When he was a child, Robert Buck’s parents would pack the whole family into the car and head north from South Florida to Vero Beach for their family vacation each year.
“We stayed at the Sea Cove Cottages where we fished and body surfed,” recalls Buck fondly.
Until 1973. That’s when his father decided to buy a lot and build a vacation cottage at 12356 Highway A1A in Hallmark Ocean near Ambersand Beach.
“Back then, there wasn’t anything nearby,” Buck says with a chuckle.
While Vero Beach has grown, this area of A1A remains quiet and unspoiled, something Buck’s father considered it the family’s duty to maintain.
“My dad always said he wanted this to look like it did in the 1700s. Like Old Florida,” says Buck, noting the nostalgic charm they’ve maintained through the years as the only family to have owned the quaint beach cottage.
Every Friday night, his parents would hop in the car and head up the coast to their little beach cottage for the weekend.
Later, Buck says, he and his brother would bring their families down to fish and relax.
“It’s a place where everybody met,” he says, adding that the fishing was great, with abundant catches bluefish, flounder and snook at the beach and nearby Sebastian Inlet.
“We’d go out on the beach and take long walks. It’s still a long solitary beach. You can walk for two miles and not see anybody,” Buck says.
If you weren’t looking for the turnoff to the private drive, you might miss it entirely. Surrounded by lush, native flora, you’ll feel as if you’ve traveled back in time as you approach the two-story, oceanfront home that sits on an ocean-to-river lot with 97 feet of water frontage on either end.
As you enter the bend in the long drive, a wall of sea grapes hides the two-lane state highway and conceals he two-story cottage from passersby.
An exterior leads to the second-floor entry to the home. The front door opens directly into the galley kitchen and leads into the great room that runs the width of the house, where honey-colored, rough-cut wood, a vaulted ceiling and exposed beams add beach-house ambiance and charm.
The dining area is at the center of the room. Under the windows, Bahama beds with built-in storage provide seating and additional sleeping spaces for family and guests. A bedroom and bathroom are located just off the kitchen. The arrangement, according to Buck, was perfect for their family vacations. The kids loved to sleep alongside the windows, watching the stars at night.
Large bay windows on either side of dual doors that open onto the rear deck provide a spectacular view of the ocean, just beyond the double dune. From this vantage point, the view is unimpeded.
It’s the perfect spot to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning while watching the sunrise, and a great perch from which to keep an eye on the children playing on the beach or to watch the clouds passing by just overhead.
A second staircase leads from the rear deck downstairs. The two-car garage beneath the house provides ample room for the washer and dryer and has plenty of space to store beach and fishing gear.
The garage could easily be converted into an additional bedroom or a first-floor family room, says Treasure Coast Sotheby’s International Realty broker-associate, who has the home listed for $3 million.
A long dock can be added on the river side of A1A, if new owners have a boat or want a perfect place to fish, explains Kenworthy.
Buck recalls dragging an aluminum boat – one they still have – across the street with his father to row out and dig for clams along the sandbar about 250 feet in the river. He still remembers poking in the sand with his toes looking for the quahog and cherrystone clams that his mother would use to make clam chowder.
“If you’re looking for privacy and tranquility and quality of life away from the crowds, this can be your own little piece of heaven,” says Kenworthy, adding that the beach cottage is a surfer or treasure hunter’s dream.
“It’s a great place to get away from everything,” she adds.
With their children grown and living all over the country, Buck says it’s time for another family to enjoy the cottage as much as he and his family have for so many years.
Ambersand Beach, McLarty Treasure Museum and the Sebastian Inlet are nearby when you want to get out of the house. Sebastian’s riverside restaurants are easily reached. And it’s just a short, scenic trip down A1A to Vero’s Ocean Drive shopping and dining district and cultural activities at the Vero Beach Museum of Art and Riverside Theatre.
Photos provided
