All Quiet on the "Eastern Front"

So far the Eastern shore of Florida's panhandle is really working for us, we left Sarasota and headed East... we passed Orlando and had to fight the urge to visit with Mickey, Donald and the gang, but with the dogs on board and my need to see some waves, the temptation was averted and the happiest place on earth shot passed at 70 miles an hour. Our first destination was Cocoa Beach. Instantly I was reminded of Grand Cayman, the beach town is situated on a long spit of land that forms a barrier island to the the mainland. Its right next to Cape Canaveral or Kennedy Space Center and the feel is vacation central. We both took to Cocoa Beach immediately, the beach went on for miles and we almost had the entire shore line to ourselves. As a side note I should mention that if you like your space and traffic frustrates you... visit Florida in December, Annmarie and I have had our pick of hotel rooms, have not waited for anything, we have gotten great deals and coupons are treated like currency in these "seasonal" towns. Additionally, the water is still warm, the day time temperatures are very comfortable and the humidity is almost a non-issue. just to paint a mental picture, I have been wearing baggies and a T-shirt for most of the day, when I went body surfing for over an hour I was just wearing baggies (no wet suit or rashy) and never once felt cold. In the evening I'll wear light longs and a long sleeve sweat jacket and never feel cool... (temperature wise - I always feel "cool" its a narcissistic thing).

While in Cocoa Beach we went window shopping in a few Surf Shops, among them "Ron Jon's" and "Cocoa Beach Surf Co." but it was only when searching further down the coast towards Sunset Beach that we came across the home of "Island waveski's". Now I have an Island Waveski back in Vegas, they are the biggest manufacturer of Waveski's in America and were the guys who originally imported Macski and Kolaski Waveski's from South Africa. So finding myself in the mecca of North American Paddle Ski's country what could I do... My new Ski is being shaped as I write, its a super quick model, the newest design that allows super sharp carving whilst stable enough for aging fat asses like myself. The Ski is being custom shaped just for me, keeping with tradition I'm having the Australian Flag graphed on the under side (down under) and waves on the rails... it should be brilliant !

After I had placed my order, paid my deposit and arranged delivery I borrowed a Ski from the shop, walked across the road, crossed the beach and spent the next hour or so on the waves. Let me just say this... my lack of fitness is embarrassing, it took me a good five minutes to recover from each paddle out... my lats are cooked and I almost found religion when facing a big set that I didn't think I was going to make on one desperate sprint. I left the water highly endorphined and pleased to be back on the beach.

One of the consistents we have managed to keep for the last week or so has been finding Indian Food, Cocoa Beach was no different... The taste of Goa gave us a very pleasant introduction to food from the Goa region of India... its always such a pleasant experience for us eating in Indian restaurants, there is never disappointment and they really look after vegetarians.

When we woke up this morning it was windy and a little overcast, so we decided to head on up the road... since we have made the decision to drive to New York rather than board the Dogs and fly, we need to cover another 1000 miles or so to reach our destination. Today's stop over is St. Augustine, its a very beautiful town and one that so far Annmarie and I are very keen on. We have decided to stay here at least another day because there is just way too much to see. Its a very old town, with some building boasting a 400 year history... when your used to Vegas, 400 years is pretty impressive from a historical point of view. We had just a small taste of it since we got here late, but after 18 holes of miniature golf and a quick bite, we went on Ripley's believe it or not Ghost Tour of the towns Historical District. I must say it was a blast, we didn't have any paranormal experiences but the history was very interesting.