Cocoa Beach Vacation Time- Metal Detecting Spring Break!

Finally—FINALLY—Saturday morning has arrived. At 3 a.m. we are headed to the airport for a week of touristing and metal detecting in Cocoa Beach, Florida. We chose to fly to Jacksonville rather than Orlando. Orlando is closer but it was also Spring Break and tickets have stayed very expensive. Bing.com travel kept saying wait to buy---72% chance of falling prices--- but they never did. Starting around $400 each, they accelerated to $1700 by the time we left. We ended up flying into Jacksonville for about $450 but faced a three hour drive to Cocoa Beach.

The flight went fine this time. We have had our troubles but not on this trip. Now that on-line check-in is a reality, thing are much easier. Armed with IPods and Kindles, we killed the two hours in flight, quickly gathered our bags and headed to Thrifty to get our rental. Usually we rent a GPS but we decided before this trip to take our own. Renting a GPS for a week will run about $70. It doesn’t take many trips to pay for one and usually the ones we got were poor quality, with outdated maps and small screens. We purchased a Tom Tom 530-S for about $180 opting for the larger screen and more options. We were not disappointed. We ended up with a new Ford Taurus which was a nice car with plenty of power but one I will never purchase. It has the problem of so many “sporty” cars of having the back window so high that you cannot see where you are backing up. Without some type of aid, this is a major liability in my mind.

Again, no bumps in the road and we were on our way. You knew, from reading previous hubs, that NOTHING goes smoothly on my vacations. It is now Saturday at about 10:30 in the morning and headed for downtown Jacksonville for a rendezvous with Maggiano’s restaurant. Located in the Town Center, Maggiano’s is surrounded with shopping and dining opportunities. I enjoyed Penne Pasta with Italian sausage in a spicy Arrabiata sauce. My wife had lobster macaroni and cheese, and the daughter got Chicken Parmesan. Portions were large and we all ended up with leftovers for a future meal. The lobster dish went over best with the Chicken Parmesan a close second. My dish was acceptable but I really don’t care for whole wheat pasta due to its grainy consistency. The Crème Brule, on the other hand, was outstanding, prepared in a shallow bowl to allow more flame caramelized surface crunchy goodness over the creamy vanilla custard. After finishing, we went over to Panera Bread and got breakfast items for the next morning. Then it was off to Cocoa Beach.

Florida didn’t even resemble the water starved area we had experienced the year before. All the ditches were running full and we kept hoping to spot a stray alligator. We made a quick stop to one of those Beach Outlet stores so prevalent in Florida coastal cities. T-Shirts and Beach towels- Three for $10. Everything else is half off our already high prices. In truth though, I have to say that these are the best places to but sweatshirts. Back on the road.

As we approached St. Augustine, my wife calmly commented, “You know that these reservations are for Sunday through Sunday, right?”

“EXCUSE ME?”

“According to this paper, we are booked to stay at Discovery Beach Resort with check-in being after 4 p.m. Sunday.”

“YOU’RE KIDDING ME. “

“Nope”

We pulled into the Burger King parking lot on the St. Augustine exit. A quick phone call to RCI told us that they had nothing open except in Orlando. We decided to check into the La Quinta Inn and visit St. Augustine and the St. Augustine beaches. St. Augustine is the oldest continually occupied European city in the U.S. narrowly inching out Santa Fe, New Mexico. Founded in 1565, prominent landmarks that we drove by (couldn’t stop—wall to wall traffic and no parking---) included the Castillo de San Marcos, the fort built by the Spanish.  We also stopped and visited the St. Augustine lighthouse and museum.  The photo of the lighthouse and keeper’s Victorian plantation style home surrounded by old oak trees and Spanish moss was very picturesque. Continuing down the beach, I pulled out the metal detector and spent an hour wandering until the wind driven sand sent us packing. For those reading this to hear about my fantastic finds---- 4 cents will have to satisfy you for now.

Sunday morning and we are once again on the road. Thank you La Quinta for a peaceful night in a very comfortable room and bed.  Two hours later we exit I-95 headed east to the coast and Cocoa Beach. As we crossed the Intercoastal waterway we saw the cruise ships preparing to embark from Port Canaveral on their weekly trips to all parts Caribbean. The twin stacks of the Disney ship and the single winged stack of the Carnival ship were dwarfed by the enormous Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas. We would see all of them sail by our condo that evening. We checked into the Discovery Beach Resort at a little after noon and were told that the room would be ready at about 2 p.m. We had a gift card for Coconuts on the Beach, a local restaurant popular with the spring break crowd. After getting directions, we headed out. Three miles later, we knew we had a problem---no parking money and wall to wall college kids. We abandoned our plans for that visit but noted where to park next time and also noted another restaurant called The Surf, where we also had a gift card. Down the street we found an English Pub with very acceptable food and a place to park. We enjoyed Reuben sandwiches. Watching the food come out of the kitchen, I wished I had ordered the fish and chips. That dish looked really mouth watering and, lord knows, the English know Fish and Chips.

We got a page that our room was ready so we headed back and checked in. The room was very nice with a patio overlooking the beach and the ocean. All floors were tile which was smart since the beach sand was difficult to completely shake off resulting in sandy floors. It did make things a bit slippery kind of like those bar games with the saw dust on the game deck for you to slide a metal puck on to score a high score. Inebriated college student shuffleboard might be another name for it. The condo we were in had two bedrooms, two baths, a roomy living dining area and, as mentioned, a balcony to watch the action on the beach. The beach itself was about 50 yards from the condo pool. About 200 yards south of the condo was Cocoa Beach Pier, with several businesses including bars, restaurants, and shops. Surfers found the best waves around the pier itself and crowds of college kids and families visiting the many time shares along the coast.

I gathered up the new metal detector and my wife and I headed down to the beach to try our luck. The sun was shining and it was in the low seventies so lots of families peppered the beach sand. The first couple of signals (pennies) revealed a beach detectorist’s nightmare. The wind direction had brought in sand to the beach to the point that even with the high tides, there was not a shell to be found. I saw some holes that sand castle enthusiasts had dug three feet down and these were no shell layers to be seen. This meant that the only finds we would make would be things lost on a daily basis by the crowds. After crossing under the pier, I wandered out into the surf to detect in the water. It was still slim pickins in the 15 inch deep water when I was surprised to see about a three foot Black fin shark swim up to me and quickly turn and speed away. The look on my face must have said something because a young college kid asked what I had seen. I told him to which he replied “Cool.” His girlfriend, on the other hand, beat cheeks out of the water!

A short time later, we were approached by a young lady who was obviously frantic. She had been playing with her daughter near the surf and her wedding set had fallen out of her pocket. She had no idea where she was when she lost it. We had to tell her that we had not found anything along that line. About 100 yards down the beach, another young lady approached us stating that a friend of hers had lost a wedding set. It turned out to be the same person that had suffered the loss. I gave her a card and told her that if I found it, I would mention it in this hub and include a picture. She could contact me through Hub pages and I would get it back to her. Continuing down the beach, our suspicions were confirmed. We were only finding scattered coins and nothing else. Looking up, I saw the two young ladies looking at us and talking to each other. The girl that lost the ring again approached us and asked if I would mind checking the area where they had their towels and chairs. I had her move everything out of the way and went to work. In short order I received a signal where the lounge had been. Reaching down into the sand, out came a beautiful diamond and white gold engagement ring.  I asked if this was the ring and she replied that it was part of it. Going back to work, I quickly came up with the second ring.

Believe me, there was NOTHING more satisfying that returning that set to its rightful owner. She just hugged her friend and cried. We gave her a hug and were on our way. Later her husband found us and thanked us again. They had just upgraded the set. I smiled, thanked him and took a friendly parting shot at the young lady. I will give you the same advice. THE BEACH IS NOWHERE TO WEAR JEWELRY. LEAVE IT AT HOME!!!!!

That experience would make our trip. It didn’t matter whether we found anything else, which is good since that find was definitely our trip metal detecting highlight. Beyond that we found lots of trash, something over $4 in change, some fishing sinkers and a sterling dragonfly necklace with CZs.

If you are reading this for more detecting stories, you can stop now. That was it. We made a trip down to the treasure coast and found the same problem with the beaches heavily sanded in. No shells were washing up and finds were slim to non-existent.

Wednesday morning was our planned day for the Kennedy Space Center. When we first booked our week, there was a space shuttle launch scheduled for this day but it had since been postponed to April 5^th. We started our visit by taking the bus tour to the viewing platform where we saw the space shuttle ready for launch. We also saw our first alligator in the wild. It turns out that a majority of the Kennedy Space Center acreage is a wildlife preserve. We would get close to an armadillo and a couple of alligators along the exit road when we left. From there we made several stops illustrating the history of the space program. The tour was definitely the high point of the trip. Back at the main site, we did our required souvenir shopping at the gift shop and ate an expensive cafeteria quality lunch. This visit is a definite must. I remember much of what they talked about but it was all new history to my daughter. The sheer size of the vehicles is awe-inspiring. If you have the opportunity to see one of the few remaining shuttle launches, the Cocoa Beach Pier is one of the best places to watch from.

Atlantic Ocean Grille- Located on the Cocoa Beach Pier

The baked stuffed mushrooms filled with homemade crab stuffing and topped with Monterrey Jack Cheese were excellent. I was not-so-secretly wishing we had ordered the Escargot Stuffed Mushrooms as they looked outstanding. Other starters include Grilled alligator, clam chowder, steamed mussels, and lobster dip

I had the special half Maine Stuffed Lobster and sirloin which was pretty good. The lobster stuffing was a little dry and the lobster tail was not broiled which is how I prefer it. My daughter got Shrimp Toulouse, consisting of large gulf shrimp, marinated artichoke hearts, and fresh mushrooms in scampi sauce and linguini. She enjoyed it very much except that she prefers smaller shrimp. The sauce was rich in artichoke hearts. My wife got the broiled scallops which she enjoyed but she, too, prefers seared scallops so that they are properly caramelized keeping the flavors inside.

Coconuts on the Beach-

Yes, we finally made it there. The food was good. I had twin Bahamian Lobster tails (broiled), the daughter and wife got crab cakes with three different sauces. As stated, the food was good, not great, but the service left a little to be desired. I think our waiter would rather have been out on the deck with the bikini clad babes from the spring break crowd rather that serving a dull boring family of three inside the restaurant.

St. Patty’s day at The Surf Restaurant-

Located across from Coconuts on the Beach is one of the older restaurants in Cocoa Beach having opened in 1947. It has an attached bar but we ate in the restaurant with pleasant surroundings and a much less hectic pace than across the street. All of us agree that this was an outstanding meal. I had broiled twin lobster tails (again) which were cooked just right and melted in my mouth. My wife had been anticipating the crab stuffed flounder with lobster sauce since we saw it on the internet. She was not disappointed. My daughter was disappointed at first with the selection being that she isn’t a big fish or lobster fan. The waiter said that they had Stone Crab claws and king crab that were not on the menu. She had wanted to try stone crab since seeing it on the travel channel so she ordered the stone crab entry. A little later, the waiter returned and let her know that the stone crab was gone. She decided on the king crab and as he walked away, noticed that they were serving corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day. She decided on that and once she got it was very pleased. She gave me a taste and it was very tasty and tender. I understood why she liked it so much.

Our gift certificate was for $50 with a $100 purchase so we decided to order desert to put us over the top. I, once again, got the Crème Brule which was average while my wife and daughter for the Key Lime Pie which was very good, needing a little more lime.

We just about went into shock when the bill for $170 arrived. Checking carefully over the bill we found that they had not only charged us for what we got but also the stone crab claws and king crab that we didn’t get. They corrected the bill quickly and we paid and left. The service had been good and the waiter very pleasant and attentive but we just had a sneaking suspicion that they had tried to get around the $50 coupon but sneaking the other items on the bill. It could have been an honest mistake but----.

Carrabba’s and Outback Steakhouse rounded out our dining for the week. Carrabba’s used to be one of our favorite restaurants in Colorado and we enjoyed getting re-acquainted with it. The food at Outback was good also as it usually is. My daughter enjoyed the Alice Springs Chicken but admitted she made it better. They had better Honey Mustard sauce though. Returning to the condo we decided to check out the pier. I was interested in trying some ocean fishing and my daughter wanted to get a henna tattoo. After consulting with the keeper of the pier, I decided I would try the next morning. The cost was $35 for four hours which included renting a pole and tackle, and the bait. Upon return I would get $20 back. $15 for four hours of fun seemed reasonable.

Dinosaur Store and Museum

This fascinating store has a tremendous selection of castings and authentic fossils from the smallest to the largest. A great way to spend an hour. A full size Tyrannosaurus skeleton casting dominates the room. Megalodon sharks teeth six to eight inches long fill a case. Actual fossilized fish, crabs, shrimp, you name it. This is also a great place to buy amber jewelry.

Cocoa Beach Fishing Adventure

The next morning at 7 a.m., I rented a pole, baited up, and cast out into the dark water. Within a couple of minutes, my first fish, a whiting was caught and released. I would stay busy for the four hours catching and releasing 15 bluefish, four whiting (which I gave to Tony, a local who gave me pointers) and a black spot. It was a blast watching the sunrise and seeing the dolphins playing in the surf while waiting for that next bite.

Our final meal on Friday night was back at the condo where we ordered take-out from the small restaurant in the resort. The people were very friendly, the singer/entertainer was talented, and the grilled pastrami and corned beef sandwiches were very good.

2 a.m. Saturday morning and we were on our way back to Texas. We boarded the plane without incident and made the uneventful full flight back. Upon arriving (in our warm clothes) we arrived to weather that was colder than a well diggers butt and wake up this morning to three inches of snow. My daughter announced that she needs shampoo and conditioner to which I replied; “Can we go get the bottles we left in Cocoa Beach?”

Enjoy your Treasured Pasts

Stuart