Journey of Joy - Vero Beach Wild Weekend

March 16-23 our home was a cozy timeshare at the Reef Ocean Resort. From there, we took many side trips, met up with old friends, and walked on the stunning Vero beaches. We knew it would be a trip down memory lane for Lynn, since she owns a timeshare here and her parents lived in Vero in their retirement. Plus, she grew up only an hour and a half north. Seeing Florida through the eyes of a native is highly recommended! We did so much the first weekend, I'm posting the Vero week in two parts -- did I mention we spent St. Patrick's Day in a biker bar, listening to blues bagpipes?!

It was Bike Week in Florida - and on Sunday afternoon 300 Harleys
showed up at Earl's Hideaway in Sebastian, FL to hear Pipapelli,
Lynn's brother R.J. (Bob) Grady and his kilted blues band.
They came down from western North Carolina for the gig. 

More about St. Patrick's Day in a bit...
Back to Saturday: here's where we stayed.

Started the week off with oceanside lunch at Waldo's, at the 

Driftwood Resort, a quick walk from Reef Ocean.  Lynn's timeshare 

 is located here. She usually comes in late April or September, 

without the crowds and traffic of Spring Break in Vero.

Saturday night we drove north to Port Canaveral, to hear
"Even Odds" at Grills, a fun patio bar beside the cruise ship docks.
The band is led by Roger (shown here with Lynn), a childhood
friend of her family. In fact, she used to babysit for the lead guitar player!
Great danceable music, and nice to meet some of her Rockledge friends. 

St. Patrick's Day dawned bright, and we fueled up with
brunch at Mulligan's - an even shorter walk down the beach.

North again 30 minutes to Earl's Hideaway. Here is Pipapelli
wearing the Grady family tartans. R.J. on the left, and his
wife, Cindy, singing Janis Joplin-style vocals. 

R.J. the dancin' piper got the crowd going!

Do the math: 300 bikes bring a crowd of 500 and Earl's was thrilled!
 Theysold out of green beer, and the corned beef and cabbage special. Yes,
Harley owners tend to be in the AARP set. So plenty of crazy green outfits
amid the lawn chairs,and no bar fights,at least while we were there!

If you don't arrive in a Harley, better make it
some kind of cool ride

Creativity runs in the family! If you want to know about
The Creature From the Black Lagoon connection
to R.J.'s band, visit and like Pipapelli on Facebook.