After talking with Lib I decided to go to the East coast today. Left around 8:30 and decided to take Route 60. The stretch through Brandon is bad with many many lights but once I got going it was great. It's a 4 lane road with a 65 MPH speed limit. I hit many bugs, turning the windshield into a whitewash. Found the Backus gallery. I was surprised it's a city museum located on a very attractive waterfront. The water was very pretty. Walked through the museum - enjoyed the paintings, learned a little about the Highwaymen. Ended up buying a DVD of their story. The coffee table books were $59 so I didn't bite. Stopped in a McDonalds on Route 1 before finding FL60 to get to I-95 for the drive to Melbourne.
In Ft Pierce I found a self wash place and put 2 dollars worth of quarters in the machine and pressure washed the windshield to get most of the bugs off so I could see again.
In Melbourne I visited Mom's brick, took some pictures then briefly toured the old Trailer Haven which is now called Tropical Haven. Found the old Twins site - there seems to be building going up there. Was quite surprised that the Melbourne Mall was nuked and replaced with a high rise hotel. Sears is still on the end however. Drove back down to SR60 in Vero and headed East around 5:30. Got back at 8:30.