Met & picked up by Rick & Linda @ Airport
Drive to their (temporary) home ~ 150 miles North of MIA in Vero Beach, Florida
(Latitude:  27° 36' 43" North /  Longitude - 80° 23' 55" West - ETA ~ 01:00 am, Monday 03/20)
About half-way up on the drive from Miami, the 19th of March FINALLY came to an end .... what a day!!!

606 13th Ave
Vero Beach, FL  32962
   Telephone:
        Country Code: 91
        Area Code: 561
        Phone Number:  569-3705

Plan on "chilling"
"Recover" from 20 Hours 27 Minutes and 10,288 Miles (16,557 Km) of flying
and ~ 33 Hours of traveling (Including ~ 4 hours layover in Sydney, ~ 4 1/2 Hours layover in Los Angeles, and ~ 3 1/2 Hours clearing Miami & drive up to Vero Beach)

"Cruise" (drive) over to Vero Beach for a look /see, and drive down "The Jungle Trail" on Orchid Island - between the high end homes and the East Bank of The Indian River.  Stop for a burger at a beach side grill at Vero Beach.

GROUNDBREAKING DAY at Rick, Lin, & "ElDad's new home.

LA Dodgers / Spring Training / Baseball game at 7:05 pm on 3/21 vs. The New York Mets.
The Dodgers have a pitcher on their roster, Jeff Williams, from Canberra, ACT !! He played for the Dodgers "Farm Team" in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1999, had a very good year, and was brought up to "The Big Show" at the end of the season last September. See .... http://www.dodgers.com/index_dhtml.html

Foundation work at Rick & Lin's new home had to be stopped and the workers sent away - in order to maintain access for delivery of the "Shed" on Monday.  :-( ....   went down to see just how far they had progressed before being called off.

On the "River Queen" - Sundown Cruise on The Indian River from Sebastian, Florida (4:30 pm)
followed by dinner at "Capt. Hiram's" on the river bank.  (Cancelled - Lin got stung by a paper wasp & we spent a few hours at the Emergency Room)

"Cruise" (drive) down Hwy A1A along the Ocean from Vero to Ft. Pierce and down to Stuart then back up the West side of The Indian River Stuart to Ft. Pierce and Up "Old Dixie Highway" back to Vero.  Stop at Rick, Lin, & "ElDad's" home lot on the way back, followed by a stop at "The Tiki Bar" at the Ft. Pierce Marina for a brew.

PM - Airboating with Capt. Gary Middleton in the St. John's Swamp Northwest of Vero.
With a bit of "luck" we should see lots of birds & some 'gators too.  Gary is Rick & Lin's neighbor across the street.
Cancelled - very windy, rescheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Drove over to the west side of Blue Cypress Lake, North from Florida SR 60, down about 7 miles in a dirt road to Middleton's Fish Camp (Gary's dad's place).  Saw, and filmed a few more of Florida's native critters including a Fox Squirrl, Buzzard, and a few Wild Turkey's.

On the "River Queen" - Sundown Cruise on The Indian River from Sebastian, Florida (4:30 pm)
followed by dinner at "Capt. Hiram's" on the river bank.  (Cancelled - Rick came down with some sort of "24 hour stomach bug" and was in bed most of the day)

Drive out to Lake Harbor, FL on the South Shore of Lake Okeechobee, Meet Lin's sister Barbara & husband "Bo" Austin,
Niece Chris, Nephew's wife Jannell, and Sister Judy.  Had some great country tucker at Barbara's before heading down to Lin's brothers (Raymond Plank) & sisters (Judy & Donald Shaw) place ~ 25 miles South of "The Lake".  Visited here a bit then we all loaded up in the back of Raymond's pick-up for a drive out thru a 12 Sq. Mile section of the "Everglades Restoration Project" ..... lots of water fowl including a large flock of Pink Rosatte Spoon Bill's.

PM - Airboating with Capt. Gary Middleton in the St. John's Swamp.
Lots of birds & some 'gators too.

Spend "most" of the day at Rick, Linda, & "Eldad's" new home location - "Barn Raising"
9007 S. Indian River Drive (Latitude:   27° 19' 45" North  / Longitude: 80° 16' 15" West)
Ft. Pierce, FL  34982

Meet Lee & Maurice Williams ("The Puffin's") from Ogunquit, Maine, who are wintering next door to
"Eldad's" Place on The Drive.

Drive to West Palm Beach, and take the Tri Rail / Commuator Train to the Miami Airport Terminal

Miami (MIA) to Washington (WAS) ---- Tuesday, Mar 28, 2000 ---- 921 Miles / 1,482 Km