Giving New England couple takes their love to the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — All the way from New England and now in our area: a newlywed couple is doing what they can for the next 18 months just to spread a little bit of love.
You can call it a love boat, but Greg and Susan Costa would say it's "lucky."
"We would both say to each other, 'I'm lucky to have met you, I'm lucky to have met you,'" Susan Costa said. "When we were thinking of name of the boat, Lucky Me seemed perfect."
Three years ago, luck brought them together; love keeps them going.
"All of our friends, that have been married forever, think it's kinda corny," said Susan. "But we're still kinda in the honeymoon."
What they're doing for the next year and a half is no honeymoon. The Costas just retired and learned about The Great Loop, a long boat expedition around the coast. Instead of just traveling the waters, they're taking their luck to spread love.
"Every week, or every 10 days, we do it different," Susan said. "We donate hours, half a day, we do something that will make a difference."
In our area, they've bagged groceries in Ft Pierce, feeding more than 30 families a day. They've also picked up trash in Riviera Beach. Farther out in Charleston, SC they did something more patriotic by donating to the U.S. Coast Guard during the government shutdown.
"We went and called the local pizza place and bought 13 pizzas and bottles of soda," they said. "I think there was 30 of them [Coast Guardsmen] at the station."
That's the plan for the next 18 months, expecting to see more than 7,000 miles of the world.
Their goal?
"To make a small difference," said Greg Costa. "A small difference in people's lives as we make our journey."
With two full hearts, represented on the side of their boat, several communities across the world may soon have a lucky day from the Costa's lovely boat.
The couple will return home to Massachusetts next summer. Their next stop will be in the Bahamas, where they will help rebuild schools and clean up some area infrastructure. If you want to follow along their journey, you can keep up with them through their Facebook page.
