MELBOURNE, FL..................................

We had to drive through MELBOUNE, FL to get to Jacksonville after our short cruise-ship cruise and so here is the connection to the mailbox on the left. First there were the Indians living in Florida's coastal region. Then came some settlers who called the place "Indian River", then by some law the region was called "INDIAN RIVER COUNTY", how am I doing so far?......................... Well one of the settlers opened up a trading post, a mini WALMART. The guy's name was "Cornthwaite John Hector" and he became the first official postmaster for the area. He was known as 'C.J.Hector' for obvious reasons, and had spent most of his early life in MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA, before moving to remote Florida. He soon named the community of "Crane Creek" on the Indian River settlement in Florida "MELBOURNE"., supposedly for nostalgic reasons that we have all had to endure. So now you know where the name came from.......................Not only that but,

"The importance of the waterway as an avenue of commerce and communication is pointed out by a plaque in a small park overlooking the Indian River Lagoon. The plaque reads: "To honor Peter Wright, early settler. A black freedman, the legendary sailing mailman, (who) sailed regularly from Titusville to Malabar to deliver mail to riverside settlements."



So you see, there was a time when SNAIL MAIL was really "SAIL MAIL" or "PADDLE MAIL" or "ROW MAIL" or simply "NO MAIL"............................

And all of this in no way explains why we ended up in MELBOURNE, FL eating Chinese at the best buffet in the World. It just so happens that it is the best ever buffet in the World, and they have this wonderful mix of baby squid in seaweed. Worth getting from one Melbourne to the the other just to taste it.........................
The servers are WEINI and QINT LIN, charmingly Chinese and full of good humor.



And if you thought that on the cruise ship, the food, the gambling, the drinks, the dancing, the shows, the chocolate on the pillows and the cute towel animals are enough to " DRIVE YOU UP THE WALL", then they have one of those too. It is on the afterdeck and you can climb it to your hearts content......................