Cities round Aviator & things to do when not flying!

[Maximillian_Jenius]

What're the nearest cities to aviator and how big are they? What're the largest cities close to aviator with in a 2-3 hr. driving distance? When not flying what is there to do in Vero Beach? I'm not talking playing beach volley ball shirtless in the sand either. As gay as that sounds not my thing!

Lastly any good movie theatres in and around Vero?

[Catherine]

North from Fort Pierce is Vero Beach, Melbourne, then you're basically up to the Titusville area, that's a good hour's drive up by interstate. West of there is Orlando which falls nicely into your 2-3 hour driving distance and all of its attractions.

South from Fort Pierce is Port St Lucie, then the next real city you come to pretty much is going to be West Palm Beach and it's about 60 miles south. If you aren't going on Friday afternoon at rush hour, you can easily make Fort Lauderdale in 90 minutes if traffic is light.

Lots to do within that range of time from Fort Pierce by driving, including all the attractions and whatnot to do with Orlando, the Kennedy Space Center, lots of shopping (probably not as appealing to the guys as it is to me!), and whatever clubs/nightlife there are in those cities. I've not had much time or money to do a lot of exploring of things to do in Florida, I've been on a pretty tight budget, but there are lots of things to do if you are willing to go those distances to find things.

There is one big theatre in Vero Beach at the mall there that is pretty decent with some reasonable sound quality but there is another just off of US1 that is pretty old and it's not that great to me. There are probably more in Fort Pierce or something, but those are the only two I've visited.

Locallly aside from parks, the Navy SEAL/UDT museum in Fort Pierce and the museum in Vero, I don't know that there's that much else to do, but again, I've not had the money to spend much time running around and have been trying to spend my time getting through everything.

[bike21]

Surfing man!! It's how I kept my sanity when I was down there!

Good post Catherine, that basically sums it up. Is the place still there on the jetty that has the $1 beers and .25 wings? I can't remember the name right now.

[Adam2006]

Max, I believe South Beach is about 2.5-3 hrs drive.

[Maximillian_Jenius]

Originally Posted by Adam2006

Max, I believe South Beach is about 2.5-3 hrs drive.

Lol...and why do you assume I'd want to visit South Beach?

[Maximillian_Jenius]

How far is FLL or TPA from Ft. Pierce? I have friends that live in those cities!

If I attend Aviator I'm sure that most of my time and focus will be on studying and flying. But I do want to make sure that when I do have some rare time to myself that there are things to do down there!

[Queboat]

i guess you could go to south beach if you are into hot women and a big city, which you asked about. Its a 2.5-3 hour drive from mike's house to south beach.

[greaper007]

Fort Lauderdale is like 2 or 3 hours. Tampa is a ways, all the way on the otherside of the state. If you're real savy you can find someone to pick you up and fly you to either of thoose places.

There's not a ton to do down here, just like most Florida beach towns. I go fishing every once in awhile, and a few of us have been on a sushi/saki kick lately. There are plenty of nice golf courses that are dirt cheap during the summer. If you have some money and can buy a surf board or a kayak that would really open up a lot of activities.

As nerdy as it sounds my biggest recreation lately has been going to the gym. It's as nice if not nicer than my university gym (for what I use it for).

I think you'll be pretty hard pressed to find any sort of a gay scene. However, like the previous post said South Beach isn't that far, West Palm is only about an hour. Also I hear Orlando has a huge gay community. That's only about 2 hours away.

[Maximillian_Jenius]

Originally Posted by greaper007

Fort Lauderdale is like 2 or 3 hours. Tampa is a ways, all the way on the otherside of the state. If you're real savy you can find someone to pick you up and fly you to either of thoose places.

There's not a ton to do down here, just like most Florida beach towns. I go fishing every once in awhile, and a few of us have been on a sushi/saki kick lately. There are plenty of nice golf courses that are dirt cheap during the summer. If you have some money and can buy a surf board or a kayak that would really open up a lot of activities.

As nerdy as it sounds my biggest recreation lately has been going to the gym. It's as nice if not nicer than my university gym (for what I use it for).

I think you'll be pretty hard pressed to find any sort of a gay scene. However, like the previous post said South Beach isn't that far, West Palm is only about an hour. Also I hear Orlando has a huge gay community. That's only about 2 hours away.

I definately enjoy being round my people (gays) but definately not a prerequisite. But it sounds like there is some stuff to do round the area and even more stuff to do within a 2-3 hour drive.

Hopefully...with gas prices falling hopefully so will aviators price!

[Adam2006]

I plan to hit the books pretty hard while at the aviator, as well as work part-time, but we all need breaks every now and then. I've been to SoBe twice, and would love to go again.

Another idea is driving to the Keys(maybe overnight in Miami). I have heard about the beauty of the drive, with the ocean on both sides of the road. I believe you drive over something like 34 bridges on the way to Key West.

If your not from FL, you might as well take up some sights while your there.

[Maximillian_Jenius]

Originally Posted by Adam2006

I plan to hit the books pretty hard while at the aviator, as well as work part-time, but we all need breaks every now and then. I've been to SoBe twice, and would love to go again.

Another idea is driving to the Keys(maybe overnight in Miami). I have heard about the beauty of the drive, with the ocean on both sides of the road. I believe you drive over something like 34 bridges on the way to Key West.

If your not from FL, you might as well take up some sights while your there.

Well Adam...I hope if I decide to attend Aviator to be there early next year Jan-Feb if not at Skymates. I haven't fully decided on either yet. Price will definately be a deciding factor. If we attend together it will be nice to know a fellow JC'er!

[Catherine]

Thanks...but...what jetty? Hmmm....where is this jetty and I'll find out! The wings sound good! I don't drink beer so that part isn't a big selling point, but I absolutely love hot wings!!!!

And Max, if you're looking for the gay scene, a friend of mine who lives near FLL says there is quite a large group there. I've done the FLL drive in 90 minutes driving around 75mph at night, if you get there when heavier traffic is around though, you're looking at around 3 hours and the construction just south of PBI on 95 doesn't help (if it's still there...been a couple of months since I've been through).

Originally Posted by bike21

Surfing man!! It's how I kept my sanity when I was down there!

Good post Catherine, that basically sums it up. Is the place still there on the jetty that has the $1 beers and .25 wings? I can't remember the name right now.

[bike21]

Originally Posted by Catherine

Thanks...but...what jetty? Hmmm....where is this jetty and I'll find out! The wings sound good! I don't drink beer so that part isn't a big selling point, but I absolutely love hot wings!!!!

Go north from 'downtown' Ft Pierce on US1 and turn right onto the South Causeway. Stay straight and if I remember correctly the jetty is right on the beach just as the road turns south to go down along the island. It might be called Hurricanes or something. Good luck!

[Queboat]

hurricans is next to a bar called "the jetty". hurricanes is where the wings are and the jetty is where you find flight instructors drinking away the pain, especially since the black pearl has closed. ahhhhh the good old days.

[bike21]

Ahh yes! Now I remember!! Thanks the for memories Jetty Apparently I was blotto too many nights there!

[Catherine]

Cool guys! Thanks for the info....I'll definitely check that out once I get back down there (been home for a bit visiting some family and friends). I'll be back down there on the 7th and ready to get back to everything.

Originally Posted by bike21

Go north from 'downtown' Ft Pierce on US1 and turn right onto the South Causeway. Stay straight and if I remember correctly the jetty is right on the beach just as the road turns south to go down along the island. It might be called Hurricanes or something. Good luck!

[Maximillian_Jenius]

Are there any decent gyms in Fort Pierce? I gotta stay fit!

[Catherine]

You can join a local gym in Vero Beach through a deal the school has for $25 a month which is a great deal. It's an awesome gym and has loads of great things there for pretty much whatever you're into. Here's a link to the site:
http://www.thejungleclub.com/

[Maximillian_Jenius]

Originally Posted by Catherine

You can join a local gym in Vero Beach through a deal the school has for $25 a month which is a great deal. It's an awesome gym and has loads of great things there for pretty much whatever you're into. Here's a link to the site:
http://www.thejungleclub.com/

Thanks for the info...the gym looks nice. How far is Vero Beach from Fort Pierce?

[Catherine]

Depends on where you're going in Vero, but the current Vero housing area is about 8 miles from the school and I think Wal-Mart and the mall in Vero are a few more and it's toward the other end of Vero. Pretty much the distances I was used to driving back home and down there you can stay off the interstate and even US1 a lot and do much better with distance and even time.

[Catherine]

Okay...I found Hurricanes...wings aren't 25 cents anymore...the cheapest are 45 cents if you get them plain....with a less than apocalyptic sauce they are 55 cents and with the really hot sauce or one of their other sauces they are 65 cents each....and every order is a minimum of 10 wings. Pretty good wings...good way to get away from being at the apartment, too.

[CommPilot76]

I ate at Hurricanes the other day for lunch, thought the food was excellent, however I did not have any wings, Ill have to try that next time.