What an incredible adventure that must have been! Your posts remind me so much of the stories some of my parents' neighbors used to tell us about the "old Florida". They lived in Rockledge and their community, Indian Oaks, was filled with retired space coast workers.

Your mention of the inlet sparked a memory for me. My brother had a small boat when he lived down there that the salesman convinced him was "sea worthy". He took us down the Banana River and into open water and what was meant to be a leisurely morning quickly turned into a nightmare. The air temp was around 50 in the early morning. The water was calm at first but a about an hour in the wind kicked up and the waves were so high we were getting drenched and teetering on hypothermia. It was one of the few times I was preparing to meet my maker, I couldn't believe how quickly conditions got dangerous. We were all so exhausted by the time we got back to the dock and the warm shower I took when we got back to the house was the best shower I've ever had in my life.