I drove up to Vero Beach, Florida this past Wednesday to look around town, and as I arrived in the Beachside District along Ocean Drive - a mile or so of restaurants, gift shops, art galleries, and other assorted businesses - it began to rain. And when it rains in Florida, that rain often turns into tropical downpours, which it did on Wednesday. I pulled over and parked in a lot across from Mulligan's Beach House as the rain made driving impossible. Mulligan's is right on the ocean, with tables and chairs overlooking the beach, a wonderful spot to have lunch or a drink, but not during a storm like this. After a while, the rain let up a bit, and I decided to head back home to Stuart. I took the photo above of Mulligan's as I was leaving. Usually, I drive down Ocean Drive on the way back, the same way I came into town that day. But the rain was still pretty heavy, and so I drove a few blocks to the west to A1A, the main highway, and went home that way. It wasn't until I saw on the news later that night that the storm had flooded Ocean Drive pretty badly. Lee Olsen, the general manager of Waldo's Restaurant and Bar, which is located just two blocks south of where I had parked, said the flooding was among the worst he had seen, and that when he walked out into the middle of the street, the water was up to his knees. If I had taken my usual route home and driven into that kind of water, not only would my car have been seriously damaged, but very well might have floated out to sea. There was also flooding in the same area on Monday. Olsen worries about what a major storm could bring. Vero Beach Public Works staff say that fixing the problem would cost millions of dollars and take years to complete, and that there are no plans to fix the problem at this time. And so, if any of you out there might be planning to visit Vero Beach's Beachside District in the foreseeable future, I recommend checking the weather forecast first. Very carefully.
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