Local Scribe Steve Romano

Probably the #1 thing people say if they won the lottery, after they pay their bills and take care of their family, is TRAVEL! One of the greatest things about living in Cocoa Beach is that we live where people vacation. It’s pretty cool meeting people from all over who come to Cocoa Beach. I learned very early in my real estate career that when I met people who were thinking of relocating here or buying a vacation home were not only looking in Cocoa Beach but other parts of Florida. It was either Palm Coast or further south, or even maybe the West Coast (Florida). So after the season and one of the most beautiful months here, May of 1989, I decided to take a road trip and check out some other Florida beach towns. My plan was to drive south on A1A as far as I could down the east coast, mix in some good old US 1 and then head across Alligator Alley over to the west side, up 41 and the catch I 75 up to I 10 and across to Jacksonville back down A1A making my way to back to Cocoa Beach. I traveled by myself with no schedule. I would stop and have lunch or dinner in local places always sitting at the bar and talking with bartenders, waitresses, or anyone who would tell me about their town. I stopped in other real estate offices and met other agents and we talked about our hometowns, exchanged cards and promised to send each other referrals. I would go walk on the beach at least a 1/2 mile up and back. I met some interesting characters out at night and had a lot of fun! In my opinion, we live in the best spot! Our beach was a nice as anyone’s; you can’t beat our low tide for riding a bike or walking. We were not as crowded as other places, and yeah I know the West coast might have us beat in the sand department but to me that just looks like a big old lake with no waves. Yeah, the sun sets on it but will never beat our full moon coming up over the ocean. As I got back to the east coast I could see how people like New Smyrna but it’s still not good ol Cocoa Beach. One comment I always make to people trying to figure out where they want to be, is if they settle in Cocoa Beach then whether they are a NFL football fan or not, they are 2 1/2 hours from all 3 stadiums. What I mean by that is on a long weekend take a drive and see these other parts of Florida. We are lucky to be smack dab in the middle and on the ocean! But now that I have been here for close to 50 years I realize it’s not just the sea, or the sunsets and sunrises, the wild life and all the other great things….It’s the people, the characters, the surfing politicians, the artists, the musicians, the bartenders, the people who launch rockets, and the rest of the community. Hey, did you all know there is a little town on the west coast called Cape Romano? I may just have to jump in the car and head there………..