I got a good night’s sleep at Michael’s. After a few days of sleeping in my car, it was nice to be indoors for a while. You don’t know how much you miss the indoor amenities until you go a few days without them. I took a shower and then hit the road.
When I visited Florida last, I came from the eastern Florida and headed west. This time I’d be doing the opposite. I did stop at the same 7-11 though. I had fueled up at this 7-11 before heading back to Texas. Instead of heading back to Texas, I grabbed breakfast and headed east.
I got to Okeechobee and noticed a park along my way that had a bunch of military equipment. It is named Flagler Park. I decided to get out and take a look around.
After Flagler Park, it was off to more driving. Some of the areas were very wooded.
I had made it to the other side of Florida. I decided to check out Port St. Lucie a bit before heading a little further north. I have read WaWa gas stations are highly rated, so I stopped there to get some gas and take a look around inside.
I got a Mountain Dew and headed to Publix. Just like WaWa, Publix is very highly rated by people who live in Florida.
I picked up a few things at Publix including a sub. I took the sub and my Mountain Dew to Jensen Beach in Port St. Lucie.
When I was eating, a seagull tried to steal my sub. I didn’t think that wild animals would be so brazen. It could be either that or maybe everyone just loves Publix subs, including the birds. I also got wet feet getting too close to the water. I decided to drive barefoot and let my shoes and socks dry on the dash.
My drive took me to a more desolate beach called John Brooks Beach. I drove down a gravel road and saw I pretty much had the place to myself.
It was a nice day, and I could have hung around John Brooks Beach for a while. I was going to meet my buddy Mat after he got done with work, so I had to hit the road again. On my way to picking him up from work, I went past the Beachfront Inn. This is where I stayed last time I was in this part of Florida.
I kept driving past and then went to the Best Buy in Vero Beach. This is where Mat works. Since I had some La Quinta points, I decided to book the closest available La Quinta. That La Quinta was a ways away in Melbourne, FL. The funny thing is there is two La Quintas in Melbourne. I ended up driving to the wrong one since searching La Quinta on my GPS didn’t differentiate the two.
After my little mishap, I headed to the correct La Quinta. This one was a lot nicer than the other one anyway.
In the hotel, I was looking for cool places to discover. I saw there was a Sunrise and Sunset Park. Sunrise Park is facing east, and Sunset Park is facing west. Mat and I raced to see if we could go to both before the sunset. Traffic ended up being bad, but I guess it wasn’t as bad as people going the other way.
I first made it to Sunrise Park. I fed the parking meter and took a look around.
The interesting thing is Sunrise Park has parking. Sunset Park does not. I drove around trying to find close parking, but could not before sunset. I guess I’d have to catch the sunset while driving.
Mat and I were hungry, so we drove into Downtown Melbourne. We ended up at a place called Mustard’s Last Stand.
After eating, it was time to head back to the hotel. Mat and I decided we’d get a 12 pack and then hang out by the pool and BS. It had been almost a year since we last hung out. We walked over to Cumberland Farms gas station to get some beer.
Mat and I then walked back to the hotel. We went to the pool and just chilled out. The weather was really nice, and it was perfect just to relax and knock back a few beers.
It was especially nice considering Marshfield, WI was 14 at the time.
Even Austin was only 43. The weather was sure looking good in Florida!
Before we knew it, we were out of beer, and it was just in time for the pool to close. The next day we were planning on hitting up the Navy SEAL museum, and then I’d be heading north to the Carolinas. We called it a night to get a decent night’s sleep for the next day.
