft. Pierce, FL, just a few hours north of Stuart.  Our enthusiasm for this destination stems from the fact that Ft. Pierce has one of the best Farmer’s Markets we have ever been to, and it is just across the street from the City Marina.  Sometimes things are not always as you remember them but happily that was not the case here.  This market only seems to get better.  I wish I had taken some pictures of the exceptional offerings to share with you.  We were able to get some beautiful tomatoes, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, jalapenos, and red & green sweet peppers.  The asparagus didn’t look so good so we passed on it, although I had hoped to make a great pasta that I needed asparagus for.  Another vendor had the best breads, not to mention their pastries and muffins looked heavenly – but I resisted, mostly.  I found a vendor who had all kinds of dip and salad dressing mixes that contained no MSG (which I appear to have developed sensitivity to) and several selling local honey.  There were several offering live plants and herbs, one of them had the most beautiful and unique orchids.

There were also many booths offering prepared food, everything from omelet rolls & sausages to gyros, to chicken on a stick, and of course hot coffee and  smoothies.  Larry got an omelet roll and I had a cinnamon-raisin roll from the bakery booth; we sat on a low wall on the waterfront and had our breakfast while we did some people watching.  All the while listening to a local band that was doing a really good job and had everyone’s feet tapping.

After breakfast we investigated the arts and crafts offerings of the market and bought some Iguana Oil.  No it is not made from iguanas!    Actually it is a blend of neem oil along with several other essential oils and jojoba oil.  Wow, I can’t believe how many times I used the word oil in that sentence!  The guy who sold it swears that noseeums and mosquitoes will not come near anyone who has it on their skin; further if you don’t get it on before they arrive that using it after the fact will take away the sting and itch.  Now I just hope he wasn’t selling snake oil!

When we returned to the boat to stow our treasures we found lots of tourists watching the manatees who were swimming in the empty slip right next to us.  Before you ask I didn’t get a photo of them either!

After realizing that it will soon be May we have decided to work our way northward fairly quickly, well quickly for us, and leave time to explore a bit in North Carolina.  Perhaps tomorrow we might even work on making some kind of schedule…nah, it will all unfold in due time.