Cocoa, Florida

Yesterday, we anchored in Cocoa, Florida for the night. I'ts just across the Indian River from Cape Canaveral and then Cocoa Beach. We arrived at about 3:30, so once everything was set at anchor, motored over to town in the dinghy. There was a carnival set up, and we later found out that it was part of the town's Mardi Gras celebration, which officially kicks off on Saturday. We were a bit confused, as Mardi Gras was weeks ago, but it was "big doin's"; everywhere we went, people were talking about it.

We wandered around the downtown streets, walked in few shops, and visited some of the bars. There is a Bank of America in town, with SEVEN drive through lanes. I've never seen that anywhere else. An old bank has been converted it into a restaurant, and there is also an English Pub. The decor inside was great, and we reminisced about our trip to England, but the music inside sure didn't fit the theme of the place, so we weren't there long. Eventually, we ended up at Murdocks. They had large, windows that went almost to the ceiling. The windows opened onto the street, and outside tables. We chose seats at the bar, and were greeted by many of the incredibly friendly staff. We decided to eat there, and our food was great. It was probably some of the best service we've ever had!

On our way back to the dinghy, we had to pass through the carnival, which was in full swing. We decided to ride the ferris wheel. It was quite a "high speed" ride, for a ferris wheel, but fun all the same. I was eying up another ride, but Scott was unsure of how his full stomach would react, so we continued on to the dinghy. The wind and waves had kicked up pretty good, so we donned our rain jackets for a wet and bumpy ride home. Scott also strapped me into a life vest. We were over prepared, and the ride was surprisingly calm, despite the wind. Cocoa was really enjoyable, and worth the time spent; here are our photos.