Thinking of Orchid Island When It’s 4 Degrees

Last night with a sigh of relief I published my article about Vero Beach FL. I have tried to stick to a rule of publishing articles within a 30-day window after I return from a trip. I got back from Vero in late November, so this one was just about due. And since I just reported on the radio about our trip to Sweden, the clock was ticking.

I enjoyed my time there more than I thought I would. Often when we are asked what GoNOMAD is all about, an easy answer is that we don’t cover Disneyworld, or the Bahamas, or most of Florida. That is, the typical tourist scene that most Americans think of as a vacation.

But in Vero Beach, not only did I get to indulge in fresh seafood like local pompano, grouper and stone crab, I got to paddle the Indian River with an expert paddler named Kristen Beck, and bicycle all around Orchid Island on a very cool ‘forward pedal bike’ that made it easier to pedal.

I got to pop into a few art galleries with my lovely host Lori Burns, the tourism head in Indian River County. She once toured the country with her band-leader husband, and then hosted her own TV show in Florida. She’s been heading up tourism for decades and it was nice to be out on the town with her, since she knew so many people.