Southern California residents have always thought of Vero Beach as the winter home to the L.A. Dodgers baseball team. East Coast residents know Vero Beach as the start of the blue water, a very affluent community with great water, beaches, rivers and golf.

 

The blue Caribbean water starts to appear in Southern Florida around the Vero Beach area. Located about an hour-and-a-half south of Orlando, this laid-back community has a village feel to it. To be sure, the ambience and way of life are far removed from busy Miami and even Palm Beach, which are just an hour or so south. This is a place for those who want all that South Florida has to offer without the crowds.

 

The resort

The Vero Beach Hotel and Spa could not be any more centrally located. The property sits right on the beach and just a block away from the village’s restaurants and shopping. Most rooms have an ocean view. Guests can either enjoy the warm water of the ocean or relax in the adjacent pool area, which are both just steps from your room. How about a morning ocean swim followed by lunch at the pool?

This is a Kimpton Hotel property, which is one of the few and elegant pet-friendly hotels. Another signature Kimpton trademark is a daily evening wine reception, which hits the spot after a long day in the sun. The rooms are nicely appointed with the most comfortable bedding and bathroom fixtures. The amenities include LCD TVs and iPod docking stations.

The entire property has a West Indies feel, and this is very noticeable at both of its restaurants. Cobalt would be the choice for late night dining as well as breakfast. The restaurant has unobstructed views of the Atlantic though its floor-to-ceiling windows. Outdoor dining with the same view can be had at Heaton’s Bar and Grill, which services lunch and dinner. For more information visit www.verobeachhotelandspa.com.

 

The town

Vero Beach may be the quiet cousin of Palm Beach, but it has all of the trappings of affluence. The locals refer to it as “on the island,” which includes the original Vero Beach area. The “island” consists of a long, thin barrier island with the Atlantic on one side and the intracoastal waterway on the other.

There is a great deal of wealth here as evidenced by the number of banks and brokerage houses located in this fairly small locale. The Riomar area was the original “well to do” area and has some of the same feel we get in Montecito. In fact, when driving by the ocean-front country club, one will be reminded of the Santa Barbara-Biltmore area.

Posh, gated homes line both the oceanfront and intracoastal here for miles in each direction. There area several private golf club communities, including Orchid Island, John’s Island, The Moorings and Riomar. Several of these communities have their own marinas with deep water access for large yachts.

 

Space Center

While my family was having a great time building sand castles, I was, as usual, studying the map. I was surprised to find out how close Vero Beach was to the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral.

It took a drive of a little over an hour up the coast, and it was well worth the trip. The amount of property NASA owns here is staggering. You could easily fit several cities on this very valuable oceanfront site.

Everything about the Kennedy Space Center is first class. The visitor center is very large, and one could spend several hours here. There is a Space Shuttle Simulator Ride as well as all-day, space-themed Imax movies. The gift shops have everything you could imagine to do with the space projects.

From the visitor center, guests board the luxury buses to get a first hand look at the real deal. The first stop takes you to a four-story viewing tower where you can get a good look at the launch tower. It was loaded with the upcoming space shuttle launch while we were there. The thing that struck me was the beauty of this natural site located right on the ocean.

The tour continues on to an actual mission control center saved from the Apollo flights. There is also an actual rocket on its side indoors, which covers the size of a football field. The last stop is the International Space Center.

 

If you are really interested in NASA, get there early and plan on spending the day. For more information, visit www.ksc.nasa.gov.