We just got back from a week in Vero Beach, Florida. We flew into Orlando on Xmas day and the next morning we drove 90 minutes southeast to Vero Beach.
VB is definitely the most liveable city I have visited in Florida. Right on the ocean, not especially touristy. Lots of upscale retirees make real estate a bit expensive, but there are relatively few of the high-rise condos you see further south.
The weather was 80's and sunny everyday. For two of our days there Red Tide was a problem. I have heard of this kind of algae bloom, but I thought it was only a problem for fish eating, but this stuff causes respiratory problems when you get within a few hundred yards of the beach. Walking down the seaside avenue in Vero Beach you could hear everyone coughing. Would have been bad if it had lasted the whole vacation, but we only felt it for 2 days. For those days we just went to the pool at our motel.
All in all it was a great time. We had two great meals at a little hole in the wall Cuban restaurant called Felix's; wonderful roast pork, fish stuffed tostones(fried papaya) and mango cheesecake.
To top it off, the day after we came home we had a foot of snow in the driveway...
