Travel day: Sebastian, Fla.

It wasn’t until recently that I began to truly appreciate what Florida has to offer, and the reason is road trips.

I’ve been able to see places like Naples, Fort Myers, Orlando and perhaps my favorite road trip, the Atlantic Coast from Cocoa to Vero Beach. The pace of life in that section of the state is so appealing: It’s so quiet and slow, but not too slow.

 

On Memorial Day weekend, my wife Tanya and I decided to head to Sebastian, a small town north of Vero and south of Melbourne, situated along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Sometimes days just turn out to be perfect: Temperatures in the low 80s, very little humidity, only wispy clouds in the sky. And a lot of memories.

Riverview Park

Taking a moment to honor those who served on a flawless day at Riverview Park in Sebastian.

We began our day at Riverview Park, which was the site of the Springtime Garden Fest. It was an outdoor market with vendors in tents, along with some food trucks along the side. I think the best thing about it was the canopy of trees that covered the tents, lowering the temperature even more.

The park has a war veterans memorial, including a fountain that looks back at the tragedy of the sinking of the USS Dorchester in World War II. (That story includes some tales of incredible heroism, including that of Charles Walter David Jr., a Black Steward’s mate who saved several lives in the icy North Atlantic, and four chaplains who gave away their life vests to save others.)

Riverview Park is a great place to park by the way, should you want to walk Indian River Drive, which is where all the good restaurants are in Sebastian. Everything is in walking, or at least biking, distance, though there’s also decent parking wherever you go.

Sandbars and birds behind Squid Lips along Indian River Drive. Just some degrees of the amazing 180-degree view.

Sebastian, Florida dining: Squid Lips

As small as it is, Sebastian has quite a few places to get a good meal. Many are of the “seafood hangout” variety — places with killer views and really good seafood, along with bartenders who know what they’re doing (as a non-drinker, I can only guess at that).

Our stop on this trip was Squid Lips (1660 Indian River Drive), which is a small chain of seaside bar/seafood grills in this region. First off, the restaurant is situated directly on the Intracoastal, and you end up with 180 degrees of unreal scenery.

Grilled grouper sandwich at Squid Lips.

Secondly, the food is very much above average. Sometimes when you go to a Florida-based seafood place, you end up with OK fish, good drinks, etc., but you’re not there just for that. At Squid Lips, this is stepped up.

My wife had the lobster and crab cake sandwich, and a bloody mary. As a Mary connoisseur, she said this one was quite good, though a tad strong. The sandwich was lightly breaded and had great flavor with excellent seasoning. So often, a crab cake can tilt too much in the direction of over-breading, but this was perfect.

(By the way, she loved the coleslaw. This is no mean feat — a good coleslaw can be an indicator of just how good a restaurant really is. Many places serve it as an afterthought, but if you take the time to do your coleslaw correctly? That’s a vote of confidence.)

I had the grilled grouper sandwich, and to me, this put Squid Lips above other similar restaurants. The key is using an oak-wood grill, which gave the fish that extra kick. The server suggested a citrus marinade, which definitely pushed the grouper in the right direction. The bun was soft and not too heavy.

Squid Lips may have that funny/quirky name that may give you the “party bar” vibes, but don’t let that stop you if you’re in the mood for a really good meal at reasonable prices. We got out of there for around $60.

There’s a lot of good dining in Sebastian, and definitely make it a reason to stop by more than once: Mo-Bay Grill is a Jamaican place I can’t wait to try; Taste of Asia is a small place tucked into the District area along U.S. 1; Crab Stop and Captain Butchers are two more seafood spots I’m ready to dive into.

You can’t beat the scenery at Pelican Island.

Pelican Island

After that, we wanted to get into nature and decided to check out the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. (That meant a slightly circuitous trip south to Wabasso to the bridge across the Intracoastal, and then back north.)

The actual Pelican Island, in the distance.

Worth the drive, to be sure.

The nation’s first national wildlife refuge, Pelican Island was designated in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt. It came to notice when a man named Paul Kroegel took it upon himself to protect the exotic birds living on the island, armed only with his shotgun and his will. The birds’ plumage at the time was highly sought after for use on women’s hats.

These days, these birds can be seen taking off and landing on Pelican Island by the hundreds it seems. My wife and I made it out to the observation pavilion and sat on a bench, taking in the breeze and sunshine. The month of May doesn’t have too many of these beautiful days, so you really should take advantage of them when you can.

The refuge itself is relatively small compared to national parks you may have seen, but the scenery is breathtaking. You can also take advantage of two trails other than the Centennial Trail that leads to the observation pavilion.

A treat before heading home: Countryside Family Farms

Absolutely amazing treat at Countryside Family Farms.

We decided against dessert at Squid Lips because I had a treat in mind. Just south of Sebastian is Countryside Family Farms (6325 81st Street, Vero Beach). It’s (as the name suggests) out in the country, and yep, it’s a working citrus farm.

There are various fruits on sale, along with all sorts of foods and fun stuff to get at their country store. Though I was tempted to bring home some marmalade, we really only had one goal: An orange smoothie.

This amazing treat is a cup of frozen orange juice layered with vanilla soft-serve ice cream. Remember Dreamsicles? This is a 10x version.

Here’s a perfect end to our day: Sitting on the store’s porch, splitting this amazing treat (which gets better as it melts, the flavors combining into that perfect Dreamsicle combination). This was absolutely unforgettable and we’ll be back, possibly to take on some U-Pick strawberries.

Strangler fig tree at Pelican Island.

Conclusion

If you’re aiming for a quick getaway from either south or central Florida, Sebastian may be that perfect cross-section of small-town life and quick travel time.

It took 90 minutes to get there from northern Palm Beach County, and it’s probably an hour or so from Orlando.

I’d like to thank the amazing travel vlogger Chad Gallivanter for a lot of these ideas. Chad has created a YouTube channel and blog of great places to go, and many of them center around small towns and cities off the beaten path.