Vero Beach 2008 Trip Report

[bwv dreamin]

Just back from a wonderful 6 days at Vero Beach resort. Here is my trip report with some good, bad, and the ugly.
I'll start with the ugly.....our flight to and back was AWEFULL!!!!! Arrived at BWI airport fine, 1 1/2 hrs early, already online checked in the night before. Get there, there is 1/4 mile long people in line for bag check in!! Found out the baggage belt broke, and the Airtran workers were taking their sweet ole time getting people thru. People had missed flights, cutting in line, just a mess. We made it thru with 30. min to spare to board!
At MCO, we took a shuttle over to Thrifty for car rental, no problem, got a great car. 5 days, unlimited miles, for $156.00 total. Not bad. Travel time was 1 hour 20 min. to resort...(I kinda did the speed limit! :goodvibes )
Ok, now for some pics. Here we enter the resort...
[IMG]http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0525.jpg
we see the entrance to the resort where you will park your car momentarily, check in, get your parking sheet..
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http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0526-1.jpg
Trying to find the right size pics for the post! Next you will walk into the resort, passing thru the front porch.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0528.jpg
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Next the lobby....
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Here is our OVIR room with views.....
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0513.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0512.jpg
Have to upload more pics.....

[bwv dreamin]

Here is the bowl of shells that you should sign with your family name and date...ours is in the bottom right..
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0554.jpg
More pics outside of our balcony....
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/100_1694.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/100_1693.jpg
This is a sunrise shot....
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/100_1713.jpg
Hubby on the porch...
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0580.jpg
Sunrise shot....
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0581.jpg
Next we'll travel down to the beach where there are hardly any people!!!

[bwv dreamin]

I just can't get over how there were not that many people on the beach, and the resort was at full capacity. It was hot this week, but not too hot or the water!! It was wonderful, no jellyfish, clear.
I'll take you down the walk ramp from the resort onto the beach with several beach pics!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0516.jpg

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Here I am with the chair swap stuff.....
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Here are the water mice you can rent just floating in the water waiting for you!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0541.jpg
Here's the hubby payin the bills....yes even on vacation!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0553.jpg
Here's a turtle nest...they have a bunch of these up and down the beach..
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Next some resort shots.....

[bwv dreamin]

I didn't take too much of the pool. It was very nice, never over crowded, and everyone, including the children, were very well behaved! Plenty of chairs available, just great at the pool. Here is one shot I took that is behind the pool next to the villas....
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0524.jpghttp://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0523.jpg
Here's tha gazebo inside the pool area, makes for a nice shady area to eat under....
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0520.jpg
Here's a beach cottage!! I'm gonna rent this even though it will only be the hubby and me...gotta try it!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0522.jpg
Our OVIR room is the one on the top far right...rm. 2220
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0513.jpg
Another view from our balcony...
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http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0585.jpg

[bwv dreamin]

I had heard so much about his restaraunt, we decided to try this out. However, my review of the seafood is highly critical, as we come from Maryland, one of the seafood capitals!! The prices were ok, not a very good selection on the menu. Casual is an understatement for the atmosphere.
Here's the front of the restaraunt...yep, thats it.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0570.jpg
Here's the bar inside that you pass to get seated,...can we say "biker" bar?
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0569.jpg
Here is the view from our seat...it was a hot afternoon and they have these misters that spray cool mist on you the entire time...it never reached the food than goodness!
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I don't think I will return, but now I can say I have eaten at this famous, local resort. I need to find a place a few notches up........:goodvibes
Next will be a brief Kennedy Space Center post with pics. I will not spend much time on this place, was a big disappointment.

[bwv dreamin]

I was able to get free Kennedy Space Center tickets from my Congressman. Thank goodness. At $40/ticket, I would have been so upset to have paid this amount of money on such a poorly designed exhibit. After we drove 1 hr. 45 min. from VB to get there, all I can say is it was about 15% hotter there than on the shore! We swiftly ran into the KSC visitor center after getting our FREE tickets. We then proceeded to the KSC tour bus ride of the complex. Would normally take up to 2 hrs., but after 1/2hr. my folks wanted to go back to the resort! Here are some pics......
Entrace into the complex....
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On the bus....
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0537-1.jpg
The best site to see of all the buildings...
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0539-1.jpg
The runway they have the shuttle go down getting to the launch pad..
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0538.jpg
There's the launch pad WAY out there....
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/100_1710.jpg
Here's one of the many "buildings" that you pass by on the bus tour....looks real exciting doesn't it?
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/100_1703.jpg
Lastly, a pic of the resort's "turtle scholar" and a program she hopes all will learn about.

[bwv dreamin]

I would like you to meet Jean. She is a Disney cast member that works at the resort in the "gift" shop. However, she also participates as a Turtle Scout and coordinates the turtle walks from June thru July. She is also a member of Disney's Turtle rescue team, and helped a turtle named "Lumiere" who washed ashore at the resort, injured. She and the Disney team helped nurse him back to health, and was set back out to sea with a tracking device to track his travels. Please visit this website www.tourdeturtles.org. She would greatly appreciate it!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0532.jpg
Lastly, I will throw in a few more shots I took during our visit. It was just a wonderful time. Please note that there is not much around the resort. No shopping, no night life. A quiet, beach town. If you travel further into the town of Vero Beach (about 20 min. away)., there you will find upscale boutiques and restaraunts. Hope everyone gets a chance to visit!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/DSCN0576.jpg
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http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll270/hheppding/Vero%20Beach%202008/100_1714.jpg

[bwv dreamin]

giving a bump.....:)

[lllovell]

Oh my goodness!!!!

I am soooooo there. It looks so beautiful. I like quiet beaches, not mainstream, popular ones. The resort looks very nice.

I am quite impressed!!!!

Thanks for sharing Hope!!!

Laura

P.S. I do hope you are feeling better too!!! Take care of yourself.

[bwv dreamin]

bump......

[MatterhornMiss]

Man, that turtle was scary looking! Didn't expect that to be staring back at me this morning. ;)

I really like the idea of signing a shell for your family vacation.

[Mulan2]

Thanks for sharing! Your pictures are beautiful. We certainly want to try it one day. Is 1 whole week too long of a stay? We have 2 kids under 10.
Sorry KSC wasn't a good trip for you. MY DS loves it there so we've been there twice this year already.

[Sparrowsprincess]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing!

[bwv dreamin]

Thanks for sharing! Your pictures are beautiful. We certainly want to try it one day. Is 1 whole week too long of a stay? We have 2 kids under 10.
Sorry KSC wasn't a good trip for you. MY DS loves it there so we've been there twice this year already.

Five days would be plenty with your children's ages, even for adults. There is not much around the resort to do....unless you would want to plan a day trip somewhere else nearby.

[idratherbeinwdw]

Wow amazing pictures and a fun report to boot. I am sure I am going to PM you and beg you to let us use some of your shots for our VB page on the main site.
I love the captions to the photos. :cheerleader:

[podsnel]

It does look so beautiful! We are going for the first time next Friday, Sept 25th- Can I ask you what the weather was like there in the summer? I know- hot- but how humid and hot? Just wondering for future trips with the kids! TIA!:D